Know your neighbourhood: Anna Nagar

Anna Nagar, a well planned residential locality is located in the north-western part of Chennai. Formerly known as Naduvakkarai, Anna Nagar derives its name from Tamil leader C. N. Annadurai. It was planned and developed in the early 1970s by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board after the World Trade Fair happened here in 1968. The roads here are laid parallel and perpendicular to each other. It has 7 major avenues, blocks from A-Z, and is divided into eastern and western parts.
Accessibility:
The micro market is well connected by bus and train to all the prime localities in the city. The airport and central railway station are located at a distance of 16.5 km and 10 km respectively from this area. There are two underground metro stations in Anna Nagar (Anna Nagar East, Anna Nagar Tower) which once completed will make commuting faster and easier. It lies in close proximity to the intra bus station, CMBT. The locality is surrounded by Villivakkam, Kilpauk, Arumbakkam and Mogappair.
Landmarks:
There are three important landmarks in Anna Nagar namely: Anna Arch, Anna Nagar Tower and Anna Nagar roundtana. The Anna Arch was built in 1986 for the platinum jubilee celebrations of former Chief Minister C. N. Annadurai and serves as the entrance for southern part of Anna Nagar. Anna Nagar tower which was built in 1968 for the World Trade Fair serves as a main entrance from the 3rd Main Road and as a back entrance from the 6th main road. “Round Turn Over” was developed in 1970 for the Madras EXPO and it was rechristened to the colloquial “Roundtana”.
Education:
Anna Nagar has large number of schools and colleges. It is home to some famous schools like SBOA School and Junior College, C.S.I. Jessie Moses, Velammal Matric Higher Secondary School, Chinmaya Vidyalaya, and Chennai Public School to name a few. It has engineering, arts and science colleges and training institutes. Dhaanish Ahmed College of Engineering, City School of Social and Managerial Sciences, Anna Adarsh College, and Deen Dayal Engineering College are present here.
Hospitality:
There are a number of restaurants, hotels and serviced apartments in this locality. The Kanchi Residency, Flamingo, Hotel Chennai Gateway, hotel Skypark, and Metro Grand area few hotels which are located in and around this area. Kumarakom, Shri Rajasthani Dhaba, Kimling, KFC, Parambriym, Don Pepe, and Sigree Global Grill are some of the restaurants present here.
Retail:
Anna Nagar has retail outlets for clothing, footwear, groceries, electronics accessories and a lot more. It houses retail outlets of both national and international brands which makes the locality one of the well-known retail hubs in the city. Some of the retail outlets include Croma, Connexions, Kalanikethan, Hi-Style, Europa, Louis Philippe, Titan, and Kay. The Ampa Skywalk mall is located in close proximity to the area.
Entertainment:
Theatres like AGS Cinemas, Nathamuni Theatre and Ega Theatre are located in and around this area. It has also got gaming lounges like rage, gamedhaba etc. for gaming buffs. It has a tower park which has a beautifully landscape. It also has an amphitheatre, a bird-watching deck, badminton courts, play area, skating rink, lake and walkways.
Healthcare:
Anna Nagar has multi-speciality, super speciality, general and other speciality hospitals. Some of hospitals present here include KHM Hospital, Rathi Med, Sundaram Medical Foundation, MR Hospital, Tamilnadu Urological Research Centre Limited, and Soundarapandian Bone and Joint Hospital. It also has a number of clinics and pharmacies.
Places of worship:
Places of worship in Anna Nagar include temples, churches and mosque. Ayyappan Temple, Chinna Tirupati, Chandramouleeswarar Temple, Saint Luke’s Church, CSI Emmanuel Church, Methodist church, and Masjid E Javeed are present here.
Real Estate:
Being perfectly planned and built, Anna Nagar is one of the most expensive and desirable residential markets in the city. With excellent lifestyle, connectivity and facilities, the demand for properties here is always high. The residential market has spurred the growth of retail market. Projects that are under construction like the metro rail and flyovers have brought chaos to the locality leaving the area with traffic issues and pollution. These problems clear out once the projects are completed. A few infrastructural projects which are under construction in this locality are listed below:
Thirumangalam flyover – expected to be completed by June 2015 which will help ease the traffic flow at two intersections — Anna Nagar Second Avenue and Thirumangalam Main Road junction on Jawaharlal Nehru SalaiMetro rail – which is under construction will provide easy accessibility, reducing travel time to a great extent. Anna Nagar flyover is under construction and is expected to be completed by December 2015.By: indiaproperty.com