Navi Mumbai

Nerul is an upmarket residential and a semi commercial node of the city of Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra, India and is better known as the ‘queen’ of Navi Mumbai. It has around 60 sectors. It is the biggest and the most populated residential node (by area) in the city of Navi Mumbai. Nerul along with Seawoods makes it the second most developed zone of Navi Mumbai after Vashi. The estimate population of Nerul is around 600,000.

About Nerul

Buildings in Nerul, Navi Mumbai, as seen from the Palm beach road

Nerul is the second most developed node by CIDCO in the city.

Unlike most other towns in the country, and in contrast to its older and larger neighbour Mumbai, Nerul developed at a speedy rate.

In recent years, real estate prices in Nerul (as with the rest of Navi Mumbai) have risen, due in part to the creation of new businesses, and due to more businesses moving or expanding into Nerul from Mumbai. Nerul’s reputation for being organized and self-sufficient, large but not too crowded like “the big city”, has led to the continued growth of its resident and commuter population.

Education

It is home to many educational institutes like SIES Graduate school of Technology ,Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology, Terna Engineering College, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College,SIES College of Management Studies, Dr. DY Patil College of Architecture, Mahatma Gandhi Mission’s MGM’s High School/Law/Science College and Vocation Course College, [Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology]], Dr. D. Y. Patil Dental College, Delhi Public School, St. Augustine’s High School, St Xavier’s High School, Sterling College, Ryan International School,D.A.V public school and Apeejay School. SIES college of management studies is one of the top 5 colleges in mumbai for management studies, and all over India it ranks the 18th.SIES also has graduation college and many post graduate courses in social service and mba in pharma management and biotech management.the college boats of a huge campus with many facilities as inddor gym, temple,yoga hall ampithetre ec.this aicte approved collage also has the best in the industry companies coming to their campus. Terna Public Charitable Trust’s Terna Engineering College is one of the well known technical institutions, with ‘A’ Grade from Maharashtra Government and having ISO 9001 certification and is among the top colleges in Mumbai. It is located at Nerul on a beautiful 50,000 square metre campus. A diverse, talented community united by a passion for learning and quest for more. Terna challenges students to make a difference on our campus, in the state, and around the world. Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology (RAIT) was established in 1983 to promote professional education in Electronics and Computer Engineering. Over the last decade it has emerged as a premier educational institution with several pioneering educational innovations. The college is housed in a spacious building occupying nearly 120,000 square feet (11,000 m²). RAIT has been categorized Grade ‘A’ by the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Government of Maharashtra. The institute is approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), a statutory body of the Government of India.Computer Classes include franchises of NIIT,Aptech, Sillicon Valley,Gudnet , etc. Even DAV school has been introduced here.

Temples & Churches in Nerul

Nerul is also known for its hillock Brahmagiri that houses the Mata Amritanandamayi Math, Balaji Temple, Swaminarayan Temple and the Little Flower Church. (Click on the photo to see a larger picture)

Following are the temples situated at Nerul:

1. Balaji Temple at Brahmagiri
2. Swaminarayanan Temple at Brahmagiri.
3. Temple inside Mata Amritanandamayi Math at Brahmagiri.
4. Shiv Mandir inside Narayanaguru Complex at Brahmagiri.
5. Shiv Shambho Mandir at Sector 18
6. Ayyapa Mandir near Army Colony.
7. Shaneeshwar Mandir adjacent to Army Colony.
8. Hanuman/Anjaneyar Mandir inside SIES Complex
9. Kamakshi Amman Mandir inside SIES Complex.
10. Adisankarar mandap inside SIES Complex
11. Shiv Mandir inside Bhimashankar Housing Society

There are in all four Churches in Nerul:

1. Little Flower Church, Brahmagiri (Syro Malabar Catholic)
2. St. Xavier’s Church, Next to St. Xavier’s School and Jr. College (Syrian Orthodox Catholic)
3. Our Lady of Visitation Church, Seawoods Darave (Roman Catholic)
4. The Epworth Methodist Tamil Church ( Rev. D. Wilson Jeyakumar ) Plot No:8 Sector - 12 , Phase 2, Nerul, Navi Mumbai 400 706.

