Know your neighbourhood: East Coast Road

The East Coast Road (ECR), otherwise known as the State Highway 49 is considered to the entertainment corridor of Chennai. In the early 10th century when the Cholas ruled south India, this road was used as a business supply chain route for the southern port which was called “Vadugaperuvazhi” which means “the big way to the north”. Prior to the construction of this road, these areas consisted of small fishing villages. In order to provide better connectivity and to boost tourism, an expressway was built in the year 1998. The road was then upgraded to a two lane state highway in 2002. The ECR starts at Thiruvanmiyur in Chennai and extends till Thoothukudi located in the southern part of the state.
Accessibility and nearby localities
ECR runs along the coast of the Bay of Bengal and connects Chennai to Cuddalore via Pondicherry. ECR lies towards the southern end of Chennai. ECR is well connected to the prime localities of the city via road. The locality is well connected to the IT corridor of OMR. ECR covers prominent localities like Thiruvanmiyur, Kottivakkam, Palavakkam, Injambakkam and Uthandi.
Education
ECR has good international schools like Vael’s Billabong High International School, The British International School, Gateway International School, Primrose Schools and St John’s Universal School. It also has schools affiliated to various Indian boards. Colleges like Sacred Heart College, Montessori Teachers Training College, Poonga College of Arts and Science, Poonga College of Arts and Science, and Indian Maritime University & AMET University are some of the popular colleges in this stretch.
Hospitality
Restaurants like Drizzle, Basera, Latitude 49, Wangs Kitchen, Tuscana Pizzeria, Namma Veedu Vasanta Bhavan, and Sea Shore Inn are some of the popular choices in ECR. Resorts like Vivanta by Taj Fisherman’s Cove, Radisson Blu Temple Bay, Confluence Banquets and Resorts, Ocean Spray, MGM Resort, Dune Eco Resorts etc. are located here. In addition to this, the corridor also has beach houses available for rent for parties.
Retail
A number of premium retail stores dot the ECR stretch. This includes Raymond & Gatsby Village to name a few. There are other smaller retail stores where you can find all the essentials.
Entertainment
ECR is the entertainment corridor of Chennai. The beaches along the corridor is house resorts, amusement parks, beach houses, theme parks, multiplexes, art and craft houses, cultural museums, boat houses and lots more. Few important tourist attractions along this coast are:
Dakshina Chitra – models and replicas of traditional houses and other craftsmanship of Tamil Nadu and other south Indian states are on display here.Alamparai – this place gives an amazing view of the fort built by the NawabsCrocodile Bank – A reptile zoo and Herpetology research stationCholamandal Artist Village – Artists of various regions gather in this village near Injambakkam to display their handicrafts made of bronze, other icons and paintings.Mudaliarkuppam – The boat house here provides visitors and tourists with row boats, pedal boats and motor boats Mayajaal – An entertainment zone that has several theatre screens, a gaming and snow bowling arcade, a vast food court and a shopping centre.Muttukadu Boat House – Wind surfing, pedal boats, row boats and other facilities are available here. Tiger Cave – An ancient temple which contains large rocksShore Temple & Butter Ball- The rock-cut temple and structures are rated as excellent examples of Pallava art. It is also the most popular tourist destination on the East Coast RoadAmusement parks and theme parks lined up in this stretch include VGP Universal Kingdom & MGM Dizzee World. Surfing has become a popular sport in the area. There are a number of surf schools on the East Coast Road that give surfing lessons to amateurs. Some popular surf schools in this stretch are Covelong Point Surf School & Bay of Life.
Healthcare
S.S. Hospital, Chennai Dental Centre, Sugan Hospital, Dr. MCN Memorial Multi Speciality Centre, RM Noble Hospital, Lavanya Hospital, Santhi hospital, VHS Hospital, and Mediglobe Healthcare Lifeline Hospital are some of the hospitals located here. The area also has a number of clinics and pharmacies. Few veterinary hospitals are also located here.
Places of worship
The stretch has number of famous temples, churches and mosques. Marundeeswarar Temple, Prathyangira Devi Temple, ISKCON Temple, Sai Baba Temple, Arulmigu Marundeeswarar Temple, Muslim Masjid, Bethel A.G Church and St. Anthony’s Shrine are a few of the well known religious places here.
Real Estate
ECR, the entertainment & leisure corridor is evolving into one of the most sought-after residential localities. Attractions like beach houses, resorts, parks, restaurants and the scenic views has attracted and spurred the growth of residential market with beach villas and high-rise apartments coming up along the scenic coast. Its close proximity to the OMR, which runs parallel to it, makes it a recreational spot for people who work and live along the IT corridor. Some of the ongoing projects on the ECR are:
The four-laning of the 33.5-km section between Akarai and Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) is expected to be completed by March 2016A new link road between the East Coast Road (ECR) and Rajiv Gandhi Salai or Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), spanning 1.4 km, will be a reality shortly, with the state government sanctioning fundsImage: “01MamallapuramBeachView” by epidemiks – http://www.flickr.com/photos/epidemiks/4392751255/sizes/o/in/photostream/. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:01MamallapuramBeachView.jpg#/media/File:01MamallapuramBeachView.jpg
By: indiaproperty.com