New Town Kolkata [Archive]

studdmanster

August 26th, 2010, 06:13 AM

Source: TNN

Come October, Rajarhat New Town will be rechristened Jyoti Basu Nagar. The children’s park here will also be named after the country’s longest-serving chief minister. Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) plans to celebrate the naming ceremony of the township -- close to Salt Lake aka Bidhannagar named after Basu’s senior and former CM Bidhan Chandra Roy -- with various cultural programmes through the month.
“We will install a statue of Jyoti Basu at the new township. Chief minister Buddadeb Bhattacharjee will be present on the occasion,” said state housing minister Gautam Deb, who has reportedly sent an invite to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with a request to lay the foundation stone of the business hub, Dalhousie.
“We want the PM to lay the foundation stone for the project. Many senior central government officials will be present on the occasion,” said Deb, who also planned to invite railway minister Mamata Banerjee even as she had stayed away from a similar programme at New Town earlier.
Announcing Rs 250 crore for Metro to share the cost of setting up a tube network up to Rajarhat, the minister added, “We will give land for free and also inform Banerjee about it.”
Upbeat about Infosys chairman NR Narayana Murthy seeking a presence at New Town, Deb said, “Murthy had positive talks with the CM and state IT minister Debes Das. Infosys officials saw the land and wanted to know how much floor area ratio (FAR) they could get. We will give them the best deal because the CM too is keen on having Infosys in the state,” Deb said.
With plans of a government school, college and hospital in the new township, he added, “We have allotted 20 acre to SSKM hospital for setting up its new campus. We will also try and get a hospital here along the lines of AIIMS with the help of Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.”
With 20,000 flats reportedly ready for an inauguration on September 6, the minister said, “We have requested Banerjee to hand over the keys to the occupants, but a reply from her is still awaited. We had also invited Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, but he conveyed his inability to come.” This apart, there will be 10,000 new flats for the lower income group, of which 5,000 flats will be reserved for landlosers.
Deb took the opportunity to clear the controversy over distribution of plots to individuals under Hidco chairman and special quotas.
“We have so far distributed 296 plots to individuals and cooperatives under the chairman’s quota and 184 plots under the special quota. Transparency has been maintained in the entire process,” the minister added.

Suncity

August 30th, 2010, 04:31 AM

Tata Primo

More info in this thread (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=960270)

Render from www.tatahousing.com website

http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/6648/tatahousingprimolkolkat.jpg (http://img818.imageshack.us/i/tatahousingprimolkolkat.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

Suncity

August 30th, 2010, 04:35 AM

Shrachi Epicentre (future)

Render from http://www.shrachi.com/bengalshrachi/residential/epicentre/index.htm

http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/4462/epicentreshrachi.jpg (http://img841.imageshack.us/i/epicentreshrachi.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

No thread in SSC India yet.

adakshi

August 30th, 2010, 05:04 PM

Nice updates

sourav2010

August 31st, 2010, 06:41 AM

Very nice updates...

Suncity

September 4th, 2010, 03:11 AM

Bengal DCL's Shree

photo copyright Abhishek Sadhya

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/4253/bengaldclabhishek.jpg (http://img72.imageshack.us/i/bengaldclabhishek.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

highrise-kolkata

September 4th, 2010, 04:57 AM

Hidco’s free gift to rlys: Metro land
Housing Corporation To Pay 250 Cr For Metro Project, Hand Over 12-Km Rajarhat Land

Kolkata: Housing minister Gautam Deb has been complaining repeatedly that railway minister Mamata Banerjee was not cooperating with the Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) over certain development projects. Now, Deb has played a masterstroke that is certain to cause discomfort in the opposition ranks.
Mamata Banerjee had earlier proposed to extend the Metro alignment through Rajarhat up to the airport. To assist the railways, Hidco will not only pay the railway authorities 250 crore, but also hand over the entire land, stretching over 12 km, in Rajarhat New Town to the railway ministry completely free of cost.
Deb, who is also the Hidco chairman, said they were preparing documents to submit a letter in this regard to the railway ministry. “We will soon send a letter informing them about our decision. We will also talk to the railway board chairman on this issue. Under the railway minister’s proposal, it will be a huge project that will cost over 1,000 crore. To help them execute the project, Hidco will hand them 250 crore. Also, the entire land required for the project will be given to the railways free of cost. It will stretch over 12 km, from Sector V to the airport,” Deb said.
The Hidco authorities are now working on surveying the area and measuring the land to find out a proper alignment through which the Metro route could be proposed.
Deb has been repeatedly complaining over Mamata’s non-cooperation in implementing development projects in Rajarhat. “We will give them several acres of land free of cost for the proposed Metro extension project. But unfortunately, Mamata herself has not been cooperating with us. A section of the Trinamool Congress has been creating problems for us in installing only four electric towers at Chhapna mouza, which will supply power to a large area in Rajarhat. Apart from that, they have also been creating trouble for Hidco in finding suitable land for setting up a solid waste management project in Rajarhat. Even Mamata has not replied to my repeated invites to attend the programme in which we will hand over the keys to hundreds of families in the mass housing project,” Deb complained.
Though the Rajarhat Township plan had been conceptualised a long time back, the Hidco authorities had kept provisions for a Metro alignment to pass beneath the township for better communication. Earlier, it had even been proposed that the under-construction East-West Metro would move through Rajarhat but the alignment was curtailed till Wipro junction in Sector V to curtail the project cost.
“Apart from the huge population the township will house once it comes up fully, there will be an enormous floating population because besides being a business and financial hub, Rajarhat will have malls, shopping complexes, multiplexes, hospitals, schools and colleges. For this, a Metro alignment will be needed in the near future,” explained a Hidco town planner.
PIL alleges land irregularities
Kolkata: A PIL was filed in Calcutta high court on Friday against alleged irregularities in the distribution of land in Rajarhat by Hidco.
Ramaprosad Sarkar, the petitioner, alleged that while allotting plots from his quota, Hidco chairman Goutam Deb had violated the HC’s direction in respect of plot allotment in Salt Lake from the CM’s quota.
The petitioner said allegations of favouritism have been raised against Deb in allotting plots from his quota and prayed for an injunction restraining Hidco from handing over plots under the chairman’s quota. The matter is likely to be heard next Friday.

rupakd

September 6th, 2010, 09:03 AM

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/7266/13112168.png (http://img340.imageshack.us/i/13112168.png/)

ssinha50

September 13th, 2010, 01:36 AM

This is a nice forum! I have booked a flat in Akankha Krishnachura in 2005. As you know, there is no show for the flat. When I ask Bengal shelter for a status, I get a spreadsheet describing the progress of the work.
Would like to know the real status for the flat delivery. Do you know when they are giving possession? Do they have water, electricity and sewerage permission? Dont believe in electric supply by a generator. Why did this bengal shelter build the towers without the infrastructure permits in first place? Is this a joke? what were they thinking? That somebody will come with a magic wand and reward them with all the permits. Never ever heard a builder group (at least in this magnitude) who built a big complex like Akankha without infrastructure permits. This is compeltely insane. How did they get the permit for the building?
I have put 90% money down in the development. Now I dont have money to buy another flat. If I knew earlier in the development, I could have pursued anotherr flat without depositing money here. Now I dont have money, Dont have a flat either. I need a place for my family members who are goign to college in kolkata. Also I need a place to stay during my visit to Kolkata. I am so frustrated with Bengal Shelter's leadership and management.

Can any of you give me the new mayor's email address (Mr. cahtterjee)?
I have written amnay many letters to Gautam Deb. Its a big mystry what happens to these letters.
Does anyone care there?

studdmanster

October 4th, 2010, 09:41 AM

New town is now being decorated like a bride. Roads are being cleaned and relaid, lampposts have been erected with lights off course, even before the roads are being constructed!, the medians are being painted, so are the tree trunks, lane markings are being relaid, as there are just few days before the 'naamkaran' ceremony. Even the street lights have been repainted! A multiple bump, like those near Chinarpark, has also been made just at end of sec-5.
The barren land, near the crossing from where one can enter towards Infospace, has been taken up as a place for the ceremony to be taken place. Huge structure has been erected, along with many other things. The huge lake that is located near ONGC green building is also been decorated with lamposts and lights!...it seems HIDCO is spending huge for this function!

Samrat

October 25th, 2010, 01:40 PM

"Bhagoban ei mahilake ektu subuddhi dao"

Mamata’s Rajarhat punch ready for Deb
source: The Telegraph 25.10.2010

Calcutta, Oct. 24: Mamata Banerjee today announced a land protest in Rajarhat, Calcutta’s upcoming hotspot where housing minister Gautam Deb is seen as trying to match her flag-off frenzy with a project blitz.

The railway minister will lead a march of farmers in Rajarhat on November 13 to protest allegedly forcible land acquisition and denial of compensation relating to the New Town project and other plans.

“Over 25,000 farmers will participate in a padayatra on November 13 to protest forcible acquisition of their land. Many of the farmers have been denied compensation. I will have to help them get justice,” Mamata said this afternoon at her Kalighat residence before leaving for Delhi.

An official of the Housing Infrastructure Development Company (Hidco), which is developing many of the projects and comes under Deb’s department, expressed fears that the agitation might hit ongoing plans.

“Besides the proposed financial hub (announced earlier this month by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee) on 300 acres, a central business district on 500 acres and a mass housing scheme comprising 20,000 flats on 150 acres are coming up. We fear the rail minister’s agitation might affect work in these projects,” he said.

Trinamul sources said Mamata had planned the protest to corner Deb, who has tried to project her as a stumbling block for the state’s development drive. He has also complained that she hasn’t turned up for many project openings despite being invited by his department.

“Mamata’s Rajarhat march and the wider agitation will be like the ones she waged in Singur and Nandigram. It is aimed at exposing the housing minister. She is unhappy at the way Deb is out to scuttle her efforts to score over the Left by flagging off rail projects,” a Trinamul general secretary said.

Other leaders said the large turnout for yesterday’s march by the railway minister to demand the withdrawal of joint forces from Maoist-hit areas had spurred the Rajarhat offensive.

“The entire area from Bidhan Nagar to Beliaghata (through which the march was held) is represented by CPM MLAs Rupa Bagchi and Manab Mukherjee, the state minister for tourism. A large turnout at yesterday’s rally was indicative of our steady consolidation in the CPM bastion,” said Trinamul president Subrata Bakshi.

Asked to react to Mamata’s agitation, Deb said: “The rail minister is most welcome in Rajarhat. I have tried to bring Mamata twice to flag off my programmes there. Now she is coming here on her own. If she calls me to the talks table to address the problems of farmers, I would be glad to attend. At least, this would send a message that the Opposition and the government should work in tandem for development.”

niljee

October 27th, 2010, 07:40 AM

China's Wuhan city wants to invest in Kolkata

Kolkata, Oct 26 (IANS) A delegation from China's Wuhan city Tuesday evinced interest in investing in the New Town area that is being developed near Rajarhat in Kolkata's north eastern fringes.