Kamakshi Temple - SIES Complex	Balaji Temple	Swaminarayan Temple	Swaminarayan Temple inside
Amirtandamayi Complex	Narayanaguru Complex	Little Flower Church Front view	Little Flower Church another view
Anjaneyar Temple, Nerul.	Anjaneyar Temple, Nerul another view.	Adisankarar Mandapam, Nerul	Adisankarar Mandapam, Nerul another view
Shree Shaneeshwarar Temple, Nerul	Ayyappa Mandir, Nerul	Apeejay School, Nerul Front view	Nerul Railway Station West Side View
Palm Beach Road between Vashi and Belapur passing through major part in Nerul Node, Navi Mumbai

Nerul Balaji Mandir Rajagopuram

Roads

A major part of the Palm Beach Marg passes through Nerul. This has given a big boost to real estate in the area. There has been a huge development in Real Estate along the palm Beach Stretch. The Thane Belapur Road also passes through Nerul. Lately this road has seen a lot accidents due to reckless driving and also due to nearly zero monitoring by police. Palm Beach Road Is connected Perpendicular to the Rajiv Gandhi Bridge In Nerul. Which is Further connected to the Mumbai Pune Highway.

Transport

The township, like the rest of Navi Mumbai, is divided into sectors, which are further divided into plots. As such, the address system is more organized, and the township easy to navigate compared to Mumbai. Nerul, being a planned township, features roads that intersect at right angles. LED displays on traffic signals count down to the toggle between red and green for better traffic flow efficiency.

Autorickshaws provide the primary means of personal local transportation. Travelling to other nodes by autorickshaw usually entails the payment of one-and-a-half times the regular meter fare, or some other negotiated fare hike.

Nerul Railway Station and shopping complex have taxicabs operating from designated taxi stands provide the means to travel further to destinations such as Mumbai and Thane; a bridge toll may be charged in addition, where applicable. Luxury and standard long-distance bus services often stop at Vashi en route to other cities and towns across the country.

The red NMMT public buses , Red and Cream BEST (BrihanMumbai Electric Supply and Transport) which are numbered 500 to 599 (connecting Mumbai and Navi Mumbai) and ST public buses serve as a much cheaper means of transportation. Buses starting from or passing through Nerul own bus depot allow passengers direct and fast passage to destinations across Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Some Mumbai-nerul routes, however, drop in frequency or stop altogether at night. Starting in late 2005, new modern bus stands with seating were constructed at most bus stops across Nerul and Navi Mumbai. The route numbers for some important bus destinations that can be reached from Nerul

• 1, 4, 8, 11,27,34 - Thane
• 501 - Kurla
• 505 - Sion, Bandra
• 506 - Sion, Matunga, Dadar TT,
• 507- Nerul-APMC-Vashi-Mankhurd-Govandi-Ghatkopar-Kamani-AirIndia Colony- Vakola-Santacruz(E)Rly Stn.
• 511 - Ghatkoper, Mulund
• 512, 513 - Airoli, Mulund

Nerul is connected to Mumbai by rail on the Harbour line of the Central Railway, part of the Mumbai suburban railway. Travelling to destinations in Mumbai by rail often involves taking a train to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus first. Another rail link connects Nerul to Thane (see Transport in Thane) will be connected soon. Nerul is the only node in Navi Mumbai to have two stations.i.e., Nerul and Seawoods - Darave Stations. Plans show that it will also get a third railway station on the Nerul-Uran route called as Sagar Sangam Railway Station.

Nerul Railway Stn. west view

Infrastructure

Nerul used to have near continuous power supply. As of late 2005, however, one to two hours a day of scheduled load shedding has been enforced by MSEB, cycling among various areas of the city, in order to cope with the rising population and power consumption. By 2007, it is to 1.5 hours daily power outages.Load shedding was stopped in 2008 when tata power started supplying power.

The water supply is near constant for 10–11 months annually and the month of May has peak shortages. Occasional shut downs are often short enough to be borne through by the overhead water tanks in many apartments and the central water tower system.

