Saturday, February 28, 2009

Jai Ho!

NGO helps Gurgaon slum kids realise dreams

From a ragpicker to the Slumdog Millionaire, Jamal Malik, played by Dev Patel, is on an Oscar high. One thousand miles away from Kodak Theatre, a little over 100 ragpickers, living in shanties behind the DLF Phase V, are trying to live the same dream.
An NGO, Edwell, is making their dreams possible. The NGO has launched Chauraha, an adult education programme, for these slum kids. “We started these classes last week and children have already learnt alphabets of both English and Hindi. We wish to bring these kids more innovative ways of teaching and better infrastructure,” says Vivek Tyagi, CEO of Edwell.
“This is a 40-day capsule programme and after this we will arm the children and women of the slums with vocational training. Children can learn candle-making and instead of ragpicking can do much constructive work,” says RC Vidyarthi, Head Project Development & Planning, Edwell. “Ragpicking in Gurgaon is a huge business and these children are its mainstay. They set out in the morning to collect garbage from different parts of town and then they sort it out here. The waste is then exported for recycling,” he adds.
“Chauraha owes its success to its unique pedagogy and production design that has an interesting mix of fiction, animation, puppetry and narratives,” says Tyagi. Edwell plans to involve the women and children of the slums in the production of smokeless fuel (briquetted fuel) to be used in an improved version of Chullha (twin stove) for cooking, water boiling and room heating.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

BREAKING NEWS: Tata Motors announces the launch of Tata Nano

Nano Mein Sapna

Tata Motors today announced that the much-awaited Tata Nano will be launched at a function in Mumbai on March 23, 2009.
The cars will be on display at Tata Motors dealerships from the first week of April 2009. Bookings will commence from the second week of April 2009.
Since its unveiling on January 10, 2008, the Tata Nano has evoked an unprecedented interest in the country, with its website having recorded over 30 million hits in the past one year and the creation of over 6,000 interest groups and communities.
Tata Motors is making arrangements for the widest possible network to book the car, so that prospective customers can conveniently avail of booking facilities at their locations, across the length and breadth of India. The booking process and other details will be announced on March 23, 2009.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Grave problem for Sector 28 residents


None of the cities in India have come up so soon than Millennium city of Gurgaon. While all sectors are seeing a phenomenal growth rate in terms of occupancy, sector 28 which is just a stone’s throw away from the posh DLF market Galleria looks like a desert. Located in the heart of Gurgaon, there are around 350 plots in the sector and only 25-30 families have built their houses here since it came into existence in 2003.
Its nemesis lies on the presence of a cremation ground on plot numbers 324,325 and 326. This is a classic case of the great urban-rural divide in the country. Villagers are up in arms against the sector 28 residents. The residents feel threatened so much that they refuse to come in front of camera or mention names in the story.
The residents received a rude shock on Valentine’s Day as Gurgaon MLA Dharamvir Gabba inaugurated the crematorium with much fanfare. “The villagers encroached on HUDA’s land earmarked for building houses and built the cremation ground here,” says an RWA official of sector 28.
“Authorities are turning a blind eye to our plea. Forget about us, the cremation ground is clearly visible from Delhi Public School’s primary section. Think about the children studying there,” says another resident.
Sector 27 located opposite 28 has more than 50 per cent occupancy. The rates in sector 27 too are higher by Rs 10,000 per square yard. “Nobody is ready to buy a plot here despite the land rate being so low. It’s Rs 35,000-38,000 per square yard here,” says a resident.
And much to the chagrin of residents, even during “correction” time the rate across the road in DLF area anywhere between Rs 60,000-75,000 per square yard.

Construction delay worries DLF investors

Buyers are worried after the news spread that DLF has stalled construction of its much-hyped project DLF New Town Heights in Sector 90. However, a statement issued by DLF says, “DLF has not stalled, deferred or put on hold any project where we have made commitments with our customers, including DLF New Town Heights and Express Greens in New Gurgaon. Commitment of DLF remains unchanged and we will put all required resources to deliver the projects on time.”
Naveen Chaudhary, a resident of Princeton Estate in DLF Phase V, says, “I have made 50 per cent payment for my flat. DLF had promised us possession within three years. One year has already passed, but only basic excavation work is done on the site. There is no way that DLF can build this in two years now. Last week I went to the site I saw only a few machines and no workers.”
Delhi resident Sachin Jain, a CA by profession, bought a flat in New Town Heights for Rs 44 lakh. After two months he received a call from DLF that he had been allotted a flat in Sector 86. “I gave them the allotment amount and submitted three installments. When I was supposed to sign the buyer’s agreement I was told that the price was raised by Rs 5.78 lakh. When I protested, DLF officials told me they will reimburse the money but will deduct Rs 7 lakh,” Sachin says.
Sachin Jain has paid 35 per cent of the money. Now the company has asked him to deposit the rest of the amount. “Only a board stands at that place. Construction hasn’t started on the plot in Sector 86. The DLF is asking me to pay installments in time and if I don’t they will charge 18 per cent interest,” he says.
“DLF New Town Heights was launched in Q4 of last fiscal. It took us a few months to get necessary approvals to commence work, and since then we have already completed the excavation/foundation work. It should be noted that 24-storey buildings require a significant work below the ground, which takes time,” Sanjey Roy, Sr General Manager, Corporate Communications, DLF Ltd, says.
However, a few of the investors hope the construction giant completes the project in the remaining two years. A group of investors are meeting DLF officials in Delhi on Saturday.

