Villivakkam




Villivakkam is a neighbourhood of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is served by the Villivakkam railway station on the Chennai Central–Arakkonam suburban section.

Etymology

The real name of Villivakkam is Vilvaaranyam. An old Shiva temple here is built by Sage Agasthiyar and there are many vilvam trees here, hence it earned the name Vilva Aaranyam, which means the "jungle of bael trees". As time passed, the name changed into Villivakkam.

Transport

Road

Villivakkam has a bus terminus which is located off Konnur High Road. Jawaharlal Nehru Road and Konnur High Road are the arterial roads encompassing Villivakkam. The construction of the long pending Villivakkam Subway was started on 4 December 2007 and was inaugurated on 19 June 2012. The 447.50-m-long subway built at a cost of 390 million, would also have a bicycle lane of 2.5 m width.

Rail

station at Villivakkam is between the segment of Chennai Central and Arakkonam Junction, and 10 km from Central, there are suburban services to Chennai Central, Chennai Beach, Velachery, Ambattur, Avadi, Pattabiram, Tiruvallur, Arakkonam and Ponneri. The link from Chennai to Arakkonam junction is the oldest railway line in South India.

Politics

Villivakkam is the largest state assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu in terms of number of voters. The Villivakkam constituency covers an area from Annanagar in south to Madavaram in north and from Ayanavaram in east to Korattur in west.

Education

Schools

Cinema Theaters

The centres include:
Temples:
Mosques:
Churches:
Villivakkam market is one of the famous market around the neighborhood of Villivakkam which located near Villivakkam Railway Station. The market is running from the British period with the expansion of over 12000 sq.ft. It is one of the oldest markets in Chennai.

Local Newsletters

In Villivakkam they issue a weekly local newsletter named "Villivakkam Times".