'We are interested in developing a manufacturing hub to produce building materials in the New town area,' said Yang Guocheng, deputy secretary General of Wuhan municipal government and the leader of the visiting delegation.

The delegation signed an agreement of friendship and cooperation with the Bharat Chamber of Commerce to promote trade between Kolkata and Wuhan.

Built on a public-private-partnership model, the New Town commercial-cum-residential township has a large concentration of Information Technology companies.

Capital of Hubei province, Wuhan is the most populous city in central China. Its major industries includes optic-electronic, automobile manufacturing, steel manufacturing, new pharmaceutical sector, biology engineering and environmental protection.

rupakd

October 29th, 2010, 07:39 AM

An 'Anandabazar Patrika' Report:

Bangladesh would like to open consulate in New Town on a 6.2 acre plot. In New Town, there will be a 'Deplomatic Enclave'(like Chanakyapuri in Delhi) near proposed 'International Convention Center'. Banladesh will be the first country to set up a consulate in that zone.

sidney_jec

October 29th, 2010, 07:41 AM

so will that be a second consulate in the city for bangladesh?

rupakd

October 29th, 2010, 07:44 AM

From today's TOI epaper:

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/2734/newtown.jpg (http://img638.imageshack.us/i/newtown.jpg/)

Samrat

October 29th, 2010, 10:10 AM

so will that be a second consulate in the city for bangladesh?

IMO the old one will be shifted to the new address as nowhere in the world there are two consulates in one city from a particular country.

Suncity

October 30th, 2010, 02:47 PM

photos copyright pattuswetha

1
http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/5204/newtownpattuswethakolka.jpg (http://img638.imageshack.us/i/newtownpattuswethakolka.jpg/)

2
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/3298/kolkatanewtown2pattuswe.jpg (http://img408.imageshack.us/i/kolkatanewtown2pattuswe.jpg/)

niljee

October 30th, 2010, 05:53 PM

photos copyright pattuswetha

1
http://img638.imageshack.us/i/newtownpattuswethakolka.jpg/

2
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/3298/kolkatanewtown2pattuswe.jpg

Great pics! Thanks Suncity! The second one is of Swissotel+City Center2 I guess, but which area is the first one?

Suncity

October 30th, 2010, 06:15 PM

Great pics! Thanks Suncity! The second one is of Swissotel+City Center2 I guess, but which area is the first one?

DLF I and others - this is from sector V side.

avishar

October 30th, 2010, 06:39 PM

Wonderful pics suncity!

Rajarhat is adding density.Any chance you can get yourself a helicopter and treat us to some aerials?:)

And what is that project across the lake extreme left?(white shiny building)

Suncity

October 30th, 2010, 06:44 PM

Wonderful pics suncity!

Rajarhat is adding density.Any chance you can get yourself a helicopter and treat us to some aerials?:)

No helicopter rides.

:lol:

And what is that project across the lake extreme left?(white shiny building)

It's probably the Sythesis Business Park (http://www.shrachi.com/bengalshrachi/commercial/synthesis_businesspark/index.htm)

avishar

October 30th, 2010, 06:47 PM

Yes it is the synthesis business park.Just checked it in wikimapia.Also if you compare the pic and wikimapia a lot of construction has taken place in that area.

Suncity

October 31st, 2010, 12:39 AM

photo copyright Thorsten Schulze

<---scroll if needed--->
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/6850/newtownthorstenshulze.jpg (http://img222.imageshack.us/i/newtownthorstenshulze.jpg/)

podai2010

November 3rd, 2010, 11:03 AM

Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

South City is devloping a lot,its really great to see!!!!!!!

studdmanster

November 3rd, 2010, 06:29 PM

^^^SOUTH CITY?????????

Samrat

November 11th, 2010, 12:49 PM

^^^SOUTH CITY?????????

Its Rajarhat New Town, Kolkata(which is east of Salt Lake) and the buildings in the foreground are "Rosedale Garden" and "Unitech Heights" under construction(now topped out)

SamitB

November 14th, 2010, 08:15 AM

Deb offensive with Metro land offer

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee may have gone on the offensive over the land acquisition issue at ERajarhat on Saturday,but Hidco chairman and housing minister Gautam Deb was ready with his trump card.
Deb said he had extended his help to the railway minister with a proposal,saying that they are ready to pay 250 crore and hand over land stretching over 12 km free to the railways for the proposed Metro Railway project over Rajarhat.The housing minister,however,added that the railways had not yet responded to this proposal.
We will give them 250 crore and will also hand over the entire land free for the Metro project.The proposal has already been placed to them and we are ready to hand over the land and the money.But we are yet to get any reply from them.It is their project and we have decided to extend our cooperation to it, said Deb.Earlier,when Mamata decided to hold a public rally at Rajarhat,the housing minister had said that the Trinamool leader was very much welcome to come to Rajarhat.
According to the railway ministers proposal,it will be a huge project that will cost over 1,000 crore.To help the railways to execute the project,Hidco has decided to pay a fourth of the project cost.Also,the entire land required for the project will be given to the railways free of cost for their convenience.It will stretch over 12km from Sector V to the airport.Hidco authorities had kept a provision since a long time back to have a Metro alignment through the township.Authorities are now working on surveying the area and measuring the land to find out a proper alignment through which the Metro route could be proposed.
Deb had been repeatedly complaining over Mamatas non-cooperation in implementing development projects in Rajarhat.We will be giving them several acres of land free of cost for the proposed Metro extension project,but unfortunately,Mamata herself has not been cooperating with us.She have not shown even the minimum courtesy to issue a reply to our repeated invitations or to take my phone calls, Deb complained.

footballbengali

November 14th, 2010, 09:00 PM

Video by dwaipayan02

B_Ba2Yxjlno

Suncity

November 16th, 2010, 04:14 AM

^^

Nice

Some screen prints

1) Siddha Pines (http://www.siddhapines.com/status.html) etc

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/3008/newtown1s.jpg (http://img440.imageshack.us/i/newtown1s.jpg/)

2) Greenwood Elements (http://www.shrachi.com/bengalshrachi/residential/greenwood_elements/index.htm) and Greenfield Ambition (http://www.greenfieldrealestates.com/web/ambition/index.html)
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/8652/newtown2s.jpg (http://img87.imageshack.us/i/newtown2s.jpg/)

3) Bengal Peerless Alaktika, Bengal DCL Uttara, Greenwood Sonata, Bengal Ambuja Ujjwala, Bengal Ambuja City Centre II

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5306/newtown3s.jpg (http://img255.imageshack.us/i/newtown3s.jpg/)

Suncity

November 16th, 2010, 04:23 AM

4) What's this?

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/7109/newtown4.jpg (http://img213.imageshack.us/i/newtown4.jpg/)

5) Bengal Shrachi - Synthesis Business Park

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/2899/newtown5s.jpg (http://img87.imageshack.us/i/newtown5s.jpg/)

6) Sunrise Greens (http://www.surekaproperties.com/proj_resi_greens.html) and Bengal Shrachi Greenwood Park Extension

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/2240/newtown6s.jpg (http://img190.imageshack.us/i/newtown6s.jpg/)

7) Sankalpa

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/5456/newtown7s.jpg (http://img508.imageshack.us/i/newtown7s.jpg/)

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/4973/newtown8.jpg (http://img7.imageshack.us/i/newtown8.jpg/)

Suncity

November 16th, 2010, 04:26 AM

8) NBCC Vibgyor

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/1535/newtown9s.jpg (http://img844.imageshack.us/i/newtown9s.jpg/)

9) Sanjeeva Town, Ideal Villas and Sanjeeva Town Duplex

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/9639/newtown10s.jpg (http://img577.imageshack.us/i/newtown10s.jpg/)

rupakd

November 16th, 2010, 05:31 AM

[QUOTE=Suncity;67201595]4) What's this?

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/7109/newtown4.jpg (http://img213.imageshack.us/i/newtown4.jpg/)

Looks like a Metro Station.....:)

SarafIndian

November 16th, 2010, 06:34 AM

^^ OMG!! Those are some amazing photos sun.. :cheers:

arijeetb

November 16th, 2010, 11:11 AM

[QUOTE=Suncity;67201595]4) What's this?

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/7109/newtown4.jpg (http://img213.imageshack.us/i/newtown4.jpg/)

Looks like a Metro Station.....:)

:lol: It could be part of the unitech convention center but not sure

avishar

November 16th, 2010, 03:00 PM

@Suncity I have taken the liberty to edit the pics a bit,thank you for the screen shots!:cheers:

Xanadu is a high end project
http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/821/newea.jpg

Lots of construction along the far edge,Hiland Woods is just outside the pic.Greenfield and greenwood in the foreground.
http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/8652/newtown2s.jpg

New PS group project in the foregroud.
http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/2240/newtown6s.jpg

avishar

November 16th, 2010, 03:33 PM

To the bottow right hand corner of this pic is the NOVOTEL hotel(not in the pic).The Terminus mall is the silver building.
http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/5456/newtown7s.jpg

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/1535/newtown9s.jpg

sabya99

November 17th, 2010, 01:11 AM

The growth of New Town is impressive. At this state I dont think didi will be able to dismantle this township. It will be wise for her to stay away from New Town. It is different from Singur!

ayan92

November 19th, 2010, 01:50 PM

holy cows... that is kolkata???:eek2:
I think Im wasting my time here in mysore....

ayan92

November 19th, 2010, 01:56 PM

holy cows....

speaking about cows, even they should be happily munching whatever they get, knowing the fact that their habitat (city) is actually so GOOD.....
MOOOO...

gmcust3

November 22nd, 2010, 04:44 AM

Anyone have any Words on Bellagio Project ?

Planning to Book One...

SarafIndian

November 23rd, 2010, 02:54 AM

Probably old photos..

Photo cc banerjeemoutushi @picasaweb

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/4492/1003720.jpg

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/3976/1003721l.jpg

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/4505/1003696f.jpg

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/327/1003697b.jpg

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/5343/1003705m.jpg

http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/5274/1003700.jpg

rupakd

November 25th, 2010, 06:29 AM

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/5035/hidco.jpg (http://img221.imageshack.us/i/hidco.jpg/)

footballbengali

November 27th, 2010, 10:00 PM

Source: Daylife
http://www.daylife.com/search/photos/1/grid?q=kolkata

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0fej30Xc0G4Kf/610x.jpg

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0aX97NM40x10L/610x.jpg

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/03jH5mx5WLd8P/610x.jpg

avishar

November 27th, 2010, 11:25 PM

Nice pics there,looks like the flyover is coming along well
That Sankalpa housing project in the last pic.Looks unique from that angle.

