URBAN KHAIRANE

December 29, 2007

New Bombay Plus takes you through the story of development of two upcoming nodes in the city

Once a not-so-developed node, today, Kopar Kahirane is one of the most sought out places in Navi Mumbai. Dipti Das finds out…

For more than a decade, Kopar Khairane has been called the neighboring node of Vashi, but today, it has gained its own identity. Kopar Khairane was planned to decongest Khairane was planned to decongest Vashi in mid 90’s, and flats were available at reasonable rates, but today, times have change. Kopar Khairane is no longer considered a node for the poor, as the shanties and small societies are getting cornered due to the presence of towers and plush green gardens.
Developed in an area of 34 sq km in eighties, Kopar Khairane used to be filled with creeks, plenty of aquatic life and mangroves. CIDCO developed the node and built small houses and few societies, primarily for Mathadi workers. Over the years, with real estate booming in Navi Mumbai, private builders also showed interest in the node and constructed posh societies, like Balaji Garden, FAM, Kanchanjunga, Kalash Udyan, etc.
Tody, the property rates in this node are similar to those at Vashi and Kharghar. The fact remains, however, that the node is not properly planned, as it has stone quarries nearby, a dumping ground (which was shut) and the Thane-Belapur industrial belt close to the residential areas. In fact, the node lacks public gardens as well, but compared to all other nodes, Kopar Khairane is one of the liveliest.
City’s strongman Ganesh Naik and his family belong to Bonkode village, and currently stay in Blalaji Garden, in Kopar Khairane.
“Any death or development in the political scenario, Kopar Khairane is the political scenario, Kopar Khairane is the first node to get shut. Even during Diwali, first ode to get shut. Even during Diwali, due to the death of a corporator, all the shops were closed,” says Sujhata Shetty. Resident of sector 18, Kopar Khairane. “In a way, it is a politically sensitive area,”she adds.
Apart from politics, the node has been in news for other reasons as wll. Not so long ago, the Ghansoli riots after effects were seen in kopar khairane.
“Due to problem in Ghansoli, shops and
Vehicles were broken in this area. In fact, even after curfew withdrawal, tension in Kopar Khairane continued for about a month,” says Arjun Pengat, resident of sector 14,Kopar Khairane.
On the rosy side, the famous Dahi Handi festival is celebrated with full enthusiasm in sector 11, near Panchratna hotal at Kopar Khairane. The massive popularity to reckon with, in the Mumbai-Thane circle.
While Kopar Khairane node in itself is complete, with schools, colleges, hospitals, etc, for many years it was not connected with a rail route. The commuters from Kopar Khairane had to travel all the way to Vashi to catch a CST local, or take a bus till Thane for the train. However, a couple of years ago, railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav came to inaugurate Thane-Vashi route, at Kopar Khairane. It was a landmark day in the history of the city’s development. Today, thousands o commuters travel on this route.
With a population of about approximately 1.13 lakh (as per censes in 2001), Kopar Khairane is certainly one of the more densely populated areas in the city. The NMMT depot (Chikneshwar) has more than 100 buses taking passengers to other nodes in the city.
Due to the presence of colleges like Lokmany Tilak College of Engineering, Indira Gandhi Gandhi College of Engineering, and schools like St Mary’s, RF Naik, North Point, Sai Holy Faith, etc, it is slowly evolving as an educational hub.
Even for shopping purposes, Kopar khairane is famous. From departmental strores like D-mart, more, Reliance Fresh, Mega Mart, V Mart, etc it has small community shopping centers in various sectors. For shoppers with a small budget, every “Wednesday there is a special roadside market in sector 15,near Shubham Palace called Budh Bazaar. Here, crockery, clothes, decorative articles, etc are available at reasonable rates.
“I love to shop in Budh Bazaar, as it is very cheap. I don’t miss Fashion Street, because of this shop. It gets really crowded during festival seasons, but one should know how to bargain,” says Pooja Sharma, resident of sector 18, Kopar Khairane.
As far as security is concerned, Kopar Khairane has a police chowky. Post riots, the Navi Mumbai police department was planning to make this chowky into a police station, but that plan is still under consideration.