Nariman Point
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Image:Nariman-Point Bombay 2005.JPG Image:MarineDriveSkyline.jpg Nariman Point is Mumbai's premier business district. It was named after Khursheed Framji Nariman, a Parsi visionary. The area is situated on land reclaimed from the sea. It had the distinction of having the highest commercial real estate rental space in the world in 1995 at 175$ per sq. foot! The area is situated on the extreme southern tip of Marine Drive. It houses some of India's premier business headquarters.
Commercial Establishments
- State Bank of India
- Express Towers, home to the Indian Express newspaper
- The Air India Building, Headquarters of Air India
- The Hilton Hotel
- The Oberoi Hotel
- Reserve Bank of India
- British Consulate and British Library
- HeadQuarters of Bank of India
- French Consulate and Trade Mission
- National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA)
- Mittal Towers
- Vidhyan Sabha
- Consulate of Oman
- Birla Bhavan
History
Prior to 1940, the area was part of the sea. A popular leader of the Congress, Khurshid Nariman (also titled as Veer Nariman), a Bombay Municipal Corporation corporator, proposed to reclaim the area from the sea near Churchgate. To accomplish this task, debris from various parts of the city was dumped here to fill in the shallows. Reinforced concrete cement was used, of which the imported steel used was obtained from the black market at a higher price due to the World War II. This led to a furore and Nariman was sacked. The entire cost was estimated to be Rs. 3 lakhs (now 10 crores) Additional reclamations were carried out in the 1970s. A construction boom in that decade saw this region spurting many commercial high-rises.