Nariman Point is a prominent downtown area of Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. Located on the southern tip of the Mumbai peninsula, at the end of the Mumbai's Marine Drive, Nariman Point houses some of India's prestigious business headquarters.

Nariman Point
Urban
Air India Building, Trident hotel and Oberoi hotel (L-R) on Marine Drive in Nariman point
Nariman Point is located in Mumbai
Nariman Point
Nariman Point
Nariman point in Mumbai
Nariman Point is located in Maharashtra
Nariman Point
Nariman Point
Nariman Point (Maharashtra)
Coordinates: 18°55′34″N 72°49′23″E / 18.926°N 72.823°E / 18.926; 72.823
CountryIndia
StateMaharashtra
DistrictMumbai City
CityMumbai
Founded byKhurshed Nariman
Named forKhurshed Nariman
Government
 • TypeMunicipal Corporation
 • BodyBrihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)
Languages
 • OfficialMarathi
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
400021[1]
Area code022
Vehicle registrationMH 01
Civic agencyBMC

It is bordered by Churchgate in North, Arabian Sea on West and South, by Colaba on East side. It is one of the tourist attractions of Mumbai due to its skyline, Arabian sea view, Marine drive and lots of luxury 5 star hotels, restaurants.

History edit

Prior to 1940, the area was part of the Arabian sea. A popular leader of the Congress, Khurshed Nariman (affectionately called Veer Nariman), a Bombay Municipal Corporation corporator, proposed the land reclamation of the area of sea near Churchgate. To accomplish this task, the shallow seafront was filled with debris from various parts of the city. Reinforced concrete cement was also used, the steel for which had to be purchased on the black market at higher prices due to World War II.The entire cost was estimated to be 300,000 (equivalent to about 158 million in 2024). Additional reclamations were carried out in the 1970s. A construction boom in that decade also led to the development of commercial high-rises in the area.[citation needed]

In 2006, prior to the financial crisis of 2007–08, Nariman point was the seventh most expensive location in the world for office space.[2] However, by December 2012 Nariman Point had fallen to 25th place while Delhi's Connaught Place remained the fifth most expensive location despite many offices moving to Gurgaon and Noida.[2] During the same period, Nariman Point also dropped from seventh to fifteenth most expensive location for office rentals.[3] The reasons for the decline were the high prices, lower quality and age of construction, and increasing distances from residential hubs which have now moved northwards and to the suburbs.[3] In the first three quarters of 2012, Nariman Point had a vacancy rate of almost 25%, compared with 18% in the rest of the Mumbai city.[4]

 
From left to right, Air India building, Trident hotel, Oberoi hotel and Marine drive road in the Nariman Point
 
Nariman point buildings at night

Terrorist attacks edit

In 1993, the 1993 Bombay bombings took place. Bombs were destroyed at Nariman point and nearby places. There were also bombs in other parts of the city. [5]

On the evening of 26 November 2008, Pakistan trained Lashkar-e-Taiba Islamic terrorists attacked the luxury hotels Trident and Oberoi, located in this area. Both are luxury hotels. The terrorists attacked people with AK-47 assault rifles and Hand Grenades. This was part of the larger Mumbai terrorist attack. 166 people were killed, 238 injured to various degrees, and the Taj Hotel was besieged for 3 days. The Mumbai police apprehended one of the terrorists, Ajmal Kasab. The rest were eliminated in various operations by India's security forces.[6]

Economy edit

Air India had its headquarters in the Air India Building for many years.

Renewable Energy and Power companies Ind Renewable Enercy Ltd and Vakharia Power Infrastructure Ltd are headquartered at Regent Chambers, 208 Nariman Point, Mumbai.[7]

At one time All Nippon Airways maintained its Mumbai sales office in the Oberoi Trident Towers in Nariman Point.[8]

Gallery edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Pin code : Nariman Point, Mumbai". indiapincodes.net. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  2. ^ a b Chadha, Sunainaa (21 December 2012), "The slow but steady death of Nariman Point", First Post.
  3. ^ a b "Nariman Point drops 7 places to 15th spot in global office rentals", The Times of India, 22 February 2012, archived from the original on 12 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Why Nariman Point is running on empty", Mumbai Mirror (Online Edition), 17 December 2012.
  5. ^ "1993: Bombay hit by devastating bombs". 12 March 1993.
  6. ^ "26/11 : The day terror hit us". 26 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Ind Renewable Enercy Ltd & Vakharia Power Infrastructure Ltd, Regent Chambers, Nariman Point, Mumbai". Bloomberg.
  8. ^ "ANA Directory Archived 8 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine" (Archive). All Nippon Airways. 1998. Retrieved on 9 July 2016. "Mumbai (Bombay) Room 2318 2320 The Oberoi Trident Towers Nariman Point Mumbai-400 021, India"

External links edit