Malad West is a suburb located just over 30 kilometres north of Mumbai. Fully developed and considered a prime locality, Malad West is home to residents from a diverse array of communities and cultures. Today, traces of this history remain, but the locality has moved on with the times. Shopping malls and spacious 6-laned roads dot the landscape of this modern suburb, with the number of housing complexes on the rise.
The locality has an amazing energy it, commercially. The very popular Somwar Bazaar is a case in point. It is a market where sellers from all across Maharashtra come together to sell their wares. It operates on the Monday of every week.
Malad West stretches all the way up to the coast till Marve beach. To the west of the suburb are areas such as Malvani and Patelwadi. Goregaon West, a popular and wealthy Mumbai suburb that lies to the immediate south of Malad West. From international schools to multispecialty hospitals and malls, Malad West offers excellent infrastructure to its residents. One of the largest malls in Malad West, Infiniti Mall is located in this area and along the Link Road.
Connectivity and transit points
Connectivity is a breeze in Malad West. Taxicabs and auto-rickshaws are available on almost every street corner. The Western Express Highway (WEH), which lies to the east of this suburb, connects Malad West to almost every other suburb in Mumbai and with the city centre itself. It is part of the NH-8, which is a major intrastate Indian roadway that connects Mumbai and Delhi.
Roadways apart, Malad West is accessible by rail as well, thanks to the Malad Railway Station. This is a suburban railway station located to the east of the Swami Vivekananda Road. In fact, its the railway track that separates Malad East and Malad West.
Bus stops are found at short distances throughout the suburb, from where commuters board the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses. The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport lies approximately 10-15 km south of Malad West, and is easily accessible through WEH.
One also has an option of taking a ferry ride to reach other areas. Commuters can hop on to a ferry at the Marve Ferry Point, located at one end of Marve Road, to travel to neighbouring areas, including up to Versova.
Major landmarks
Laxmi Narayan Temple
Orlem Church
Malad Fire Station
Marve Beach
Somwar Bazaar
Ryan International School
Liberty Garden
Factors for growth in the past
Bombay Talkies, the first film company in India, was established in Malad in 1934. Later, in 1972, the oldest commerce college in the western suburbs of Mumbai, the Prahladrai Dalmia Lions College of Commerce and Economics was also founded here. These two major developments made the locality popular and triggered growth and development.
In the 70s, many Malad natives sold their properties to real estate developers. Sunder Nagar, a locality in Malad West, was mainly developed during this period of time. This rapidly fuelled a residential market in the area. Besides, the Somwar Bazaar and Liberty Garden attracted hordes of people from within and beyond the locality.
In recent times, Malad has witnessed the establishment of a large number of BPOs. This suburban region looks like its on its way to becoming an IT hub of repute.
Major challenges
Traffic problems plague the residents of Malad West. Vehicular movement on roads has become extremely chaotic. Some of the narrow roads in the area end up becoming bottlenecks, cause lengthy traffic jams, and thus need to be widened.
Potholes on roads, caused majorly during the monsoons, are yet another source of angst for road commuters. Additionally, stray incidents of chain snatching have also been reported, causing women to feel unsafe, in general. The residents of Malad West, in some areas, have also been complaining the indifferent attitude of civic authorities in solving commonly faced issues.
Factors for growth in the future
Mumbai Metro is designed to rid the citys residents of the burdensome traffic that is so closely associated with Mumbai. With Line 1 of this project already active and running, the next phase is already underway. Line 2 of the Mumbai Metro will be passing through the suburban region of Malad, thereby making surroundings suburbs easily accessible. This development will likely have a positive impact on property prices in the future.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has already proposed a plan to improve and build upon the road that connects Marve, Malad, and Manori. The Brihanmumbai Mumbai Municipal corporation has charted a plan to build a flyover that passes the Mith Chowky junction, considered to be one of the worst traffic bottlenecks in Mumbai.