The last pic kinda reminds me of gurgaon,noida except ofcourse the yellow ambi:)

debayanlahiri

November 29th, 2010, 06:27 AM

Nice pics there,looks like the flyover is coming along well

I do not know whether u'll agree or not, but the elevation of the flyover looks faulty to me! I believe we would have required a longer and a bigger flyover in the region, considering that its the main arterial road connecting New Town to Salt Lake..

rupakd

November 29th, 2010, 06:40 AM

4 years on, IIT still waiting for Hidco land

Four years ago, the state government had given 10 acres to the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, for its second campus. But the institute has not been able to put up the boundary wall till now as it has not been given possession of the land by Hidco, the housing and infrastructure agency that is developing Rajarhat as a township.
Apparently, the plot that had been allotted to IIT-Kgp has a path through it, which is used by locals, who have reportedly blocked the handover of the land. According to the agreement between the institute and Hidco, the latter would handover the land after walling it. But even after repeated reminders from the institute, Hidco has done little. Presently, with its go-slow policy on land takeover, Hidco is reportedly not willing to push the case too much to avoid another land-related controversy.
“We are in trouble as the Union human resources development ministry had allotted funds to us long back to develop the new campus. We might be asked to return the funds because of this delay,” said AN Majumdar, the deputy director of the institute.
A lot of excitement was generated in 2006, when the land was allotted to the institute. IIT-Kgp had even drawn up a blueprint for the land.
Though regular postgraduate tech programmes will be there, this is not to be its focal area. The institute authorities want the campus to have advanced laboratories, run incubation programmes and become an industry hub which will attract international and national industries to set up their R&D infrastructure here. It shall also be a nodal centre for the larger technology parks being set up around the institute in Kharagpur.
“The Kolkata campus shall be mandated to promote an inter-disciplinary structure to incubation programmes, multi-disciplinary academic programmes, advanced research and development activities. We will also have some PG programmes in the emerging areas. But all this can start only if we get possession of the
land!” said PP Chakraborty, dean of the institute’s sponsored research initiatives, who is in charge of drawing up the plans for the new campus.
“We are looking at helping tech professionals who already have a basic degree and do not need to stay on the campus for a full-time programme,” Chakraborty added.
The multi-disciplinary areas being targeted include Information Technology, VLSI & Embedded Systems, Media and Communication Technologies, Information Assurance and Security, Urban and Regional Informatics, Human Resources Management and Business Administration, and, Bio-Informatics. TNN

avishar

November 29th, 2010, 02:54 PM

It really rankles when funds are there,the intent to do something and the state has to again mess it up.This IIT campus would be important to attract more R&D centres of companies.
They should fast tract land allotment or allot them new land.Mr Buddhadeb will go around bending over backwards to get Infosys into the state but this is as prestigious and important a project!!Silly babus!

@debalahiri i agree with you,that flyover looks more like trafffic hump!

SarafIndian

November 30th, 2010, 04:55 AM

Nice photos :cheers:

Source: Daylife
http://www.daylife.com/search/photos/1/grid?q=kolkata

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0fej30Xc0G4Kf/610x.jpg

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0aX97NM40x10L/610x.jpg

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/03jH5mx5WLd8P/610x.jpg

SarafIndian

December 2nd, 2010, 06:19 AM

www.daylife.com

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/1740/610xyo.jpg

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/732/610xwy.jpg

Suncity

December 4th, 2010, 02:39 AM

Novotel?

photo copyright amitsrkr

http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/2506/sankalpa2.jpg (http://img819.imageshack.us/i/sankalpa2.jpg/)

studdmanster

December 4th, 2010, 04:37 AM

^^yup!!!

avishar

December 4th, 2010, 05:30 PM

Novotel seems to be following this earlier render.If it stays true to this design this will be one of the best looking hotels in India

http://img547.imageshack.us/img547/1338/novotelkolkata09.jpg

Suncity

December 6th, 2010, 02:27 AM

After violent agitations by activists based on unverified claims of "400" acres of supposed disputed land in Singur, half truths are now being planted through the media about New Town. This time it is 25,000 acres in New Town and 2.5 lakh families.

The proposed New Town is not more than 40 sq kms. That is less than 10,000 acres of land. And anyway that is the proposed area.

The population of Rajarhat Gopalpur area as per 2001 census was about 270,000. So the number of affected families cannot be 250000 (which means more than 1 million people!).

The problem is when a lie is repeated many times, people will start thinking it is the truth.

Mamata Banerjee alleges land scam

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/West-Bengal-Mamata-Banerjee-alleges-land-scam-LF-worried/articleshow/7050584.cms

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s threat to launch an agitation on the lines of Singur and Nandigram against what she claimed was a land scam at Rajarhat, a township near Kolkata, has left the state government jittery.

Three weeks ago, Banerjee had said, “Land scams have taken place in a big way at Rajarhat where CPM-led Left Front government had forcibly acquired acres after acres by torturing farmers. It is time now that I launch agitation here the way I spearheaded movements at Singur, Nandigram and Suchpur to uphold farmers’ rights,” during a rally of party workers and farmers at Rajarhat. “Land scams will be probed case by case if Trinamool Congress comes to power in the next assembly polls in the state. This (Left Front) government should be nailed for speculating on land.”

Claiming that 25,000 acres had been forcibly acquired at Rajarhat for the new town project by torturing farmers, she said her party had received complaints from 2.5 lakh families, some of whom had not yet received compensation.

gentem

December 7th, 2010, 06:58 AM

Wasteland awaits IT login (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101207/jsp/calcutta/story_13217449.jsp)
OUR BUREAU
Spot the plot: land without infrastructure for Infy and Wipro
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101207/images/07metit2.jpg
Farmland as far as the eye can see beyond the action area
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101207/images/07metit9.jpg
Piles of sand but no sign of construction activity
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101207/images/07metit10.jpg
A dirt road runs through the last stretch of the allotted acres
Pictures by Bishwarup Dutta

Bengal has again blurred the line between a promise and a pipe dream, banking on land deals with IT behemoths Wipro and Infosys to transform gloom town Rajarhat into a boom town without bothering about basic infrastructure.

“A plot of land is not all that you need to set up a large IT project. You need infrastructure first,” a senior industry official said, echoing all-round scepticism about housing minister and Hidco chairman Gautam Deb’s claim that all is well in Rajarhat-New Town.

Metro visited the Infosys acres in Action Area II after Deb’s news conference announcing the deal, only to find the area still resembling a wasteland.

The 100-odd acres, located around 10km from Technopolis, have no infrastructure worth the name for Infosys, Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services to even contemplate starting their proposed projects in the near future.

Azim Premji’s Wipro had set an 18-month deadline for work to start on its second campus, but a year has passed without a brick being laid. Officials of the IT department admitted that the fault lay with the government, which inked the land deals but failed to back them up with infrastructure.

“Both Infosys and Wipro are eager to start operating from the state as soon as possible. We need to work on a war footing if we are to get the requisite infrastructure ready for them,” said an official.

Although the Bengal government insists that Infosys has “urgently asked for land”, confusing signals emerged from the company’s Bangalore headquarters. Chief executive officer S. Gopalakrishnan said the company wanted to start work in six months, but officials who did not wish to be named insisted that the deal signed last month was “just to keep an option open for the future”.

Even if the IT biggies fast-track their proposed projects, a plethora of infrastructure problems await them. The most obvious drawback is power, or the lack of it.

A Hidco official blamed “unwarranted resistance” from land owners in Chhapna Mouza of Patharghata panchayat — Metro has reported several instances of villagers chasing away workers, trying to install three high-tension electricity poles, to protest the low land price — for the delay in providing power to action areas II and III.

“Unless we manage to end the impasse, no project can start in action areas II and III,” said a Hidco official.

The operations head of a top IT company with an office in Sector V said the government should have resolved such intrinsic issues before seeking investment in Rajarhat-New Town.

“Power and telecom connectivity are something that IT companies cannot do without from construction to operation,” he said.

Action areas II and III also lack sewers and water pipelines because 30 families living in the nearby Baliguri Mouza have been preventing Hidco from undertaking any work. Their grouse is that the government acquired land from them at nominal prices years ago and is now allotting these plots to IT companies for “huge amounts of money”.

With Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamul Congress fanning the flames, chances of a breakthrough before the Assembly elections appear remote.

The only development in the area since Wipro picked up a 50-acre parcel of land last December is the construction of a motorable road leading to the IT plots.

The road, supposed to be a six-lane expressway, now has four lanes till the 100-acre Uniworld housing project by Unitech. It is a two-lane road thereafter that ends near the Wipro plot.

From when do you think Infosys and Wipro can start operating in New Town? Tell ttmetro@abpmail.com
proximity to airport is a good infrastructure indeed..

Suncity

December 7th, 2010, 07:16 AM

^^

X-posting from my Kolkata project post

The Telegraph Infosys coverage; Looks like the Telegraph is pissed off about its sources constantly giving it bad quality information.

:nuts:

The Telegraph, June 5, 2010 (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100605/jsp/frontpage/story_12532104.jsp) -

Infosys has no plans to come to Bengal “at least in the next six years”, an official said today, preparing for a change of guard in the state and factoring in the possibility of political instability.

“We have no plans to go there at least in the next six years. We are not saying it officially but that’s the position,” the Infosys official said on the condition of anonymity.

Express Buzz, November 23, 2010 (http://expressbuzz.com/finance/infosys-to-set-up-50-acre-campus-in-kolkata/225456.html).

IT major Infosys Technologies Tuesday signed an agreement with the West Bengal government for setting up a campus on a 50-acre plot at Rajarhat in the city's north eastern fringes that is expected to provide employment to 15,000-20,000 people.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the IT giant and the state's Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) for the site, said state Housing Minister Gautam Deb.

The Telegraph, November 24, 2010 (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101124/jsp/frontpage/story_13214853.jsp)

"Sources in Infosys told The Telegraph that the company was yet to firm up any project plan for the plot, which was acquired “just to keep an option open for future expansions”."

Economic Times, December 6, 2010: (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/Infosys-to-construct-facility-in-WB-in-six-months-/articleshow/7053060.cms)

IT major Infosys will begin construction of its first facility in West Bengal at New Town Rajarhat adjacent to the metropolis within six months and does not foresee any problem from opposition political parties opposed to land acquisition .

"We are for creating employment opportunity in the state as well as in the region. We are not in any politics," CEO and MD Kris Gopalakrishnan said here today.

"The Infosys facility will come on over 50 acre it received from the West Bengal government to create employment opportunity for nearly 20,000 people," he said.

The Telegraph, December 7, 2010 (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101207/jsp/calcutta/story_13217449.jsp)

Bengal has again blurred the line between a promise and a pipe dream, banking on land deals with IT behemoths Wipro and Infosys to transform gloom town Rajarhat into a boom town without bothering about basic infrastructure.

“A plot of land is not all that you need to set up a large IT project. You need infrastructure first,” a senior industry official said, echoing all-round scepticism about housing minister and Hidco chairman Gautam Deb’s claim that all is well in Rajarhat-New Town.

Officials who did not wish to be named insisted that the deal signed last month was “just to keep an option open for the future”.

SamitB

December 7th, 2010, 07:21 AM

Think, TT is not happy about the hope of development in Rajarhat.

