Villivakkam

Etymology

According to legend, two demons, 'Ilvalan' and 'Vatapi', who were born to Sage Dhurva and Aswamukhi, tortured the entire world and killed many innocent people. One of the demons used to take the shape of a fruit and the other used to offer it to some innocent passer-by and after he consumed it, the demon would come out by tearing his stomach. It was left to Sage Agasthya to kill these demons with his mystic powers. It was here that the slaying of the demons took place and as a result the place came to be known as Konnur in times of yore.

It got the name of Villivakkam much later which has its own bearing - that Sage Agasthya planted a "Vilvam" plant (which has got medicinal and spiritual healing power) and hence the name. The Shiva temple in Villivakkam has a very old Vilvam tree which the priests consider sacred and use its leaves for the daily puja.

Road

Villivakkam has a bus terminus which is located off Konnur High Road. Jawaharlal Nehru Road and Konnur High Road are the arterial roads encompassing Villivakkam. The construction of the long pending Villivakkam Subway was started on 4 December 2007 and was inaugurated on 19 June 2012. The 447.50-m-long subway built at a cost of ₹ 390 million, would also have a bicycle lane of 2.5 m width.

Bus Routes

Rail

Chennai suburban railway station at Villivakkam is between the segment of Chennai Central and Arakkonam Junction, and 10 km from Central, there are suburban services to Chennai Central, Chennai Beach, Velachery, Ambattur, Avadi, Pattabiram, Tiruvallur, Arakkonam and Ponneri. The link from Chennai to Arakkonam junction is the oldest railway line in South India.

EMU Train Timings at Villivakkam

Places of worship

There are many ancient places of worship in Villivakkam. Some of the popular ones are:

Maharaja of Villivakkam

Maharaja Raja Shri Jankiram Reddiar avargal was a well known Zamindar and Philanthropist in the region. He was responsible for the region in official authority when the British ruled India and acted as a custodian of Villivakkam village. Large tracts of land were owned by him, with a colony named after his demise. He was given the title Maharaja Raja Shri by the British. The first electricity connection in the region post-independence was given to his residence. He was instrumental in the development of Villivakkam.

Schools

Entertainment

There are few cinema halls like Nathamuni, Ganga in Villivakkam. The AGS Theatre, near the Villivakkam bus terminus is renovated and renamed as AGS Cinemas with 5 Screens.

Hospitals

Politics

Villivakkam is the largest state assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu in terms of number of voters. The Villivakkam constituency covers an area from Annanagar in south to Madavaram in north and from Ayanavaram in east to Korattur in west.

Localities

Jankiram Reddy Colony, Agathiyar Nagar, Rajamanglam, Sidco nagar, Nehru Nagar, South Jagannatha Nagar, Baba Nagar, Valluvar Nagar, North Jagannathan Nagar, Rajaji Nagar, Rajamangalam, Welcome Colony and Thirunagar are some of the localities in Villivakkam. Agathiyar Nagar, and Thirunagar are some of the largest residential areas in this zone. Ambattur Industrial Estate and Integral Coach Factory are also located near Villivakkam Vegavathi street.

The tallest internet communication tower (Tata Indicom) in South India is located in Welcome Colony; it is also the tallest non linear frequency developing tower in South India. The entire Chennai city can be seen from the top of the tower. In 2009, a solar eclipse filter camera was fixed at the top of the tower by a space team from Villivakkam Science Society.