Chembur

Chembur is a suburb in eastern Mumbai, India. It is 22 km from downtown Mumbai and 20 km from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

Etymology

The name Chembur is probably derived from the word “Chimboree” which means "Large Crab" in Marathi.

History

Before reclamation, Chembur lay on the north-western corner of Trombay Island. It is suggested that Chembur is the same place referred to as Saimur by the Arab writers (915–1137), Sibor in Cosmas Indicopleustes (535), Chemula in the Kanheri cave inscriptions (300–500), Symulla by the author of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (247), Symulla or Timulla by Ptolemy (150), and perhaps even Perimula by Pliny (A.D. 77). This is however disputed and is also said to be a reference to Chevul at the mouth of the Kundalika River on mainland Maharashtra. Later the area occupied is said to have occupied a branch of an animal home.

The Bombay Presidency Golf Club was established in 1827 and was later re-built to meet international standards. No further activity was seen until the Kurla-Chembur single railway line was built in 1906 for garbage trains. The line was opened to passenger traffic in 1924. After construction activity in the 1920s, Chembur was finally opened up in the 1930s. It was made part of Greater Bombay in 1945.