Ghatkopar
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Ghatkopar is a suburb of Mumbai. It is also the name of a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Central Railway line.
History
By 1916, Ghatkopar had developed sufficiently that a municipal council for Ghatkopar-Kirol was set up. The administration was in charge of a Collector with the "Suburban District". In 1945 Ghatkopar was absorbed into Greater Bombay.
This middle class suburb consists of predominantly residential and retail establishments. Within Ghatkopar are multiple areas, such as Ghatkopar (West), the area of Ghatkopar west of the railway line, Ghatkopar (East) - the area of Ghatkopar east of the railway line, Garodia Nagar - a large development developed by (and on land owned by) the Garodia family, Pant Nagar, Rajawadi.
The major private elementary schools in Ghatkopar include North Bombay Welfare Society High School (Ghatkopar West), Fatima High School (in the border area with Vidyavihar), Gurukul High School (Ghatkopar East), Garodia High School (Garodia Nagar), Ramji Assar High School (Ghatkopar East). The major college in Ghatkopar is the Somaiya family of colleges (Arts, Science, Management, Engineering and Medicine). In addition, the suburb is served by atleast three Municipal schools.
Ghatkopar is in the N ward of Mumbai (previously referred to as Bombay) municipality. There is a large Gujarati speaking population in Ghatkopar and the suburb is often referred to as mini-Gujarat. Rajawadi, Pant Nagar have large Marathi speaking populations. Garodia Nagar is diverse. Areas of Ghatkopar West bordering the neighboring Vikhroli suburb have a large Muslim population.
The suburb is well connected to all major portions of the city. Major roads in this suburb are 60 ft Road (RB Mehta Marg), 90 ft Road, Bombay-Agra Road, Amar Mahal Road. Ghatkopar is a stop for slow local trains as well as most fast local trains on the Central line of the Mumbai suburban network. The station is equipped to handle 12-car local trains. There are 2 Ghatkopar locals which originate from Ghatkopar in the morning.
Crime in Ghatkopar consists primarily of petty theft and crime statistics generally are on the lower end of the spectrum for the Greater Mumbai area. However in recent years, Ghatkopar has been disproportionately targetted and affected by sectarian violence.