Villivakkam

Villivakkam is a neighbourhood of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is served by the Villivakkam railway station on the Chennai Central–Arakkonam suburban section. Villivakkam is the largest state assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu in terms of number of voters.

Etymology
The real name of Villivakkam is Vilvaaranyam. An old Shiva temple here is built by Sage Agasthiyar and there are many vilvam (bael) trees here, hence it earned the name Vilva Aaranyam, which means the "jungle of bael trees". As time passed, the name changed into Villivakkam.

Road
Villivakkam has a bus terminus which is located off Konnur High Road. Jawaharlal Nehru Road and Konnur High Road are the arterial roads encompassing Villivakkam. The construction of the long pending Villivakkam Subway was started on 4 December 2007 and was inaugurated on 19 June 2012. The 447.50-m-long subway built at a cost of ₹ 390 million, would also have a bicycle lane of 2.5 m width.

Rail
Chennai suburban railway station at Villivakkam is between the segment of Chennai Central and Arakkonam Junction, and 10 km from Central, there are suburban services to Chennai Central, Chennai Beach, Velachery, Ambattur, Avadi, Pattabiram, Tiruvallur, Arakkonam and Ponneri. The link from Chennai to Arakkonam junction is the oldest railway line in South India.

Politics
Villivakkam is the largest state assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu in terms of number of voters. The Villivakkam constituency covers an area from Annanagar in south to Madavaram in north and from Ayanavaram in east to Korattur in west.

Schools

 * St. John's Matriculation Higher Secondary School
 * Shri Krishnaswamy Matriculation Higher Secondary School
 * Padma Sarangapani Matriculation School
 * Padma Sarangapani Junior School
 * Our Lady of Velankanni Matriculation Higher Secondary School
 * Singaram Pillai Girls' Higher Secondary School
 * Singaram pillay higher secondary school
 * Government Girls Higher secondary School
 * Kanakadurga Telugu Higher Secondary School
 * John Williams Matriculation School
 * Almonds Play School
 * Kids International Playschool & Preschool
 * KRM Public School
 * Bharatha Vidhyalaya Matric School

Cinema Theaters

 * AGS Cinemas
 * Nathamuni Cinemas
 * Ganga Cinemas

Health Care

 * Cauvery Trust Hospital
 * Faith Multispeciality Hospital
 * Niranjana Hospital and Well Women Centre
 * Life care DKJ Hospital
 * WCF Hospital
 * RK Hospital
 * M.R.H 24 Hours Medical Health Care
 * Sree Krishna ENT Care
 * Swamy Eye Clinic
 * Vigneshwara Eye Clinic
 * PK Dental Care
 * A.S.K. Dental Clinic

Religious Places
Temples:
 * Sri Sowmia Damodara Perumal Devasthanam
 * Sri Anjaneyar Swamy Temple
 * Arulmigu Sri Agatheeswarar Temple
 * Arulmigu Sri Ayyappa Temple
 * Shirdi Sai Baba Temple
 * Sri Devi Angalaparameshwari Amman Temple
 * Kalyana Subramania Swamy Temple
 * Karumari Amman Temple
 * Varasakthi Vinayagar Temple (Rajaji Nagar 4th street)
 * Elangaliamman Temple
 * Shri Kamatchi Amman Temple
 * Sri Baliamman Temple

Mosques:
 * Masjid-E Rahmaniah
 * Masjid-e-Noor
 * Anjuman E Mohammedi Masjid
 * Masjid-e-Maqthab Nooriyah

Churches:
 * Peniel Evangelical Church
 * Blessing Centre AG Church
 * Velankanni Madha Church
 * E.C.I. Villivakkam Church
 * Chennai Telugu Baptist Church
 * St Stephens Church
 * Philadelphia Fellowship Church
 * Evangelical Church Of India E.C.I Villivakkam Church
 * T.E.L.C Arputhanathar Church
 * Shekinah Abundant Life church
 * The Salvation army church Villivakkam

Grocery Market
Villivakkam market is one of the famous market around the neighborhood of Villivakkam which located near Villivakkam Railway Station. The market is running from the British period with the expansion of over 12000 sq.ft. It is one of the oldest markets in Chennai.

Local Newsletters
In Villivakkam, a weekly local newsletter named "Villivakkam Times" is issued.