No slowin’ down, house that!

The unending euphoria of realty sector witnessed during the last few years is finally showing signs of recession. But even in times of downturn, Tata Housing, which launched a project in Gurgaon last year, assured its investors that the company was committed to the construction, execution and delivery of its project, Raisina Residency.
Reaching out to its customers, Tata Housing Development Company, Managing Director, Brotin Banerjee, said, “With the slowdown impacting industries across, the realty sector is going through a bad phase with nervous consumers avoiding high value purchases. The biggest concern for any buyer is the transparency in dealings, credibility and reliability of the developer and the deadline.
“We, at Tata Housing, are committed to make landmark projects in terms of quality with timely construction, execution and delivery, even in these difficult times. Our entire team is dedicated to safeguard the trust of our customers and we will deliver the product as scheduled,” he said.
Raisina Residency is a premium and exclusive residential complex in Gurgaon inspired by the theme of ‘art and culture’. It is scheduled to be completed by June 2011. Last year, Tata Housing signed Kapil Dev as its brand ambassador. The premium apartments are priced over Rs 1 crore and are being built in Sector-59 on Golf Course Road.

Udyog Vihar's traffic nightmare to end soon

Authorities are planning to connect Udyog Vihar, Phase-5, to NH-8 from here.

Office-goers in Udyog Vihar are a harried lot as for all the phases, there is only one entry/exit road connected to Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway. However, there's another potholed, unmetalled bumpy road that takes commuters from Udyog Vihar towards Old Gurgaon or Kapashera border, but nobody prefer using it.
A factory owner, on condition of anonymity, said, “When we bought plots here in the early 80s, we were told that it would be one of the best industrial townships in the country. However in the last 25 years, as new Gurgaon developed, Udyog Vihar took a beating and its decline is inversely proportional to the rise of new Gurgaon."
Going to Udyog Vihar or returning from here can be commuters’ worst nightmare. "You see mixed traffic here. From cycle rickshaws to Mercedes Benz, all ply on these two-lane roads. We don’t even invite our foreign guests to show them the office or factories. We meet them in swanky hotels of NCR,” he adds.
But there’s a ray of hope for the office crowd now. Satendar Gupta, DCP (Traffic), said, “We have proposed that the road leading from Udyog Vihar, Phase-5, should be connected to NH-8. However, the toll agency can put a barrier there to collect toll as the exit point is little further than the Toll Plaza. This will ease traffic problems of Udyog Vihar.”
However, the proposal seems to be in paper only and will take little time as DS Constructions haven’t received the proposal from traffic cops yet. Sachin Sharma, Vice President DS Constructions Ltd, said, “We haven’t received any such proposal from traffic police until now.”

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Millennium Outsourcing

If you’ve ever wondered where the nation’s outsourcing hub gets its service industry from, just take a look at the nearest village

Aya Nagar Village is just one kilometre from Gurgaon

For India, Gurgaon is synonymous with outsourcing. International companies from all over the world outsource their business here. But where does the Millennium city outsource its service industry from? The answer does not lie in the high-rises that have come up in the city. Instead, it lies in small one- or two-bedroom houses in the villages surrounding the city. The entire population of these border villages caters to the needs of the city’s high and mighty.
Take Aya Nagar, a small village located barely a kilometer from the Gurgaon border on the MG Road. Nearly 15,000 youngsters from the village work as drivers, parking attendants or in the city’s numerous malls. And it’s not just the boys. The village girls, who, earlier, used to married off at an early age, are now working as salesgirls or trolley assistants in the malls. Nobody even thinks of marrying them off soon these days, claims a local resident.

The Millennium City of Gurgaon

Gurgaon’s affluence has brought prosperity to surrounding villages like Aya Nagar, Chakkarpur, Ghitorni and Nathupura (in the city). “There are many villagers who are working as drivers for DLF residents. In fact, most of them drive to work in their own cars. It’s not that they need the money. They do these jobs to keep themselves busy. Otherwise they might turn to crime,” says Ved Pal, a former NSUI national vice-president and an Aya Nagar resident.
The villagers have built complexes with one-bedroom apartments which they rent out to people working in Gurgaon. Instead of paying Gurgaon’s exorbitant rent rates, people working in the city’s service industry get these one-bedroom apartments for as low as Rs 1,200 to Rs 2,500 per month.

Manoj earns just Rs 8,500 per month as a driver, but drives to work in his own car.

