Charni Road
Encyclopedia
Charni Road (Old spellings: Churney Road and Charney Road) is a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway
. The main significance of Charni Road station is that it is very near the Girgaum Chowpatti
beach and Marine Drive
promenade, a major destination for tourists in Mumbai. It is also important because of the diamond trading industry located here, mainly in the Panchratna
building near the railway station. The station derives its name from the fact that grazing lands for cattle and horses were located nearby in earlier days (Charne in Marathi
). In 1838, the British rulers introduced a 'grazing fee' which several cattle-owners could not afford. Therefore, Sir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy spent Rs. 20,000 from his own purse for purchasing some grasslands near the seafront at Thakurdwar and saw that the starving cattle grazed without a fee in that area. In time the area became to be known as "Charni" meaning grazing. When a railway station on the BB&CI railway was constructed there it was called Charni Road.
Mumbai Suburban Railway
The Mumbai Suburban Railway system, part of the public transport system of Mumbai, is provided for by the state-run Indian Railways' two zonal Western Railways and Central Railways. The system carries more than 6.99 million commuters on a daily basis. It has the highest passenger densities of any...
. The main significance of Charni Road station is that it is very near the Girgaum Chowpatti
Girgaum Chowpatti
Girgaum Chaupati , commonly known as just Chaupati , is one of the most famous public beaches adjoining Marine Drive in the Girgaum area of Mumbai, India. The beach is famous for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations when hundreds of people from all over Mumbai come to immerse the idols of Lord Ganapati in...
beach and Marine Drive
Marine Drive
Marine Drive is a 3-kilometre-long boulevard in South Mumbai in the city of Mumbai. It is a 'C'-shaped six-lane concrete road along the coast, which is a natural bay. The road links Nariman Point to Babulnath and Malabar Hill. Marine Drive is situated over reclaimed land facing west-south-west...
promenade, a major destination for tourists in Mumbai. It is also important because of the diamond trading industry located here, mainly in the Panchratna
Panchratna
Panchratnam is a very famous building and a landmark in South Mumbai, India, near its Western Railway's Charni Road Station. It was built in 1975...
building near the railway station. The station derives its name from the fact that grazing lands for cattle and horses were located nearby in earlier days (Charne in Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
). In 1838, the British rulers introduced a 'grazing fee' which several cattle-owners could not afford. Therefore, Sir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy spent Rs. 20,000 from his own purse for purchasing some grasslands near the seafront at Thakurdwar and saw that the starving cattle grazed without a fee in that area. In time the area became to be known as "Charni" meaning grazing. When a railway station on the BB&CI railway was constructed there it was called Charni Road.