Suncity

December 7th, 2010, 07:36 AM

Think, TT is not happy about the hope of development in Rajarhat.

Nowadays it is best to assume that the media is a bad as the politicians.

Remember the Telegraph's photo of Kolkata's new Terminal?

In August, the Telegraph published this photo. Now what would a person think after seeing this photo? That new Kolkata terminal was still a big hole in the ground. Was it the full truth?

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100809/images/09zzairportbig.jpg

A few days later in the same month, ArijeetB published this photo

http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/5930/airportupdate02.jpg

SamitB

December 7th, 2010, 11:27 AM

See the headline of the news.
Wasteland awaits IT login

This is shameful journalism.
Even saltlake/kalyani were wasteland someday

niljee

December 7th, 2010, 01:21 PM

See the headline of the news.
Wasteland awaits IT login

This is shameful journalism.
Even saltlake/kalyani were wasteland someday

I guess the journalist is not aware of the state of affairs before some of the big IT parks came up in India. He can still go and check some of the upcoming parks in places like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon etc.

studdmanster

December 7th, 2010, 02:58 PM

^^these news agencies knows everything, but they print these types of news for mainly two reasons:
> for increasing sales on weekdays (TT has suhel seth for good sunday sales!)
> try to outdo their competitors!!(here, its TOI)
> also the party whom they favor, they try to censor good parts of the news, afterall its the editor who gives the final green signal!!

compared to other Indian cities, in Kolkata newsagencies are worst, both print and media!

SamitB

December 7th, 2010, 06:01 PM

I guess the journalist is not aware of the state of affairs before some of the big IT parks came up in India. He can still go and check some of the upcoming parks in places like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon etc.

How they will know the status in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon,Chennai etc?
Don't think they cover any news except political tamasha,bandhs,michhils,political narod narod in west bengal?
They have so much stupid things to cover

avishar

December 7th, 2010, 07:09 PM

Rishi Tech Tower

http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/7776/frontsidestructure.jpg

Suncity

December 8th, 2010, 01:21 AM

Today's tears about Infosys.

Telegraph and ABP are sister publications:

Today's edition of TT says:

The potholes on the way to our tech dream

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101208/jsp/calcutta/story_13272950.jsp

Infosys needs: A wide road up to its 50-acre plot from the main arterial road. Besides connectivity, the road is essential for any heavy construction.

Problem: The road to the IT hub — where Infosys and Wipro are to set up shop — was supposed to be a six-lane expressway. It is now four-lane till the 100-acre Uniworld housing project and two-lane up to the Wipro plot 2km beyond.

There is no road at all leading to the Infosys plot.

Hidco claim: “We will ensure all the infrastructure for the Infosys premises,” said an official.

Trinamul stand: Supporters of the party have so far prevented Deb-led Hidco from taking possession of the land on which the road has to be laid. “Many of those who owned the land have not accepted their compensation. They will resist any construction,” said Asok Naskar, the chief of the Patharghata gram panchayat.

Time frame: Hidco officials claim the work on the road will start within a fortnight. But none of the officials can say when they expect to finish the job.

Contractors who have worked at New Town earlier say a six-lane road till the Infosys plot will take over six months to build even without any land dispute.

Infosys needs: Uninterrupted power

Problem: Landowners in Chhapna mouza under Patharghata panchayat have refused to let Hidco install the high-tension poles essential to transmit power to Action Areas II and III.

Hidco is said to have made 16 attempts to install the towers but in vain.

Hidco claim: “We are working 24x7. We will be able to provide the power required for Infosys,” said a senior official.

Trinamul stand: “The landowners are adamant. We have tried to convince them but failed. They want more money,” said panchayat pradhan Naskar.

Time frame: The impasse is almost two years old now. With Mamata Banerjee threatening a Singur-style agitation in Rajarhat, it is anybody’s guess how much longer it will continue.

A Hidco official said: “Installing the poles will require a big crackdown by the police and the district administration. The government will not take that risk months before the elections.”

Infosys needs: Running water and sewer lines

Problem: Thirty households at Baliguri village, which own about 20 acres (1,200 cottahs), have prevented work over the past year. The families, from whom the land was acquired at Rs 13,500 a cottah in 2003, are now demanding Rs 3 lakh a cottah.

Hidco claim: “The IT sector is a priority. Hidco will do everything within its limits,” said the official.

Trinamul stand: “For two years we have resisted Hidco whenever it has tried to take possession of our land. They cannot take land for a few thousand rupees from poor farmers and sell it for crores. We won’t allow them to strike even a single nail into the land unless the poor get what they are demanding,” said Trinamul’s Naskar.

Time frame: Hidco has failed to start work in seven years. Pipes and construction material are lying in a heap in the area for over a year now.

Meanwhile the ABP reports on the same day:

* Road work going on. One kilometer stretch pending. Work is going on that stretch and a metalled road should be ready by Feb 2011 as per Hidco claims.

* Electrical substation ready. Work to give connections will be done by January 2011 as per Hidco.

* Water supply - Hidco claims it will need two months to arrange for it. ABP noted pipes and digging along the road stretch

* Drainage canal work going on along the stretch

* Housing Minister is hoping that work will be done in six months time

ABP's tone doesn't seem to be as negative or sarcastic.

niljee

December 8th, 2010, 04:42 AM

Today's tears about Infosys.

Telegraph and ABP are sister publications:

I noticed the same thing and was about to post a similar note. This is indeed funny! :)

arijeetb

December 8th, 2010, 02:54 PM

Today's tears about Infosys.

Telegraph and ABP are sister publications:

Today's edition of TT says:

The potholes on the way to our tech dream

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101208/jsp/calcutta/story_13272950.jsp

Meanwhile the ABP reports on the same day:

* Road work going on. One kilometer stretch pending. Work is going on that stretch and a metalled road should be ready by Feb 2011 as per Hidco claims.

* Electrical substation ready. Work to give connections will be done by January 2011 as per Hidco.

* Water supply - Hidco claims it will need two months to arrange for it. ABP noted pipes and digging along the road stretch

* Drainage canal work going on along the stretch

* Housing Minister is hoping that work will be done in six months time

ABP's tone doesn't seem to be as negative or sarcastic.

^^:lol: We are all gearing up for the maha bandh like agitation tomorrow. I am thinking of paying a visit around the HIDCO office and watch the fun.

avishar

December 8th, 2010, 02:56 PM

@ Suncity

I agree that reports like this are pessimistic in nature like that of TT but i thinks its needs to be reported.HIDCO is no angel too when it comes to doing what it does and you can be sure most of the babus have made a lot of money from selling land in rajarhat.

I mean look at action area 2.They apparently paid 13,500 per cottah for land to farmers.

Uniword city itself is over 100 acres thats around 6,000 cottahs.If that entire area was populated by villages, they paid 6000*13,500=8 crore for the land.

They usually sell for 1.5 crore/acre so thats 150 crores from just Uniwold land.They paid peanuts for it.Not mention other huge projects like SP Infocity,Wipro,Infosys,ELita Garden Vista,DLF housing,SP residential housing who all are in the same area.

And look at the infrastructure till date created.Practically zilch.They should have finished with infrastructure ages ago considering they must have netted around 500 crores just from selling land.

There should be uniform rate at which landowners should be compensated as a % of the price at which the land will finally be sold taking into consideration all expense for creating infrastructure.

I agree Mamato is escalating this problem by her shouting and hounding and spread false reports but none can blame HIDCO for poor planning.

On top of that we have our stupid newspapers who can never get their facts right.Newspapers are meant to show whats the ground reality of things for the enlightenment of the general public and if they do so there is nothing wrong.But i wish they would all be consistent and get their facts right.

There is not much difference between what ABP has reported and what TT has said.

For example TT has said 2 lane till wipro which is 2km beyond Uniword.ABP says of which 1 km is pending.We have no idea whether this 1 km already done is six lane or 2 lane.

And 3 months to make 1 km of lane which joy of joys is "metalled" is outrageous.

To tell you the truth,as much as i love more development in rajarhat,frankly that place hides more than what meets the eye.

arijeetb

December 8th, 2010, 02:57 PM

Rishi Tech Tower

http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/7776/frontsidestructure.jpg

^^looks ordinary compared to the surroundings:)

studdmanster

December 8th, 2010, 04:24 PM

^^dont go by the looks coz the rates wont be ordinary, as everyone wants a big share of pie!!!...;)

arijeetb

December 8th, 2010, 10:18 PM

arijeetb

December 8th, 2010, 10:22 PM

^^dont go by the looks coz the rates wont be ordinary, as everyone wants a big share of pie!!!...;)

Is it too costly to have a fully blooded glass structure rather than a ordinary looking half glass half concrete? I heard Genpact GE was also building their own campus here in addition to leasing out in Infospace. I wonder if this is the one.

SarafIndian

December 9th, 2010, 04:42 AM

Work on Wipro second campus to start soon (http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/workwipro-second-campus-to-start-soon/417627/)

BS Reporter / Kolkata December 09, 2010, 0:51 IST

India’s third largest service provider Wipro Technologies is set to begin construction on Rajarhat campus, the second in the city, ‘as quickly as possible’, said state information technology (IT) minister, Debesh Das.

Das made the announcement post a meeting Wipro chairman, Azim Premji had with West Bengal chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Premji is in Kolkata for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) board meeting.

“They [Wipro] are going to scale up operations in West Bengal in a big way now. The company currently has 6,500 employees at their Sector V campus, but the expansion capacities at the campus are limited. They have no choice but to look elsewhere,” said Das.

The Sector V campus incidentally is spread over 12 floors, with a housing capacity for 8,000 employees. India’s third richest man met the CM at Writers’ in a meeting that has been described as being largely positive given Wipro’s scaled up levels of interest in Bengal.

“The campus at Rajarhat will provide employment to about 20, 000 people. The process of infrastructure development such as approach roads is almost complete, and should be finished with a month," Das said.

Das claiming that the facilities that the state provided Wipro, were the best in India, the IT minister, referred to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) campaign in Rajarhat, stating that no industry would leave Bengal again.

TMC, it might be noted, has scaled up protests against illegal land acquisition in Rajarhat recently and is set to gherao West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (Hidco) tomorrow.

The IT minister also referred to problems with land allotment and pricing in areas such as Rajarhat. “The government cannot scale up and down prices, based on market movement”, he said.

Wipro is partnering Bengal in 40 municipal projects and is setting up the State Data Centre (SDC) in a project worth Rs 30 crore.

