Okhla

Map showing the nine districts of Delhi.

Okhla, is a neighbourhood around the old village in South Delhi district, though it is most known as the Okhla Industrial Area (OIA) or Okhla Industrial Estate, an industrial suburb of New Delhi in South Delhi and mainly divided in three phases. Okhla in the past has also lends its name to the New Okhla Industrial Development Area, or NOIDA.

History

Agra Canal headworks at Okhla, 1871

The Okhla barrage, which is a weir dam, is also the starting point of the Agra Canal built in 1874, today it is also the location of the Okhla Sanctuary, and further down the canal towards Agra, the Keetham Lake, National Bird Sanctuary.

The present campus of Jamia Millia Islamia university was established here in 1935. The Okhla Mandi is an important wholesale markets in Delhi, NSIC, Meera Bai Polytechnic, Kalaka Mandir, Lotus Temple, Okhla Railway Station, Surya Hotel, and the Okhla Water Works.

Okhla Industrial Estate

Okhla Industrial Estate, an industrial suburb of New Delhi in South Delhi was established by National Small Industries Corporation and was one of the 12 such estates being developed across India to encourage small industries. Construction work at the site began in 1952 and it was finally inaugurated in 1958 ^[1][2], and in time became synonymous to growth of small scale industries in region. Today it is divided in three phases ^[3]. The Okhla village became an important theatre centre of Delhi in 1950s, when veteran theatre director, started establish "Okhla Theatre" here, using many local artists as actors, starting longing tradition of theatre here.

Phases

• Okhla Industrial Phase I and Phase II is one of the 28 notified industrial areas of Delhi, as per the Master Plan of 2001. And revenue earners from this base include ready-made garment exporters and leather garment exporters, besides other segments of industry such as pharmaceutical manufacturing units, plastic and packaging industries, printing presses, machinery manufacturers, call center, MNCs Office, Bank and others

• Okhla Industrial Estate Ph 3

The Okhla Industrial Estate or Phase III spreads over 110 acres (0.45 km²) and is a modest industrial beginning laid out British architect Mr Walter George, also famous for the planning and construction of Parliament House, North and South Blocks.

Today, there are a host of MNCs, Call center, BPO, Showrooms and Media Group operations in the area.

Overview

The whole industrial area is named after the main area Okhla Village, in South Delhi, with nearby areas now as its own parts like Batla House, Zakir Nagar, Zakir Bagh, Jamia Nagar, Abul Fazal Enclave, Shaheen Bagh, Kalindi Colony, and Kalindi Kunj.

The Okhla area has a high density of Muslim population areas of Delhi, and show high linguistic literacy rate ^[4]. It is a state assembly constituency part of the East Delhi, Lok Sabha constituency, and in the Delhi state assembly elections, 2009, the seat was won by Asif Mohd. Khan of Rastriya Janta Dal .

Neighborhoods

Nehru Place, Batla House, Kalkaji, Sukhdev Vihar, Greater Kailash, Govindpuri, Sriniwaspuri, Tughlakabad, Sarita Vihar, Jasola, Shaheen Bagh, Abul Fazal Enclave, Jaitpur, Madanpur, Badarpur, and Harkesh Nagar(a village attached with Okhla Phase 2 & 3)

Problems

The main problem is the slums in the vicinity which house about 80,000 slum dwellers. In addition to polluting the area, the slums further threaten the ground water reserves in the area.

These slums are not the problems but the manpower resources for many factories and offices in this region. Many posh colonies around Okhla get their domestic helps like sweepers, drivers, cooks etc. The apathetic treatment of Civic bodies and Corporates Houses, and lack of public initiatives have created such places. These very slum dwellers whom we accuse of "polluting the area" are source of "indespensible" domestic help for upperclass Indian society.

Wildlife Sanctuaries

• Okhla Sanctuary, a Bird Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, where during the month of September thousands of migratory birds including shovellers, pintail, common teal, gadwall and blue winged teal visit the area and is ideal for nature lovers.

Hospitals

Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Escort Heart Hospital, and the Holy Family Hospital are the famous hospitals in the city of Delhi.

Public Gardens

Kalindi Kunj,Okhla Head is the most famous public garden close to the river of Yamuna. The main attractions are the fountains adorned with colorful lights. A large number of tourists arrive in the evening to enjoy the breathtaking view of the fountains. Delhi Ride Park also open in kalindi kunj park

Transport

It is well connected by road and rail and is not far from the airport, as it is located in the centre of the National Capital Territory. Business districts such as Nehru Place and Connaught Place are not far and even the inland container terminal of the Container Corporation of India is also close at hand.

By the end of September 2010, Okhla is also getting connected to the Delhi Metro Network. The okhla metro station on the Violet Line (Delhi Metro) is upcoming near Harkesh Nagar in Phase-II.

Real estate

The entire Industrial Area Phase-1,2 and 3 allotted by DDA, DSIDC and Directorate of Industries, this area basically belong to Industries but recently some private builders like DLF, Access Realty Solutions, Indiabulls, Suncity and Today started their commercial and hotel project in the Area, being a prime locality of South Delhi most of the MNCs and investor has interest in this area

Further reading

• Ram, Paras (1967). A study of the export potential of Okhla industrial estate. Indian Institute of Foreign Trade. 

References

1. ^ Jain, L. C. (1998). The city of hope: the Faridabad story. Concept Publishing Company. p. 100. ISBN 8170227488. http://books.google.com/books?id=mrLNEnirPfwC&pg=PA100&dq=Okhla#v=onepage&q=Okhla&f=false. 
2. ^ Prasad, Rajendra (1995). Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Correspondence and Select Documents, Vol. 6. Allied Publishers. ISBN 8170230020. http://books.google.com/books?id=WmZfr6ERN64C&pg=PA212&dq=Okhla#v=onepage&q=Okhla&f=false. "March 21, 1958" 
3. ^ Bandyopadhyaya, Kalyani (1969). Industrialization through industrial estates: a pattern of economic decentralization. Bookland. p. 94. 
4. ^ Ahmad, Aijazuddin; Hamdard Education Society (1993). Muslims in India: National capital territory of Delhi. Inter-India Publications. pp. 111–112. ISBN 8121003466.