Manoj, an Aya Nagar resident in his early 30s, works as a driver in Gurgaon. He drives to work in his own Maruti Zen. “I earn Rs 8,500 per month. Half of that is spent on fuel for my car every month. But I don’t work for money. Work keeps me busy. About 10 years ago, most of our village youngsters had no work and had taken to criminal activities. With work keeping everybody busy, the crime rate in our village has also gone down,” he says.
“For us, Gurgaon is our capital city. Delhi doesn’t help us in any way. It’s only due to Gurgaon that prosperity has come to villages bordering Gurgaon. Earlier, people from our village used to either have government jobs or used to work in fields and were in the milk business. Everything has changed with the turn of Millennium. The younger generation hates to see their wives and mothers working in fields or milching cows. Villagers here aren’t worried about any recession or meltdown. The village’s economy hasn’t been affected,” adds Ved Pal.

Ved Pal, former National VP of NSUI and a village leader

It’s not just the villagers who are prospering. The influence of the Millennium City with its high-rise designer buildings is very easily visible in these villages. “People from Gurgaon’s service industry have bought land here and are building houses. They have become a part of the social fabric of these villages,” says Om Prakash, a property dealer in the village.
And with new houses being built, the village now has a cosmopolitan outlook. The marketplace all along the village’s roads is bustling with activity. There’s stiff competition between Darjeeling Kitchen, a Chinese food joint, and the local halwai. The village roads which, till a decade ago, saw only bullock carts and the occasional DTC bus, now see call centre cabs burning rubber on them every five minutes.
“More than a lakh people catering to Gurgaon’s high and mighty live in these villages. Almost all people working in factories in Udyog Vihar are residents of this village. About 20 years ago, we used to rue that we are not strategically located and that our village would suffer in terms of development. But with Gurgaon’s rapid development, the village is on a high now,” says Om Prakash.

‘Driving beyond NH-8 is a war-like experience’

Life on the Gurgaon Expressway is moving in the fast lane. Driving seems to be a smooth affair on NH-8. But for Gurgaon residents, life comes to a standstill when they get off the NH-8. They get busy handling the clutch and brake pedals of their vehicles. And for this bumpy experience one doesn’t need to go far away from the Expressway. Just drive through the numerous tunnel-like passes if you want to cross NH-8.
“It’s a war-like experience if you drive here. It’s utter chaos with animals and people driving in the wrong lane,” Sunil Yash Kalra, a DLF resident, said.The NH-8 literally divides the Old and New Gurgaon.
“Below NH-8 flyovers, one can see the amalgamation of modern transport system and the slow moving rural modes of transportation. This mixed transport system is a bane for the urban Gurgaon residents,” Mukul Oberoi, who works with an MNC here, said.
"Absence of traffic cops adds to the woes of the commuter. Cops are present at bigger crossings like Iffco and Hero Honda. For small crossings, traffic marshals of DS Constructions are present who can hardly handle traffic,” Pooja Khan, a Gurgaon resident, said.
The situation, however, looks grim as cops say there is shortage of staff. “We have limited traffic cops. We prefer places where the need is more. Once we have more cops, other places will be taken care of. For other things related with NH-8, we have talked to DS Constructions and they assured us that they will improve things as and when pointed out to them,” Satender Gupta, DCP, Traffic, Gurgaon, said.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

TIME TRAVEL

A museum in Gurgaon will transport its visitors, in a time machine, to the way things were before flyovers, expressways and high-rises

A heritage transport museum near Manesar will play host to vintage and classic cars, and take Gurgaon residents back to the way things were in the 19th century. And prominent collector and Chief Operating Officer of Delhi's Le Meridien, Tarun Thakral, is the man responsible for this journey into a time machine.
This project, with an estimated cost of Rs 50 million, will commence next month and is expected to be completed by November this year. “The museum will let you travel through time. Each section will be devoted to an era. If you are strolling through early 1900s, the paraphernalia and ambience around the vehicles displayed in that section would correspond to that of the year 1900,” Thakral explains.
“It’s a pre-fabricated construction and will be built within three months. However, the work on the museum will take a bit longer. I have almost finalised on the curator,” he adds.
The museum will showcase India’s transportation history and display mixed modes of transport from the bygone eras including bullock carts, camel carts, palanquins, horse carriages, cycle rickshaws, bicycles, manually-pulled carts, trams, buses, vintage cars, railways, aircrafts right up to Metro Rail.
It will trace the evolution of the transportation system in India right from the early 19th century and display more than 75 cars from 1929 to present, mostly from the hotelier’s personal collection. It will also boast of a beautifully restored 1930 Royal Rail Saloon, as well as some old aircrafts.
“The aim is to collect and preserve automobiles and other modes of transportation for future generations and to tell the story of their impact on Indian society. The museum aims to depict a social history of the way we were, the way we are now and the way of the future,” says Thakral.

Located on Bilaspur-Taoru Road off NH-8, the museum will be spread over a three-acre plot with a total indoor display area of 40,000 sq ft. It will also have library, cafeteria, lounge, office, souvenir shop covering an area of 18,500 sq ft. In fact, the museum could be an ideal venue for future car launches or even a shooting venue for Bollywood films.