The SDC project is nearing completion and was also discussed at the meeting, Das revealed.

niljee

December 9th, 2010, 05:09 AM

HAPPENING TOWN
50 acres more for infotech
Suman Chakraborti | tnn

Kolkata: Following the Wipro and Infosys deals, many IT companies are making a beeline for New Town. The ‘model township and IT hub’ had fallen into a crisis of sorts because the lack of infrastructure had scared off potential residents and investors.
The entry of the two IT giants has rekindled interest in New Town.
Demand for space for setting up IT offices is rising so rapidly that the Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) has decided to further increase its reservation of land for the IT sector from 300 acres to 350 acres in Action Area-III.
Hidco managing director Saurabh Das told TOI that a decision has been taken to allot 50 more acres for IT purposes. The initial quota has nearly been exhausted. As much as 288 acre of the 300-acre IT land has already been given away to various companies.
As of now, at least 50 small IT companies are said to have already lined up to get a share of the pie at Rajarhat. Most of them require not more than two to three acres of land, say sources. However, after both Wipro and Infosys took 50 acres each, the pressure for more land reserved for IT purposes increased. More and more companies are submitting applications to Hidco, said an official.
Before the Wipro and Infosys deals were signed many companies had complained that the price of land for IT at Rajarhat was exorbitant — often as much as Rs 2.16 crore per acre. This was before the recession struck.
As of now, Hidco has handed over land to TCS, Wipro and Infosys at Rs 1.5 crore per acre. Hidco may consider lowering the price for smaller IT firms, say sources.
However, the competitive land rates on offer for IT companies are not being extended to real estate developers. Hidco has already decided that no land will be handed over to any individual developer for real estate purposes. Commercial plots will be given only to joint venture companies tying up with Hidco. Officials said a policy is being framed on how to hand over commercial plots. Earlier, Hidco had reserved around 10% of the total 8,779 acres in New Town for commercial purposes and only 3.5% for IT and IT-enabled services.
Apart from the future prospects of New Town, one of the reasons why IT companies are scouting for plots here is that there is very little space available in Sector V right now. Though around 300 cottahs (or 5 acres) of land comprising several small plots are still lying unutilized in Sector V, the urban development department has not been able to identify suitable land and start distributing to those who have requests pending for long.

studdmanster

December 9th, 2010, 06:16 AM

Is it too costly to have a fully blooded glass structure rather than a ordinary looking half glass half concrete? I heard Genpact GE was also building their own campus here in addition to leasing out in Infospace. I wonder if this is the one.

yes even i have heard so, but i wonder if the work has begun, but i dont think that Genpact would move in such a low cost building, after using DLF and Infospace!....they could rather come up with something like Cyber Greens in Gurgaon, which is also their Corporate Office!

avishar

December 9th, 2010, 04:20 PM

sidney_jec

December 9th, 2010, 04:31 PM

for the infy campus am pretty sure they would be at most double storied mansions the interiors of which would be converted into cubes.

arijeetb

December 9th, 2010, 04:40 PM

Of the 288 acres has any a list of what all companies got land?
Any renders of new buildings in the pipeline?

^^Wipro, Infy and TCS alone account for 130 acres. Additionally we have DLF 1 & 2 (~30 acres) , Infospace (46 acres), SP Infocity (50 acres), RMZ (20 acres) and several small ones such as Synthesis IT park, PS groups twin IT parks, HSBC, Genpact etc.

avishar

December 9th, 2010, 04:48 PM

^^Wipro, Infy and TCS alone account for 130 acres. Additionally we have DLF 1 & 2 (~30 acres) , Infospace (46 acres), SP Infocity (50 acres), RMZ (20 acres) and several small ones such as Synthesis IT park, PS groups twin IT parks, HSBC, Genpact etc.

Thanks arijeet,i guess this must be the PS twins?(PS IXL)

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/2724/vlcsnap2010070214h42m51.jpg

SamitB

December 10th, 2010, 07:50 AM

^^Wipro, Infy and TCS alone account for 130 acres. Additionally we have DLF 1 & 2 (~30 acres) , Infospace (46 acres), SP Infocity (50 acres), RMZ (20 acres) and several small ones such as Synthesis IT park, PS groups twin IT parks, HSBC, Genpact etc.

@Arijit
Ambuja+RMZ=40 acres right?that Ecospace project

Any update on SP Infocity,Kolkata?They have another good project (design) in Durgapur also.
I have no idea about HSBC or Genpact,please elaborate.

studdmanster

December 10th, 2010, 09:05 AM

Thanks arijeet,i guess this must be the PS twins?(PS IXL)

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/2724/vlcsnap2010070214h42m51.jpg

No, this is one of the twins, the other one is Newtown square, they are called twins coz they are coming up on side by side plot at Chinar Park in Rajarhat!!!
check the renders that were posted by me in Project Update II thread!

arijeetb

December 10th, 2010, 09:09 AM

Thanks arijeet,i guess this must be the PS twins?(PS IXL)

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/2724/vlcsnap2010070214h42m51.jpg

yes and I think both are U/C

studdmanster

December 10th, 2010, 09:10 AM

^^Wipro, Infy and TCS alone account for 130 acres. Additionally we have DLF 1 & 2 (~30 acres) , Infospace (46 acres), SP Infocity (50 acres), RMZ (20 acres) and several small ones such as Synthesis IT park, PS groups twin IT parks, HSBC, Genpact etc.

Is TCS coming up with a seperate building or r u referring to Infospace, where they have hired space?
HSBC???....they are already having plans to set up an IT park, like the Karunamayee one in Nonadanga, but not heard about Rajarhat!
Btw can u provide us any source regarding this list?

arijeetb

December 10th, 2010, 09:11 AM

No, this is one of the twins, the other one is Newtown square, they are called twins coz they are coming up on side by side plot at Chinar Park in Rajarhat!!!
check the renders that were posted by me in Project Update II thread!

^^As far as I know there are three in total - PS IXL1 , IXL2 & New Town square

studdmanster

December 10th, 2010, 09:15 AM

^^As far as I know there are three in total - PS IXL1 , IXL2 & New Town square

all the three are coming up together???...that's gr8!!!:banana:

arijeetb

December 10th, 2010, 09:16 AM

@Arijit
Ambuja+RMZ=40 acres right?that Ecospace project

Any update on SP Infocity,Kolkata?They have another good project (design) in Durgapur also.
I have no idea about HSBC or Genpact,please elaborate.

@Samit, RMZ Ecospace is on 20 acres of which 4 towers are operational. The rest should be done by the end of 2011. No construction on SP yet. I was informed thru personal sources that both Genpact and HSBC have taken up land here, not sure about the details.

While Ecospace and Infospace are taking big strides in the area leasing out to companies, the flop so far is DLF 2. Phase 1 is complete but I think there are no occupants yet. The other day I saw some guys playing cricket inside the campus

arijeetb

December 10th, 2010, 09:17 AM

Is TCS coming up with a seperate building or r u referring to Infospace, where they have hired space?
HSBC???....they are already having plans to set up an IT park, like the Karunamayee one in Nonadanga, but not heard about Rajarhat!
Btw can u provide us any source regarding this list?

^^TCS had purchased 30 acres or more in New Town way back in 2007/08.

SamitB

December 10th, 2010, 11:59 AM

@Samit, I was informed thru personal sources that both Genpact and HSBC have taken up land here, not sure about the details.
:cheers:

http://www.genpact.com/pdf/kolkatarelease.pdf
Says way back in 2005 GECIS(formerly) has taken up 3 acre plot in SEC V.

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-36511804_ITM
reported in 2008
Genpact will return 50 percent(1.5 acre) of its unutilised land in Salt Lake, Sector V, Kolkata

avishar

December 13th, 2010, 10:58 PM

All pics copyright Vineet Arora.
http://savenewtown.blogspot.com/2010/12/dawn-of-new-era-read-war.html

Synthesis Business Park
http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/9900/img1204e.jpg

Whats this?Looks like a business tower.
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/2262/img1202j.jpg

DLF Galleria?
http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/8063/img1284w.jpg

Unitech and Rosedale
http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/4008/img1218w.jpg

Tata hospital
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/6414/img1221q.jpg

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/143/img1286q.jpg

Which projects are these?
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/453/img1223xc.jpg

Souvik_N

December 14th, 2010, 09:55 AM

Nice updates there .. avishar !!!

studdmanster

December 14th, 2010, 10:15 AM

Whats this?Looks like a business tower.
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/2262/img1202j.jpg

The new hidco office, this office will serve for AAII area ( i think so!)

arijeetb

December 14th, 2010, 01:48 PM

All pics copyright Vineet Arora.

Which projects are these?
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/453/img1223xc.jpg

^^ thats the naval housing complex and Greenfield heights behind it

avishar

December 14th, 2010, 02:43 PM

Nice updates there .. avishar !!!

Not my pictures souvik,pictures were taken by forumer vineet so credit is all his.:)

@arijeet If thats the HIDCO building it looks very upscale!I like the green glass.

SamitB

December 15th, 2010, 06:49 AM

Not my pictures souvik,pictures were taken by forumer vineet so credit is all his.:)

@arijeet If thats the HIDCO building it looks very upscale!I like the green glass.

HIDCO building looks better than Synthesis Park:).

sidney_jec

December 15th, 2010, 07:07 AM

nice updates :cheers:

studdmanster

December 15th, 2010, 08:04 AM

Not my pictures souvik,pictures were taken by forumer vineet so credit is all his.:)

@arijeet If thats the HIDCO building it looks very upscale!I like the green glass.

its better to own an office building than to work from rented space, that too in a stadium!!

debayanlahiri

December 15th, 2010, 09:08 AM

The new hidco office, this office will serve for AAII area ( i think so!)

That's not the new HIDCO office. HIDCO will have its corporate office in the Synthesis Business Park itself. Behind the arch, there are two independent towers in the Synthesis Business Park (11 floors each). One of those independent towers will house the HIDCO corporate office.

You may read more at: http://www.shrachi.com/bengalshrachi/commercial/synthesis_businesspark/index.htm

debayanlahiri

December 15th, 2010, 09:10 AM

HIDCO building looks better than Synthesis Park:).

HIDCO office is a part of the Synthesis Business Park..

Souvik_N

December 15th, 2010, 09:37 AM

In yet another salvo to railway minister Mamata Banerjee who had been on a moral high for all these days opposing "forcible" land acquisition by the state government from Singur to Rajarhat, state housing minister Gautam Deb pointed to the draconian Railway (Amendment) Act 2008 that is being invoked by the railways to acquire land all over the country. The Act empowers the nominee of the railway board to take possession of the land even before hearing out the affected landowners.

"The process that we have been following under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, has to pass through several phases from the notification date. The collector has to hear the affected families, take note of their objections, if any, before acquisition. But there is no such provision in the RAA. The railways can take possession within 24 hours of serving the notice even without the knowledge of the landowner. All other will follow. We would request Mamata Banerjee to follow the Rajarhat model and repeal the act," the state housing minister said.

Prior to this, Deb presented his case, highlighting the observations of Trinamool Congress leaders Saugata Roy, Atish Sinha and Sital Sardar, who have been chairpersons of the Assembly Standing Committee on Housing. This was followed by the observations of former bureaucrat-turned-politician Debabrata Bandyopadhyay. A song by rebel Trinamool Congress MP Kabir Suman ran as the background music of the entire audio-visual presentation making it all the more significant. Later, the minister handed over a 67-page status report over Rajarhat land. "I will send a copy to Mamata Banerjee's Kalighat residence, seeking her advice or objection," he said.