Road maintenance is carried out by the NMMC. Roads in the township are generally of good quality, but often get damaged by the monsoons, as potholes are simply patched up.

Broadband is available in Nerul from You telecom, Tata Indicom, Sify and the MTNL telecommunications companies. Even though broadband is available, there are frequent breakdowns in the network, due to lack of proper maintenance and poorly trained staff.

Mobile users are huge here as result the mobile operators here are Aircel Vodafone, Dolphin, Airtel, Reliance, Tata, Loop Mobile, Idea,Garuda,Mtnl & Virgin Mobile. All mobile companies have their exclusive shop here.

Shopping

Dmart is one of the stores in Nerul. There are two branches of Dmart in Nerul. Apart from this Nerul has Shubkisha, Apna Bazar, sahkar bhanadar, Daily needs, etc are situated here. Foodland fresh is also one of the Hyper shops here. The railway station itself is a big shopping center. Recent mall projects have made Nerul one of the best nodes. The upcoming malls are Centurion Mall& multiplex & the turning point mall and many more. Integriti also opened its outlet here.

Aditya Birla’s Peter England also opened two of its clothing outlets here.

Recently Reliance has launched his retail outlet in nerul called Reliance Fresh.There are two reliance fresh outlets in Nerul. Vesco Club, Koutons,etc are the major showrooms.Charlie Outlaw has also announced its clothing showroom here. Reebok and Nike also have their official outlet here.Reliance also introduced its footprint & Delight stores here.The largest and most prestigious residential development in Nerul was Seawoods Estate also known as NRI Complex. It has about 50 buildings of over 12 floors each and 3 flats at each floor. Phase II of Seawoods is currently under construction. Recently Planet M also launched its music store here.Spencers supermarket ,a unit of RPG Group, has also been launched here. Recently Odyssey also introduced its 2nd Mumbais book store here.

Gini and Johny’s Palm tree house retail for kids has also launched its outlet here. The Loot also has its outlet here.

REI groups 6TEN Retail has also announced its retail Store here

MORE (ADITYA BIRLA GROUP) IS ALSO A RETAIL GIANT HERE.

Spinach has also an outlet here in Nerul.

KUSAB BIYANIS Fair Price is also one outlet here.

The mobile store and shubhikhsa mobile are the major mobile stores here.There are 5 Mobile Store outlets here.

Kishore Biyanis Mobile Bazaar has also been launched here.There are 5 mobile bazaar outlets here.

Nerul is also a village in Goa. Its at a distance of 6–7 km from Calangute, the famous beach of Goa.

Restaurants & Entertainment

Nerul is also a good hangout place for all age groups.

Nerul has cafe shops such as Cafe Coffee Day,Cafe Pita, Cross Cafe ,Temperature , Cafe In & Rabz Den Cafe. Pizza Shops include Dominos, Smokin Joes, Smokin Pizza, etc. Big restaurants include Rangoli hotel, Tirupati Prasad, Shivam, Satkar, Dwarka, Bombay High, Nerul Gym-Khaana, Shangai,etc. Ice-cream Parlours include Naturals, Baskin Robbins, Dinshaws Melting Magic Ice Cream Parlour, HM KHOSLA etc. Nerul is also well known for its sweet shops such as Om sweets, Jhama, Chaudhari Mishtan, Raj Diary. Nerul also has a good place for hangout known as saguna baug. Dosa Plaza also has introduced its outlet here in Nerul. Recently Jumbo King opened its outlet here. Cake Shop includes Ribbons & Balloons,Crossiants, Monginis & Bakers Treat “Kings Electronics” is the largest Electronic Mall in Navi Mumbai.

Nerul also has a pub called “ICE N SPICE” which boasts of a casino too. Its a great hangout place for youngsters.

“Zapak” Gameplex for gamers has been recently introduced here.

A good hangout for all the pilgims, worshippers etc. is the balaji hill near nerul rly station. There is a church, a temple cum centre of “Sri Narayana Guru” & a similar one of “Mata Amritanandamayi”, a Jain Temple & the famous Balaji temple. the hill provides a very gorgeous view of west side of nerul. The pictures of the same are provided above.

