Facts, Figures and Trivia    
                   
 

Population : 18 million, projected to reach 28.5 million by 2020
Location : Mumbai lies on the western coast of India, in Maharashtra state
Longitude : 18.96°N Latitude 72.82°E
Climate : Summer-35°Cto23°C Winter-29°Cto19°C Monsoon - between June and Sept, annual rain 2,200 mm
Best time to visit : October – February
Airport : Sahar/Chhatrapati Shivaji International Air Port and Santacruz Domestic Airport
Railway : Station Bombay Central Railway Station (Western Railway) Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Formerly Victoria Terminus)
Intra-city Transportation : Mumbai Suburban Railway, BEST buses, Taxis, Auto rickshaws, Ferry Services.
Language Spoken : English, Hindi, Marathi,
Electricity : 220Volts; 50 Hz
Religion : Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Jainism and Buddhism
STD Code : 022
ISD Code : +91 22
Time Zone : 5:30 hrs ahead of GMT

1. The name Bombay was derived from Bom Bahia (The Good Bay), a name given by Portuguese sailor Francis Almeida, in 1508.

2. It took 60 years to merge the seven islands of Bombay into one landmass between 1784 and 1845.

3. Mumbai's first ever meteorological observatory was built in Colaba in 1826.

4. The original Walkeshwar Temple was destroyed by the Portuguese, but was rebuilt by Rama Kamath in 1715.

5. The wooden pole in the centre of the Banganga Tank in Mumbai signifies the centre of the earth. Legend has it that Lord Ram created the tank by piercing the earth with his arrow.

6. The 2nd governor of Bombay, Gerald Aungier, was behind its development into a major centre of commerce.

7. The city's first church - the St Thomas Cathedral - was built at Horniman Circle in 1718.

8. The first post office in Bombay was opened in 1832 at the residence of the junior magistrate of police at Byculla.

9. Sir Henry Bartle Frere became the first Governor of Bombay under the rule of the Queen in 1862.

10. The Flora Fountain was built in 1864 by the Agri-Horticultural Society of Western India from a donation by Cursetjee Fardoonjee Parekh.

11. Bombay University was founded in 1857 at the Town Hall, and was shifted to the new complex near Oval Maidan in 1874.

12. The Stearns & Kittredge company was given permission in 1874 to start Bombay's first tram service with a fleet of 900 horses.

13. The first trams in Bombay started in 1874, between Parel and Colaba, and were drawn by teams of six to eight horses.

14. The first inter-city railway was built between Bombay and Surat, and was completed in 1864.

15. The Great Indian Peninsular Railway laid the first rail tracks in India between Thane and Bombay.

16. The Hanging Gardens at Malabar Hill was built over three reservoirs which can store up to 300 million gallons of water.

17. The Lumiere brothers introduced Motion Pictures to India with six soundless short films at Bombay's Watson's Hotel in 1896.

18. The General Post Office, completed in 1909, has its impressive dome modelled after the Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur.
19. The first bus in Mumbai ran from Afghan Church to Crawford Market on July 15, 1926.

20. The famous architect George Wittet designed several landmark buildings in Mumbai, including the Prince of Wales Museum and the Gateway of India.

21. The Gateway of India, with a maximum height of 83 feet, was completed in 1924 with a cost of Rs 21 lakh.

22. The last British troops to leave India, the First Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, passed through the Gateway of India in a ceremony on February 28, 1948.

23. India's first cricket club, Orient, was founded in Bombay in 1848.

24. Former English cricket captain Douglas Jardine of Bodyline fame was born in Malabar Hill, Mumbai, in 1900.

25. Nobel Laureate Rudyard Kipling who wrote Kim and The Jungle Book was born in Mumbai.

26. The Asiatic Library, formerly known as the town hall, has a collection of 800,000 antique volumes including a first edition copy of Dante’s “Divine Comedy”. There is also a priceless collection of ancient coins; among them is a rare gold mohur which belonged to Akbar, the Mughal Emperor.

27. When a person travels towards Mumbai, he can see a milestone stating ‘Mumbai 35 Kms’, but where is ‘Mumbai Zero Kms’? It is at Flora Fountain.

28. The Quit India Movement was launched by Gandhiji in Mumbai in 1942 from Gowalia Tank. It is now called August Kranti Maidan.

29. The Kolis who settled during the British rule used to call the islands "Mumba" after Mumbadevi, the Hindu deity to whom a temple is dedicated at Bhuleshwar. Mumbai refers to 'Mumba' and 'aai' (mother)

30. There are 14 platforms inside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, earlier called Victoria Terminus.

31. There is an original portrait of former US President Abraham Lincoln at the Prince of Wales Museum.

32. The simple tiffin carriers, 'Dabbawallas', have become famous for their efficiency with Forbes business magazine giving them a Six Sigma rating. They are so efficient that their delivery method has been made into a case study at the Havard Business School.

33. Mumbai singlehandedly handles about 25% of the domestic and 38% of the international air passenger traffic in the country.

34. Mumbai's suburban rail systems carry a total of 2.2 billion passengers every year. Incidentally, the world's population is 6 billion.

 
 
 
     
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