The observations of the Trinamool leaders came handy to the minister to demolish the charge of forcible land acquisition by Hidco. He pointed out that the state housing board gave advertisements for direct purchase of land in 1996, to which a total of 2,142 landowners applied for handing over 988 acres.

Accusing Mamata for creating much ado about nothing over land acquisition in Rajarhat, Deb said the state government was always ready to help the railways to acquire land. "Even after the Trinamool did not let Singur happen, the chief minister, though with a broken heart, offered none other than the railway minister to set up railway factories at Singur. We have been continuously insisting on a bilateral discussion that Mamata Banerjee is not paying heed to. Why can't a meeting be held between the CM and the railway minister at Writer's Buildings? There has to be at least some dialogue between the two parties," Deb said.

He also blamed that the Trinamool was creating trouble in implementing many projects in the state. "They won't let the Jessore Road to be widened. They won't let us build a new bypass through Rajarhat. They won't let the Haldia bridge to happen. What kind of politics is this? How will it sound if I say that I won't let any of their projects to happen?" he said.

Read more: Repeal railway acquisition law: Deb - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Repeal-railway-acquisition-law-Deb/articleshow/7102080.cms#ixzz18ARi1GHU

SamitB

December 15th, 2010, 11:23 AM

HIDCO office is a part of the Synthesis Business Park..

Then what's that building?
Please let us be be informed.

banibrata

December 15th, 2010, 07:09 PM

Any news about the upcoming International Convention Centre in New Town.

sidney_jec

December 15th, 2010, 07:16 PM

wasn't it scrapped already?

arijeetb

December 15th, 2010, 10:35 PM

wasn't it scrapped already?

^^the large billboard announcing the project is still there..which gives us some hope!

Suncity

December 16th, 2010, 02:59 PM

A promotional film (so don't expect thin cows for which a certain politician's heart beats)

video by sanjaysujoy

nGRTPdpKE48

Suncity

December 16th, 2010, 02:59 PM

A promotional film (so don't expect thin cows that arouse sorrow in a certain politician's heart beats)

video by sanjaysujoy

nGRTPdpKE48

studdmanster

December 16th, 2010, 06:49 PM

^^highest tennis court in the country???????....where?

Suncity

December 17th, 2010, 03:21 AM

^^highest tennis court in the country???????....where?

Probably here (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100528/jsp/entertainment/story_12494736.jsp).

studdmanster

December 17th, 2010, 06:12 AM

^^:okay:

Suncity

December 17th, 2010, 06:27 AM

In yet another salvo to railway minister Mamata Banerjee Read more: Repeal railway acquisition law: Deb - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Repeal-railway-acquisition-law-Deb/articleshow/7102080.cms#ixzz18ARi1GHU

The videos of Mr Gautam Deb countering Miss Mamata's charges about Rajarhat. There are six parts. It is kind of interesting with him showing Miss Mamata's allegations at some meeting and then presenting his view point.

http://www.youtube.com/user/sayakdeb

Suncity

December 17th, 2010, 06:43 AM

from the videos:

Land allotted to various India Government Organizations

Airforce Naval Housing Board
Allahabad Bank
Army Welfeare Education Society
Border Security Force
Bharat Petroleum
Central Industrial Security Force
Central Reserve Police Force
Calcutta Telephones (BSNL)
Central Forensic Laboratory
Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute
Coal India
Damodar Valley Corporation
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal
Indian Oil
Indian Railway Welfare Organization
Indian Space Research Organization
Jute Manufacturing Development Council
NBCC
Narcotics Control Bureau
ONGC
Ordnance Factory
Power Grid Corporation
RITES
Atomic Energy Commission

Land to be allotted

Ministry of Textiles
Punjab National Bank
Indian Bank
Home Ministry
Indian Overseas Bank
Rashtriya Ispat Nigam
Food Corporation of India
RITES (needs more land)
National Institute of Orthopaedically Handicapped
Ferroscrap Nigam Limited
NPCC (not clear)

studdmanster

December 17th, 2010, 07:58 AM

add IRCON
out of which, only IRCON, IRWO, NBCC, and naval board flats are ready!
RITES land is near Infospace!
Btw, what in that glass kept beside gautam deb?

Suncity

December 17th, 2010, 02:18 PM

Btw, what in that glass kept beside gautam deb?

It keeps him "cool" probably.

:lol:

studdmanster

December 17th, 2010, 05:20 PM

Maal na appy????:cheers2:

Suncity

December 18th, 2010, 01:18 AM

Maal na appy????:cheers2:

Journalist ra jaanbe.

niljee

December 18th, 2010, 03:57 AM

Besu gets 11 acres at Rajarhat for second campus
TNN, Dec 18, 2010, 04.28am IST

KOLKATA: The long wait is finally over. Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu) has received 11 acre at Rajarhat from Hidco. Now, it is time to plan and design courses and departments which will come up on its second campus.

To begin with, Besu will establish an advanced medical and environment research unit as well as an incubation centre based on green building technologies. However, the university has asked for another 11 acres in New Town.

Besu vice-chancellor, Ajay Kumar Roy, said they received land from Hidco last month. "We need another plot equal in area and have requested Hidco for the same. Our plan is to set up an advanced centre where research work on medical and environment issues will be conducted," Roy said, adding, "we plan to carry out studies on molecular biology, biotechnology, cancer biology, medical instrumentation, medical imaging and early diagnostics."

Besu also plans to start

biomechanics and prosthesis design research, while collaborating with leading medical institutes and hospitals in the country for the same.

"We shall emphasise on developing oral medicine. Oral stem cell development work will also continue. A lot of neurological problems can be resolved with research in this area. With the help of dental experts in Kolkata and dental colleges, medical science will take a leap forward through research," said Ray.

Energy, mainly concerning solar photovoltaic, biomass and solar thermal research, will be the focus of the institute on the new campus. "The government has approved a green incubation centre in which green entrepreneurship cell will function. Students have already started projects on paper recycling, waste vegetable recycling and computer recycling. The green incubation centre will function on the existing Besu campus and will later be shifted to the Rajarhat campus," Ray pointed out.

In the case of nanotechnology, nano material will be developed and a research centre instituted. Nano biomaterial, holding the key to revolutionary healthcare advances, will reportedly be a major focus.

The faculty guesthouses of Besu will also be shifted to Rajarhat. "We want the research centres to function from our Rajarhat campus. Also, collaboration with industry and eminent hospitals will be much easier from there," said Ray.

studdmanster

December 18th, 2010, 05:48 AM

^^:applause:...i guess this plot will not endup like the fate of IIT KGP's plot!!

studdmanster

December 18th, 2010, 05:49 AM

Journalist ra jaanbe.

:lol:

ayan92

December 18th, 2010, 01:55 PM

^^:applause:...i guess this plot will not endup like the fate of IIT KGP's plot!!

so r u sure IITkgp isnt coming to newtown? if so, its gonna be very bad

if land could be allotted to besu, why not iit?

studdmanster

December 18th, 2010, 02:17 PM

^^Had i said that IIT kgp's not coming to r'haat? Infact 3yrs ago the land has been alloted to IIT and its also be earmarked!...but the villagers near the plot are having itches at the wrong place!...there was a path that connected the villages. Villagers cant waste their energy in detouring the path, so they are not allowing to put up boundary wall in that area, and tl that time WBHIDCO will not handover the land to IIT!:nuts:

studdmanster

December 20th, 2010, 03:05 PM

X-posted from cityscapes

On a foggy and chilled late morning, view of R'haat (this year for a change its very foggy at areas in SL, R'haat and bypass, compared to the city!)
cc: Shaun
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/6830/ogaaabm3pxmfxqjbxlclcnq.jpg

studdmanster

December 20th, 2010, 03:07 PM

again a x-post
One More, this time Skyline!(no idea about the appartments!)
cc: Shaun
http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/8057/ogaaaf8nfcf2pqe6nvj952o.jpg

avishar

December 20th, 2010, 03:20 PM

BENGAL’S ‘SHOWPIECE TOWNSHIP’ IS ALL SHOW AND MORE PAIN

What went wrong? Why did the New Town of promise fail to deliver? What lies ahead? TOI takes a trip down the dream destination that turned into a nightmare.

Seven to eight years ago, it was on everyone’s lips. Everyone wanted to own a home here. It was touted as the great success story of Brand Bengal, then the biggest ever urban township project in the country. Today, Rajarhat New Town is an island of darkness where few dare to tread.
What went wrong? Why did New Town turn into a ghost town for years? And why is it still struggling to find enough takers, both among investors and house hunters? Things are so bad that entire complexes are lying empty. A few run solely on generators. And some houses live by candles once darkness falls.
It began with so much promise. Picturesque housing complexes in idyllic
surroundings away from the madding crowd and killing pollution. Sprawling malls, giant office buildings, smooth roads and efficient civic amenities. The 8,773-acre showpiece township was to be Kolkata’s Gurgaon and offer what the crowded, unplanned city never could. Somewhere down the line, the dream turned into a nightmare.
Basic amenities like water supply and power remain irregular in large parts of Action Area-II and III where many housing complexes are coming up. Several arterial roads remain unfinished, leading to nowhere. There is no transport system worth the name. Travelling to and from here is an ordeal. It does not have a pin code. Or a police station.
Slow Torture
For residents who moved in here even as the township was taking shape, it’s been a slow and painful torture. The promised development has yet to come.
New Town is going to be more than thrice the size of Salt Lake and have a population of about 15 lakh by 2015. The government claims it will be a township the country has never seen. But if the present state of New Town is any indication, the picture is not all that encouraging.
There are only about 1-2 lakh residents in New Town now, mainly in Action Area-I (Animikha, East Enclave, Balaka, Greenwood Park, Bengal DCL housing estates) and four complexes in the vicinity of City Centre-II in Action Area-II. Tens of thousands others who have booked their flats are yet to move in.
The reason: life is simply too hard in New Town.
The general complaint is that Hidco has failed to provide civic amenities in a proper and systematic manner. “We may be living in what the authorities call a showpiece township, but we are still dependent on Salt Lake for our daily living,” is the common refrain.
Whether it’s the water that is a murky red in some areas, or the fact there is no hospital, or that everyone — from vegetable vendors to taxi drivers — would fleece you if you live there.
“Hidco is more interested in setting up malls than improving basic amenities. I don’t think things will improve a lot in the next 10 years,” said a resident of Bengal DCL complex. Till a year ago, people in Action Area-I would begin their day by staring desperately at the taps, for the thin trickle of iron-laced water that would come and vanish before you knew it. Now, there is more water, and more iron as well.
“We spend a lot of money and time on cleaning our water lines, taps, bathroom tiles and the kitchen. Everything turns a rusty red. It’s a nuisance,” said a resident of Animikha.
Water supply is erratic. Taps dry up completely, often for days on end in summer. Residents have accepted the fact that they will have to buy water. Every day begins with the rush to buy packaged water.
Amenities? None
The New Town Development Authority was set up three years ago to act as the local municipality but it is yet to start functioning properly. “What is the authority doing? We are supposed to be living in the country’s best township, but it is like living under a panchayat administration,” fumed an elderly resident.
There are no bus sheds or public toilets and virtually no transport barring the two extreme ends of the township.
Rajarhat has no hospital or healthcare centre. A few medicine shops have opened but in emergencies, residents have no option but to rush to Salt Lake. If you don’t own a car, god help you, because even in the best of times, it’s hard to find a taxi. Also, no cabby wants to come here. “Pay up 300, a taxiwallah told me at Howrah station. It’s barely 11km to my home. I face this every time but I have no choice but to pay up,” said techie Sanjay Sarangi.
Public transport is non-existent. “There are no buses to reach Howrah, Sealdah or Esplanade,” said Amalendu Bhattacharya, a senior resident. “Without a car or twowheeler of your own, life comes to a complete standstill here. And if you have a puncture along the way, even god cannot help you,” said another resident.
Even after so many years, Rajarhat is without a proper traffic management system. With more offices coming up, more vehicles are entering the township. “They often drive recklessly in the absence of a proper signalling system,” said Soumyajit Mukherjee, another local. “Every evening, schoolboys are a terror. They jump on their dad’s bikes and cars and drive wildly because there are no policemen to check them,” said Ranjan Garg, a techie who travels to New Town every day.
An unfinished sewerage and drainage system creates waterlogging every season. If 15 lakh people do move into New Town by 2015, it would be a complete disaster. The township will be stinking to hell.
Already, there are signs of the drainage system cracking under pressure. Locals say when these residential housings came up, the authorities did not bother to rectify the unevenness of the landscape. Several residential towers came up on lowland, leading to severe waterlogging in monsoon.
There are no parks or gardens, apart from the green patches inside housing complexes. Many fear that with high-rises cropping up everywhere, New Town will become another concrete jungle.
What does Hidco have to say on all this? “Initially, problems will occur. New Town has been recognized by the Centre as one of the eight satellite townships of the country and in the near future, everybody will see how it unfolds before them,” housing minister and Hidco chairman Gautam Deb said.
But then, that’s a promise being touted for a decade.

