Villivakkam is a neighbourhood of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is served by the

Villivakkam railway station Villivakkam railway station is a railway station on the Chennai Central–Arakkonam section of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network a city of Chennai in India. Located 9 km from Chennai Central railway station, the station serves the neighb ...

on the Chennai Central–Arakkonam suburban section. Villivakkam is the largest state assembly constituency in

in terms of number of voters.

Etymology

The real name of Villivakkam is Vilvaaranyam. An old

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

temple here is built by Sage Agasthiyar and there are many vilvam (bael) trees here, hence it earned the name Vilva Aaranyam, which means the "jungle of bael trees". As time passed, the name changed into Villivakkam.

Transport

Road

Villivakkam has a bus terminus which is located off Konnur High Road.

Jawaharlal Nehru Road Chowringhee Road (also spelt ''Chourangi Road''), located in the Chowringhee neighbourhood of Kolkata, is the arterial road running from the eastern fringes of Esplanade southwards up to the crossing with Lower Circular Road (AJC Bose 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.

Rail

Chennai suburban railway station at Villivakkam is between the segment of

Chennai Central Chennai Central (station code: MAS, short for ''Madras''), officially known as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, is the main railway terminus in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the busiest railway ...

and

Arakkonam Arakkonam () is a railway town and suburb of Chennai within Chennai Metropolitan Area limit, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, with a population of 78,395 per the census 2011. It is in the newly created Ranipet district, about from Ranipet ...

Junction, and 10 km from Central, there are suburban services to

Chennai Beach Chennai Beach (formerly known as Madras Beach) (station code: MSB) is a railway terminus of the Southern Railway network in Parry's Corner, Chennai, India. Built on reclaimed land, the station serves the suburban services of the Chennai Subu ...

, Velachery,

Ambattur Ambattur is located in northwestern part of Chennai City, in Ambattur taluk of the Chennai District, surrounded by Avadi, Anna Nagar, Padi, Mogappair, Kallikuppam, Surapet, Korattur, Ayappakkam, and Thiruverkadu. It covers an area of . The nei ...

Avadi Avadi () is a suburb of Chennai within Chennai Metropolitan Area limit, located in the Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu, India. It is a municipal corporation west of Chennai, about from Chennai Central Railway Station. It is surrounded by majo ...

, Pattabiram,

Tiruvallur Tiruvallur is a Grade I municipality and a fast developing city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of Coovum river about from downtown Chennai (Madras) and just 5 km from megacity border, in the western p ...

and

Ponneri Ponneri is a town located in Chennai Metropolitan Region, Thiruvallur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located in Ponneri taluk. Ponneri is major destination for Andhra Pradesh people to buy goods. Geography Ponneri is ...

. The link from Chennai to

junction is the oldest railway line in South India.

Politics

Villivakkam is the largest state assembly constituency in

in terms of number of voters. The Villivakkam constituency covers an area from

Annanagar Anna Nagar (formerly known as Naduvakkarai), is a neighbourhood in the metropolitan city of Chennai, India. Named after former chief minister of Tamil Nadu C. N. Annadurai, it is located in the north-western part of Chennai and forms a part of ...

in south to Madavaram in north and from

Ayanavaram Ayanpuram, or Ayanavaram, is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India. Konnur High Road, one of the important connecting roads in Chennai runs through Ayanavaram. Etymology The neighbourhood was originally known as Ayanpuram, with Ayan meaning Brahma ...

in east to

Korattur Korattur is situated in the western part of Chennai. It is a part of the Ambattur Zone of Chennai Corporation and located along the Chennai-Bangalore/Mumbai railroad about 12 km from the Chennai Central. It is developed with TNHB Layouts si ...

in west.

Education

Schools

* Singaram Pillay Higher Secondary School * Shri Krishnaswamy Matriculation Higher Secondary School * Padma Sarangapani Matriculation School * Padma Sarangapani Junior School * Our Lady of Velankanni Matriculation Higher Secondary School * Singaram Pillai Girls' Higher Secondary School * St. John's Matriculation Higher Secondary School * Government Girls Higher secondary School * Kanakadurga Telugu Higher Secondary School * John Williams Matriculation School * Almonds Play School * Kids International Playschool & Preschool * KRM Public School * Bharatha Vidhyalaya Matric School

Entertainment

Cinema Theaters

* AGS Cinemas * Nathamuni Cinemas * Ganga Cinemas

Health Care

* Cauvery Trust Hospital * Faith Multispeciality Hospital * Niranjana Hospital and Well Women Centre * Life care DKJ Hospital * WCF Hospital * RK Hospital * M.R.H 24 Hours Medical Health Care * Sree Krishna ENT Care *Swamy Eye Clinic *Vigneshwara Eye Clinic *PK Dental Care *A.S.K. Dental Clinic

Religious Places

Temples: * Sri Sowmia Damodara Perumal Devasthanam * Sri Anjaneyar Swamy Temple * Arulmigu Sri Agatheeswarar Temple * Arulmigu Sri Ayyappa Temple * Shirdi Sai Baba Temple * Sri Devi Angalaparameshwari Amman Temple * Kalyana Subramania Swamy Temple * Karumari Amman Temple * Varasakthi Vinayagar Temple * Elangaliamman Temple * Shri Kamatchi Amman Temple * Sri Baliamman Temple Mosques: * Masjid-E Rahmaniah * Masjid-e-Noor * Anjuman E Mohammedi Masjid * Masjid-e-Maqthab Nooriyah Churches: * Peniel Evangelical Church * Blessing Centre AG Church * Velankanni Madha Church * E.C.I. Villivakkam Church * Chennai Telugu Baptist Church * St Stephens Church * Philadelphia Fellowship Church * Evangelical Church Of India E.C.I Villivakkam Church * T.E.L.C Arputhanathar Church * Shekinah Abundant Life church

Grocery Market

Villivakkam market is one of the famous market around the neighborhood of Villivakkam which located near Villivakkam Railway Station. The market is running from the British period with the expansion of over 12000 sq.ft. It is one of the oldest markets in Chennai.