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The 'Old' behind Old Mahabalipuram Road



                                           Old Mahabalipuram Road as the name suggests is the route to Mahabalipuram from Chennai.Until 1960 s though the route was not an easy one.Those who wanted to go to Mahabalipuram from Chennai had to take this route

                       Guindy -> Chrompet -> Tambaram -> Chingelput -> Tirukazhukundram -> Mahabalipuram
Shore temple Mahabalipuram
Courtesy : Wikipedia

From Tirukazhukundram to Mahabalipuram the road was so poor that one had to take a boat through Buckingam Canal to reach Mahabalipuram.Lt.Conell Herbert Andrews Newell of the Indian Army took this route 91 years ago and published his travel journey under the title 'Topee and Turban'.He describes the scenic beauty in his article as he took this route in his car, a 1913 Sunbeam (To Mahabalipuram , 91 years ago).

                                            The boat ride later became unnecessary when the road was connected through a viaduct to Mahabalipuram. Thus the entire stretch of 'Mahabalipuram Road' was born. The route became popular after the construction of Kotturpuram bridge in 1987 which connected mainstream Chennai with Taramani and beyond.

                                           Come 1998, the East Coast Road was completed.It became the easiest and fastest route to Mahabalipuram . This made Mahabalipuram road , Old Mahabalipuram Road as people took ECR to reach Mahabalipuram.

                                            Old Mahabalipuram Road was later renamed to Rajiv Gandhi Salai in memory of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by the government of India. But the name OMR has stuck to people's hearts and is still referred so. With the burgeoning of IT Companies along the road , it is now popularly called as the IT Corridor and is rapidly growing with residential and commercial buildings popping along the road.
                                 

Old Mahabalipuram Road, Rajiv Gandhi Salai and the IT Corridor , three names for a single road!
Happy ride OMR Riders!

References:

1.http://sriramv.wordpress.com/category/chennai-madras-history/xs-real-campaign/
2.http://sriramv.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/to-mahabalipuram-91-years-ago/
3.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajiv_Gandhi_Salai

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