The best place place in Nerul to have “Chaat” is definitely Om Sweets in Nerul East very close to the railway station. Almost all evenings one can find a very large crowd(people returning home from office, college students on their way back and school kids) around the panipuri/bhelpuri stall of this place. The menu also includes other popular dishes such as “Ragada Pattice” “Sev Puri” “Dahi Puri” and of course “Wada Pav” and “Samosa Pav”. Any person visiting Nerul must have the Chaat of this place.

Besides “Chaat” another popular snacks for Nerulites in the sandwich and there are several sandwich stalls around the Station area on the east side for it.

Health & Fitness

Major gyms & fitness centers are located in Nerul. Some of the major gyms are

• Aura Gym,sec-21
• Talwalkars,sec-27
• BodyZone, Sec-21
• Flex, Sec,17
• Nirvana, sec-21
• Passions Gym, Nerul gymkhana
• Gracilite, Sec-42a
• Malhar
• DY PATIL-Leena Mogres Fitness-Sec-5
• VLCC,Sec-17
• Dr Batras, Sec-21

Nerul also has a small hiking trail at Parsik Hill (which connects Nerul and Belapur)which offers beautiful views of sunsets and sunrise. Lot of ‘Nerulites’ are seen walking and jogging on this hill. One can even find a vegetable juice vendor selling carrot juice in the morning at the foot of the hill.

The walkway at Parsik Hill

Major Banks with branches at Nerul

• CANARA Bank
• Karnataka Bank
• Karur Vysa Bank
• ICICI Bank
• Bank Of India
• HDFC Bank
• ANDHRA Bank
• ABHUYDAYA Bank
• Indian Overseas Bank
• ING Vysya Bank-ATM
• INDUSINT Bank
• UCO Bank
• Bank of MAHARASHTRA
• The RATNAKAR Bank Ltd
• SOUTH INDIAN Bank
• SARASWAT coop Bank
• NATIONAL coop Bank
• CENTURIAN Bank
• SBI Bank
• Union Bank Of India
• CITI FINANCIAL
• OBC Bank
• AXIS Bank
• CitiBank -ATM Only
• CORPORATION Bank, Nerul East, SIES Complex
• CORPORATION Bank, Nerul West, Sector 50
• Bank of BARODA
• IDBI Bank
• VIJAYA Bank
• SB TRAVANCORE
• PARSIK JANATA SAHAKARI
• SB MYSORE
• Kotak Mahindra Bank
• Reliance Money
• GE Money
• Greater Bombay Co. Bank
• HDFC Standard Life
• Birla SunLife Insurance
• ICICI Prudential
• ICICI Direct

& MANY MORE.

Stock Brokers

• Indiabulls
• ShareKhan
• Bigbull
• Motilal Oswal
• Akshar
• Reliance Money
• Bullseye
• Bajaj Capital

Car & Bike Showrooms

Nerul has Maximum carshowrooms of Navi Mumbai

• Maruti-AUTOMOTIVE
• Tata- Fortune
• Mahindra-G3
• Ford-Bhavna
• Hero Honda-Spectra
• Honda-Hallmark
• Bajaj-Sec-42a (AUTHORIZED Service Center Owned by Sweta Singh)
• Hero Ultra-Bhavna
• Skoda Auto -JMD Auto
• Kinetic -Laksmi Auto World
• Royal Enfield
• YO Bike

Trade

The trade of Nerul is inside and outside Nerul Railway Station. With so many offices Nerul is a very good zone for trading. The Great Eastern Galleria is also a IT park in Nerul. Nerul has big offices from Hutch, airtel,bpl, reliance,tata, etc. Thomas Cook also has its office here. All major companies have a small office or have their exclusive shop in Nerul.Recently Honda Motors opened its head office in Nerul MIDC.

[edit] Sports

The DY Patil Cricket stadium

Nerul is known for its sports compelex. Nerul has a cricket stadium called DY Patil Stadium. It will also get an Olympic size swimming pool. The upcoming golf course is also situated in Nerul. There is also Nerul Gymkhana with lots of facilities for sports.