avishar

December 20th, 2010, 03:36 PM

This is downright criminal on HIDCO's part.First they spend peanuts on acquiring land from farmers and then they sell it to realtors for exorbitant rates and make tons of money and after that there is no development of infrastructure.

Somehow i always found new town to be very ill planned in a way.I really never got the logic of selling land at every corner of the town here and there sporadically so that complexes could sprout of middle of fields with nothing around them for miles.

They should have saturated action area and then moved on to the other areas in a proper and phased manner.

Also allocation of land is so hotch potch.You have a commercial structure like DLF 1 bang in the middle of residential area,shopping complexes here and there,hospitals like Tata being built beside Infospace,Uniworld city in another extreme and not to mention infosys and wipro in the wilderness

Obviously HIDCO would not have the money or inclination to provide infrastucture to all action areas at once,so why the hell are they so stupid to allow construction in those places?

And there is no "high street" as such too where normal and cheap shops,eateries,and conveniences,banks and other services could open too.These are extremely important for a success of societal living and the population cannot allways depend on expensive malls.

The biggest mistake IMO they made was not allowing the extension of the EW metro till rajarhat.

Suncity

December 20th, 2010, 07:47 PM

BENGAL’S ‘SHOWPIECE TOWNSHIP’ IS ALL SHOW AND MORE PAIN

What went wrong? Why did the New Town of promise fail to deliver? What lies ahead? TOI takes a trip down the dream destination that turned into a nightmare.

All this sounds so familiar. It reminds me of Salt Lake residents just two decades back.

Most Kolkatans didn't even understand anything about town planning or maps those days and would be running around water tanks to figure out how to go to different parts of Salt Lake. The simple numbering of blocks somehow confused everyone.

:lol:

arijeetb

December 20th, 2010, 09:50 PM

All this sounds so familiar. It reminds me of Salt Lake residents just two decades back.

Most Kolkatans didn't even understand anything about town planning or maps those days and would be running around water tanks to figure out how to go to different parts of Salt Lake. The simple numbering of blocks somehow confused everyone.

:lol:

^^TOI does it yet again! As part of this report they posted a image of a empty stretch of road in front of Infospace/Tata hospital and exclaimed Where are the vehicles?:lol: Instead of seeing how the area is coming up they are frustrated with no vehicles on the roads. Sometimes I wonder if the main opposition party is filling the TOI coffeurs for publishing such juvenile trash

Suncity

December 20th, 2010, 10:20 PM

^^TOI does not yet again! As part of this report they posted a image of a empty stretch of road in front of Infospace/Tata hospital and exclaimed Where are the vehicles?:lol: Instead of seeing how the area is coming up they are frustrated with no vehicles on the roads. Sometimes I wonder if the main opposition party is filling the TOI coffeurs for publishing such juvenile trash

Well TOI had good company in trash journalism - The Telegraph, The Statesman.. But I guess they are slightly better than the king and queen of trash journalism - Ganashakti and Bartamaan. But these are part of and parcel of India. So we have to live with them.

:lol:

Here's another piece from TOI

There are only about 1-2 lakh residents in New Town now

The margin of error in that statement seems to be pretty wide.

And what's this fascination with the word "techie" and "showpiece"?

Not to say that New Town doesn't have problems. I am sure it does have an awful lot of problems. Having lived in Salt Lake and Navi Mumbai - the growth pangs in those cities have been similar. And when I visited a new township south of Delhi a few years back, I was shocked to see the mismatch between some of the media created hype and the ground reality.

studdmanster

December 21st, 2010, 06:35 AM

debayanlahiri

December 21st, 2010, 07:27 AM

debayanlahiri

December 21st, 2010, 07:33 AM

All this sounds so familiar. It reminds me of Salt Lake residents just two decades back.

Most Kolkatans didn't even understand anything about town planning or maps those days and would be running around water tanks to figure out how to go to different parts of Salt Lake. The simple numbering of blocks somehow confused everyone.

:lol:

That's not the case. People ran around the water tanks because maps were not available on the roads! :ohno:

Even today, almost all roads in and around Kolkata do not have proper mapping! :bash: Some roads do show directions in Kolkata. But one surely needs a microscope or a magnifying glass to read them! At night, it becomes worse!

All roads should have proper mapping in a good font and size with a reflector background so that commuters get to see them even if its dark!

debayanlahiri

December 21st, 2010, 07:36 AM

studdmanster

December 21st, 2010, 02:36 PM

^^IMO these are the basic indication which should be present in a metro city like Kolkata, they could just couple of thousand bucks, send a babu to either of the remaining metro cities (off course w/o a lady) with a digicam, book a car for him, make him crisscross the city, and take snaps of the things that they use to make driving a pleasurable thing. here is my list of what they should do to ease the drivers:
> Put up overhead direction indication boards like they have in PC 7-point and bypass, maintaining a uniform font size!(they have these in chennai, mumbai and on highways). If they could spend more they can install LED Boards for these which will also give multiple infos. (have seen these in Singapore!)
> The no entry markers, One way, Parking/no parking, and et al, in glowing paint which can be viewed with car lights and yes the font size should be 20+ font size (m referring to the timing part). its unreadable even from near! these should be of International Standard.
>Once done with point 1 and 2, they should concentrate with making proper bus shelters, like they have in SL!, with of course proper Indication Boards!

Only plus point is that the lane marking in Kol Police areas are properly done!

avishar

December 21st, 2010, 02:37 PM

I know TOI's usual habit of exaggerating things but there is no escaping the fact that rajarhat has quite of lot of problems,and some of them should have been solved by now like sewage and water supply.
Most of the projects have been delayed and although most of the major projects have sold out people have not moved in.

Hopefully things will get better soon,with more people moving in infrasture will be built faster.Also with the completion the Terminus,connectivity will be solved too.

BTW TOI has come up with more rajarhat new today.Sad ones usual.There are starting a save rajarhat campaign.Really those guys cant see anything positive in kolkata.

Suncity

December 21st, 2010, 03:06 PM

^^

As of now, in India it will take ages to build a township from scratch - especially a township the size of Rajarhat. That is a fact. To speeden up things, many changes have to take place in society and the administration.

The problem with TOI / India Today types is that they make it sound as if the problems are West Bengal specific.

Like the other day I read one TOI type newspaper claiming correctly that in a certain kind of crime against women, West Bengal came at number two position in the country. They smartly forgot to mention the two other facts from the same statistical report. That when you combined all kinds of crimes against women, the state was much lower ranked. Plus the rate of crimes was also lower. Just another example of the negativity that pervades in West Bengal's rarified journalism world.

Suncity

December 21st, 2010, 03:17 PM

^^ And to add to my point, all one-way roads whould have the signs in a manner so that everybody can see them! New drivers from the suburbs often fall victim to microscopic signs and harrasment of the traffic police! Its mostly purposely kept in a manner to confuse people, whereas the intent should be to guide people!

People just need to learn how to use road maps. Now the fact that good handy road maps of Kolkata are not available easily despite the city housing a central government agency which specializes in maps is a different story.

Many people just get onto a car and assume that some chaiwala or paanwala or parar rockbajra will give you guidance. And those who use buses or trains only need to know the station or terminus or stand and then ask the rickshawala.

I am often amazed at how people who have lived for ages in Kolkata do not know the major roads and offices in the city. But that could be the effect of living in a big city.

Major roads in core Kolkata and areas like Salt Lake are pretty easy.

There is obviously a need to improve signages and one way direction indicators.

They should probably start officially naming major roads and streets in Kolkata with numbers and publicize those numbers. BT Road, APC Roy Road, AJC Roy Road (NS Section), Gariahat Road, SC Mallick Road could by City Avenue 0.

And Park Circus Connector (JB Haldane) - AJC Bose Road (ew section) Second Hooghly, Kona Expressway could be City Street 0.

Then divide into four quadrants and start the numbering.

But I am sure people in Kolkata will protest that it will be confusing.

I don't know how naming Metro stations after mahamanabs and manishis is not confusing.

:lol:

avishar

December 21st, 2010, 04:35 PM

avishar

December 21st, 2010, 04:43 PM

Some more TOI articles

It was touted to be Bengal's answer to Gurgaon, but the biggest ever satellite township project in the country is powerless literally against the glitzy Haryana precinct. Rajarhat may boast a number of glitzy apartments and highrises, but a number of them, unbelievably, still have no access to electricity supply.

The housing complexes surrounding City Centre-II at Rajarhat's Action Area-III did not have any power supply to start with. The handful of residents who had started staying there had to use lanterns after nightfall. A year and a half ago, when City Centre-II came up, the Hidco authorities managed to supply power to these housing complexes to avoid embarrassment, but there is still no regular supply in a lot of areas in Action Area-II and III.

