Okhla

Okhla is a suburban village located near Okhla barrage in the South East Delhi district of Delhi near the border between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Its nearest industrial area called commonly as Okhla Industrial Area (OIA) or Okhla Industrial Estate, an industrial suburb in South Delhi which is mainly divided into three Phases. It stands for Old Kanal Housing and Land Authority (Kanal was used instead of canal since "ch" in the abbreviated form would have been pronounced differently). Okhla has lent its name to the nearby planned township of New Okhla Industrial Development Authority or NOIDA. Okhla is also an assembly constituency.

About

Okhla is one of the oldest villages in Delhi near the bank of Yamuna River. This can be judged from the making of Okhla canal ( Agra Canal) by Britishers in 1874, presently known as Okhla Head.

History

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

The present campus of Jamia Millia Islamia, a central university was established here in 1925. The ''Okhla Mandi'' is an important wholesale market in Delhi, NSIC, IIIT Delhi, Govind Ballabh Pant Engineering College, Meera Bai Institute of Technology, Kalkaji Temple, Lotus Temple, Okhla vihar, Okhla Railway Station, 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, and in time became synonymous to growth of small scale industries in region. Today it is divided in three phases.

Extension of Okhla

Apart from Industrial Estate, Okhla also has an extension of a residential area which includes Zakir Nagar, Batla House, Jogabai and Jogabai Extension, Abul Fazal Enclave, Okhla Head, Jamia Nagar, Shaheen Bagh, Okhla Vihar, Johri Farm, Noor Nagar, Gaffar Manzil, Haji Colony, etc. and includes the colonies situated on the bank of the river Yamuna.

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 the industry such as pharmaceutical manufacturing units, plastic and packaging industries, printing presses, machinery manufacturers, call centers, MNCs Office, Bank, and others

Okhla Industrial Estate Ph 3 The Okhla Industrial Estate or Phase III spreads over 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 centers, 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 Jogabai extension, Batla House, Okhla Vihar, 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. It is a state assembly constituency part of the East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency.

Neighbourhoods

East of Kailash, New Friends Colony, Nehru Place, Kalkaji, Abul Fazal Enclave, Sukhdev Vihar, Greater Kailash, Govindpuri, Sriniwaspuri, Tuglaqabad, Sarita Vihar, Jasola, Shaheen Bagh, Jaitpur, Madanpur, Badarpur, Zakir Nagar, Okhla Vihar, Ghaffar Manzil Colony, Haji colony, Ishwar Nagar and Harkesh Nagar (a village attached with Okhla Phase 2 & 3).

Wildlife sanctuaries

Okhla Bird Sanctuary is 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

There are many hospitals in the area, including Indraprastha Apollo Hospital.

Companies

There are many companies in the area, including Flags Communications, FENA.

Public gardens

This is a list of public gardens in Okhla:

1. Kalindi Kunj is the most famous public garden close to the river of Yamuna. The main attractions are the fountains adorned with colourful lights.
A large number of tourists arrive in the evening to enjoy the scenic view of the fountains. Atlantic Water World also open in near Kalindi Kunj (also known as 9 Number Park).

2. Ashoka Park is adjacent to Zakir Nagar near New Friends Colony.

3. Tikona Park, Zakir Nagar.

4. Tikona Park near Okhla Village.

5.Campus Jamia hill cover by the forest surrounded by Noor Nagar, Ghaffar Manzil, Jamia Girls Hostel.

6. Central Park, Canal colony, Okhla.

Transport

It is well connected by road and rail and is not far from the airport, as it is located in the center 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.

Okhla is also connected to the Delhi Metro Magenta Line Network - Jasola Vihar-Shaheen Bagh, Okhla Vihar, Jamia Millia Islamia, Sukhdev Vihar.

Delhi Transport Corporation buses via various Bus stops and terminus are operating from Okhla.

Real estate

The entire Industrial Area Phase-1,2 and 3 allotted by DDA, DSIIDC and Directorate of Industries, this area is known for Industrial establishments however In result private builders and Govt real estate compan
NBCC
as wel
DLF
involve into the vicinity their commercial and hotel project in the Area, being a prime locality of South Delhi most economical place in the capital Indian business houses as well MNCs and investor have interest in this vicinity, two Metro station connectivity and underpass connected Mathura Road become a strong point for the locality. due to small and medium-size industrial and commercial establishments and great connectivity by bus as well as metro, it attracts both medium entrepreneurs and corporate.

Further reading

*

See also

* Kaushalya Dam in Pinjore
* Bhakra Dam
* Hathni Kund Barrage
* Tajewala Barrage
* Surajkund barrage
* List of National Parks & Wildlife Sanctuaries of Haryana, India

References

{{Neighborhoods of Delhi

Neighbourhoods in Delhi
Villages in South Delhi district