Nochima and the NAD Area: A Short Local History

Ashraf Gents Hostel

Key facts

The Naval Armament Depot, Aluva was inaugurated on 19 September 1958 by Vice Admiral R. D. Katari, the first Indian Chief of the Naval Staff, according to the Indian Navy.
Nochima is listed by Wikipedia as one of the localities of Edathala grama panchayat in Aluva taluk.
India Post data lists PIN 683563 as the Naval Armament Depot – Aluva sub post office, in the Alwaye postal division.
On OpenStreetMap, the nearest Nochima schools to the NAD signal are SGTS Vidyaniketan (about 975 m north) and the Government High School (about 1.1 km east).
About 2.5 hectares of NAD land were identified for the Seaport–Airport Road’s second phase, according to an October 2025 NBM&CW report.

Exterior of the Ashraf Gents Hostel building on NAD Road, Kalamassery. See all hostel photos

Before the depot

There is little published history of Nochima itself. Wikipedia lists it among the localities of Edathala grama panchayat, alongside Kuzhikkattukara, Manalimukku and others. The wider Edathala area has older stories, such as the battle at Padamattam told in our Edathala history. We could not find the origin of the name *Nochima*, or a date for when its houses and lanes first appeared, so we leave those questions open rather than guess.

1958: the Navy arrives

The defining event came on 19 September 1958. According to the Indian Navy, the Naval Armament Depot, Aluva, NAD (A), was inaugurated that day by Vice Admiral R. D. Katari, the first Indian to head the Navy. The Navy says it began as a storage depot and grew into a full armament depot handling storage, repair and maintenance. It marked its diamond jubilee in 2018 with a technical exposition. Its name now covers the whole area: NAD Road, NAD Junction, the NAD signal, the NAD Lower Primary School and a post office, *Naval Armament Depot – Aluva*, PIN 683563.

Depot staff needed housing, schools and shops, which helps explain why homes spread along the road. The Navy also brought a central school: see Kendriya Vidyalaya NAD Aluva. We have not found records of how many families settled here, or when, so we do not put numbers on that growth.

The depot is a restricted defence area. Do not photograph its gates or fences or fly drones nearby. Everything on this page comes from public sources.

What stands here now (OpenStreetMap)

OpenStreetMap, a volunteer map, shows the neighbourhood as it is today. Distances below are straight-line from the NAD signal.

Place	Type	Distance and direction
Asha Deepam Rehabilitation Special School	School	about 310 m north-west
St Mary’s Church, Nochima	Church	about 350 m south-east
NAD Lower Primary School	School	about 410 m west
KMJ Public School	School	about 500 m east
Sacred Heart Church	Church	about 670 m east
Kuzhikkattukara Muslim Juma Masjid	Mosque	about 780 m east
SGTS Vidyaniketan Nochima	School	about 975 m north
Government High School, Nochima	School	about 1.1 km east
Government Upper Primary School	School	about 1.1 km east
Ilafath Public School	School	about 1.2 km north-west

Wikipedia’s Edathala entry lists a Swamy Gopalananda Theertha Saraswathy Vidyanikethan among the panchayat’s schools. That is very likely the school OpenStreetMap labels “SGTS Vidyaniketan Nochima”, but we have not confirmed it. Bus stops on the mapped network include NAD Signal, Pullalikkara, Chaleppally, Shanthigiri and one called Ayudha Vihar. *Ayudha* means weapon in Malayalam, which may point to the depot, though we found no record of how it got its name.

Timeline

Date	What happened	Source
19 September 1958	Naval Armament Depot, Aluva inaugurated by Vice Admiral R. D. Katari	Indian Navy
2018	NAD marks its diamond jubilee with a technical exposition	Indian Navy
2011	Edathala panchayat, which includes Nochima, counts 77,811 people	Wikipedia: Edathala
21 October 2025	About 2.5 ha of NAD land identified for the Seaport–Airport Road’s second phase; HMT land handed over to the road corporation	NBM&CW
October 2026	Schools, churches and mosques mapped within about 1.2 km of the signal	OpenStreetMap

A neighbourhood between two local bodies

The NAD signal also sits on an administrative seam. Nochima and the lanes to the north and east belong to Edathala grama panchayat. The streets running back towards Kalamassery town fall in Kalamassery municipality, which became a municipality on 1 April 1990 according to its own history. The postal map follows neither line: the depot’s post office belongs to India Post’s Alwaye division, which is why so many addresses here end in “Aluva”. Our PIN code history explains that split.

Religious buildings are among the oldest fixed points. St Mary’s Church at Nochima, the Sacred Heart Church, and the mosques at Kuzhikkattukara and Kunnathery are all mapped within about 1.2 km. We found no dated founding records for them online, so we have not given any; parish and mosque committees are the best source for those dates.

The next change: a road through NAD Junction

The second phase of the Seaport–Airport Road is planned to run from HMT Road via NAD Junction towards Mahilalayam and the airport road. NBM&CW reported on 21 October 2025 that 2.4967 hectares of NAD land, for which the state allotted ₹32.26 crore, and 1.6352 hectares of HMT land were involved. The HMT portion was being transferred to the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala. The same report notes that the road’s first phase, 11.3 km from Irumpanam to Kalamassery, was completed in 2003. Our Seaport–Airport Road history follows the project’s three decades.

Why this history matters near the NAD signal

Much of daily life here still follows from 1958: the road names, the PIN, the quiet stretches beside long boundary walls. Ashraf Gents Hostel is right at the signal, at Ashraf house, NAD Road. It offers twin-sharing rooms for men, mostly on monthly terms, with daily stays on request. You can see the photos or call +91 90746 23855. Related reading: Nochima guide, what’s near the NAD signal, the NAD depot and the Kalamassery history archive.

Frequently asked questions

When did the Naval Armament Depot open?

On 19 September 1958, according to the Indian Navy. It was inaugurated by Vice Admiral R. D. Katari.

Which local body is Nochima in?

Wikipedia lists Nochima as a locality of Edathala grama panchayat in Aluva taluk. Ward details for a particular house are best checked with the panchayat.

Where does the name Nochima come from?

We could not find a sourced explanation, so we do not offer one.

Which schools are near the NAD signal?

OpenStreetMap maps NAD Lower Primary School, KMJ Public School, SGTS Vidyaniketan Nochima and Government High School, Nochima within about 1.1 km, among others.

Sources

Facts about Ashraf Gents Hostel come from the hostel’s own profile and photos; rates are indicative and confirmed on the call. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. How we write these guides: editorial notes. Map embeds © Google.

Cite this guide: Ashraf Gents Hostel. “Nochima and the NAD Area: A Short Local History.” Published 8 October 2026. https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/nochima-and-nad-area-history/ Plain-text (Markdown) version · quoting with a link back is welcome.