"There are still some flats where electricity is yet to reach," said a resident of Bengal DCL complex, where power connection was provided only a year and a half ago. "This is one of the many reasons why many flatowners are still to shift here."

Rajarhat New Town has been recognised by the Centre as one of the eight satellite townships of the country. However, one of the major areas of concern for the Hidco authorities is to provide power to all the Action Areas.

The problem lies in the ongoing agitation by the Trinamool Congress over installing four high-tension transmission towers at Chhapna mouza. The Trinamool-backed Krisi Jomi o Jibika Bachao committee has been complaining that Hidco has been trying to forcefully acquire the land for the project. On the other hand, Hidco has been repeatedly declaring that it had acquired the land long back.

Until the towers are erected, power connection simply cannot be provided to a large area in Action Area-II, where several important IT offices such as Wipro and IBM's second campus, the first Infosys office, hospitals such as the Tata Cancer Hospital and other residential and commercial complexes are coming up.

Under the present circumstances, Hidco officials can only hope for the stalemate to end soon. "We had acquired the land in 2006 and paid the district collector Rs 7.5 crore as compensation. Power supply to a huge area depends on these towers that will connect the 132-KV sub-station with the 220-KV sub-station at Akandakeshori mouza," an official said.

Hidco is also looking at alternative options, like power from renewable energy. "The plan is to frame a green power concept for the township so that renewable energies could be developed," an official said.

Once the township which is slated to be three times bigger than neighbouring Salt Lake comes up, there will be a huge demand for power. With a population of about 20 lakh, including a floating population of more than five lakh, and a business and financial hub that will include several IT and other office and commercial complexes apart from the numerous malls and multiplexes that are already coming up scheduled to come up, the demand for electricity will be huge. Taking into account the present power scenario of the state, there will be a huge power deficit if alternative arrangements are not made.

TMC at fault here.

WASTE STINK
New Town: Going under mountains of garbage?
Suman Chakraborti | TNN

Rajarhat New Town will be a township that will be three times bigger than its neighbouring Salt Lake, and with many multistoreyed residential complexes, commercial centres, malls and other institutes, it is anybody’s guess as to the amount of waste that will be generated here on a daily basis.
The civic authorities of Salt Lake are facing an uphill task to dispose of their waste at the Mollar bheri dumping ground, which has already become exhausted. In the case of Rajarhat, the problem would be more acute. If a waste disposal ground is not identified soon, waste disposal will go out of control. By a moderate estimate, several hundred tonnes of waste will be generated daily from the township once it is fully functional.
Residents complain that garbage and other wastes are now getting dumped on vacant plots near highrises. “All waste is getting dumped on the open grounds. With some IT offices already coming up here, hundreds of IT executive have their food at the roadside eateries and the plastic papers and other materials are being thrown into the open grounds, creating a complete mess. The problem is that the Hidco authorities have been failing to clean away this waste, accumulated daily,” said local resident Animesh Dutta. In some places, plastic and other waste is already getting into the open sewer and drains, choking them.
Hidco chairman and housing minister Gautam Deb has been complaining that a suitable spot for setting up a dumping ground has been identified, but a section of locals, backed by Trinamool Congress, was creating all sorts of problems
in starting work on the project. “We have identified a huge area near Bhangor where a solid waste management ground could be set up for disposal and recycling, but Trinamool is creating problems in starting work,” he said.
Officials said that they were conducting surveys to identify other areas that could be used as solid waste dumping grounds. “Once the township fully comes up, there would be enormous daily generation of solid waste. We will require a systematic solid waste management plan that will effectively collect all waste from the township and put into a recycling plant, from where we can produce fertilizers. We are discussing this issue with the environment department,” said an official. Already, the Centre has assured of providing 80% of funds assistance to Hidco to implement a solid waste management project.

Oh hello,TMC again.

If you are on Rajarhat Main Arterial Road, you never know what will happen. Whether the schoolboy on a sportsbike will cut across you. Or if the two speed junkies speeding up behind you will sandwich you in their adrenaline-charged chase. Or if the ramshackle autorickshaw bump into your shiny new car just for the heck of it.

If any of this happens, there is no use standing in the middle of the road and screaming. Because there aren't any policemen around to hear you.

With a projected population of 15 lakh and another 5 lakh floating dwellers, New Town is set to be one of the busiest townships in the country but there is hardly a policing system to match. Hidco keeps claiming now and then that they are working on several plans to develop the traffic and policing system, but things are yet to take shape.

The 15-km-long arterial road that connects Sector-V with VIP Road near the airport crossing through the heart of New Town has already become an accident prone corridor. Several fatal accidents have occurred due to reckless driving and lack of policing. Residents complain that strangely, there has been little or no effort from North 24-Parganas police.

"With vehicles rushing in at breakneck speed, it is dangerous to cross the road," said Kausik Majumder, a New Town resident who travels to the city every day. To make things worse, some link roads that connect the housing apartments are without streetlights. Many vehicles are parked illegally on both sides of the lanes, triggering traffic congestion

"It's a total chaos on weekdays. Imagine what will happen when more IT complexes come up. It will be a nightmare," said Samir Kumar Mitra, a resident of Greenwood Park housing complex.

Residents don't feel safe leaving the security of their complexes. For years, there was just one police outpost when the plan was to have five police stations. The first and only police station recently came up in Action Area-I.

"Once you step out of the housing complex after dark, anything can happen. There is no police patrol anywhere. Anybody can rob you on the road," said Ashis Banerjee, a local resident.

A middle-aged woman said she was accosted by armed men on bikes while she was on an evening walk with a couple of friends. "They pointed a gun at us and snatched our jewellery," she said.

Police say they are working on plans to improve security and traffic in New Town. "We are in talks with traffic engineers for Rajarhat. There are proposals to set up more police stations," North 24-Parganas SP Rahul Srivastav said.

According to a study by Hidco, New Town will have 10 lakh passenger trips a day, making a strong case for bus rapid transit system, suburban and Metro railway and/or light rail transit.

"We are carefully setting up our road network to link the airport and EM Bypass. All arterial roads will have 10-lane corridors," said a Hidco traffic planner. There are plans to set up flyovers, carriageways, subways and grade separators. For the time being though, all this remains on paper

The arterial road is supposed to be a high speed corridor.It would be of no use if they decide to install traffic lights at every few metres.

Suncity

December 21st, 2010, 05:24 PM

Some more TOI articles

It was touted to be Bengal's answer to Gurgaon, but the biggest ever satellite township project in the country is powerless literally against the glitzy Haryana precinct.

1) New Town was never supposed to be Bengal's answer to Gurgaon. In simple terms, New Town was planned to take off load from Kolkata. New Town is probably as well planned (at least on paper) as Gurgaon.

2) Gurgaon may be somewhat glitzy nowadays but the woes of Gurgaon are the usual woes of any of India's cities. Gurgaon has had to face half a day of power cuts during summer time and there are reports of water crisis. And yes you do see cows in Gurgaon too.

3) New Town is the biggest satellite township project in India?

debayanlahiri

December 22nd, 2010, 06:29 AM

People just need to learn how to use road maps. Now the fact that good handy road maps of Kolkata are not available easily despite the city housing a central government agency which specializes in maps is a different story.

Many people just get onto a car and assume that some chaiwala or paanwala or parar rockbajra will give you guidance. And those who use buses or trains only need to know the station or terminus or stand and then ask the rickshawala.

I am often amazed at how people who have lived for ages in Kolkata do not know the major roads and offices in the city. But that could be the effect of living in a big city.

Major roads in core Kolkata and areas like Salt Lake are pretty easy.

There is obviously a need to improve signages and one way direction indicators.

They should probably start officially naming major roads and streets in Kolkata with numbers and publicize those numbers. BT Road, APC Roy Road, AJC Roy Road (NS Section), Gariahat Road, SC Mallick Road could by City Avenue 0.

And Park Circus Connector (JB Haldane) - AJC Bose Road (ew section) Second Hooghly, Kona Expressway could be City Street 0.

Then divide into four quadrants and start the numbering.

But I am sure people in Kolkata will protest that it will be confusing.

I don't know how naming Metro stations after mahamanabs and manishis is not confusing.

:lol:

People will never learn to use road maps, if they have to take the pain to look for it! Its the case everywhere. That is why major cities around the globe have proper road directions! Lack of hoardings indicating directions lead to people running to chaiwala or paanwala or parar rockbajra for guidance.

Major roads in Kolkata and Salt Lake are easy because we r residents of this city. A person coming to the city for a business trip will be confused unless u have proper directions at every turns and along the roads! He is not supposed to know what is Karunamoyee or Gariahat crossing or College More or what have you!

I have no issues with numbering of roads or naming of metro stations after mahamanabs and manishis! Naming of roads and areas after mahamanabs and manishis is an old practice in indian politics and all political parties have played the card to their advantage. Almost all major roads of Kolkata have been renamed. But we still call them by their old names and need to google to know what their new name is!

On the contrary, in some states people feel proud if major areas are named after their hero. If a person does not have a problem in VT (Victoria Terminus) being renamed to CST (Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus), then they should not have a problem if Tollygunge is renamed as Mahanayak Uttam Kumar! But I personally prefer that we should continue with the previous nomenclature alongwith the new name for the ease of citizens.

debayanlahiri

December 22nd, 2010, 06:36 AM

BTW its not that commuting in other cities is easy.

Infact i feel directions in kolkata is pretty easy,when in doubt all you have to do is to look around and read the board of shop,the address is always given in the bottom!:)

Commuting is never easy in a country like India!

Almost most cities in India have addresses written on the shop, and mostly in local languages. Unless you know how to read Marathi, u will never be able to apply your theory in Mumbai!

Moreover, a shop in Park Street will have its address as Mother Teresa Sarani. If u r a visitor to the city, and if someone has suggested u Park Street, u will still not know that u r in Park Street by reading the board! For that matter, in my previous post, I had suggested that we should also mention the previous nomenclature whenever possible (eg: formerly known as _____).

Suncity

December 22nd, 2010, 02:38 PM

After a series of negative views about New Town, here's a slightly different view point which is more practical than emotional.

Realtors still bullish on New Town prospects

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Realtors-still-bullish-on-New-Town-prospects/articleshow/7142072.cms

KOLKATA: In spite of the infrastructure deficiencies and slow pace of development, realtors are betting big on Rajarhat New Town.

"The satellite township is the face of modern Kolkata. It is the biggest positive development in a state beset with problems. Though it has been nearly a decade since work on New Town started, the optimism and belief in the project has not waned," said Santosh Rungta, national president of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai).

Rungta acknowledges that people haven't moved into New Town at the anticipated pace but says that it is primarily due to infrastructure hiccups that can easily be sorted out. "As soon as you put in place roads, electricity and drinking water, all else will taken care. Police presence and proper illumination are also key confidence builders. There is no inherent problem with the development model," he said.

But with the painfully slow pace of development of infrastructure, does New Town resemble a shadow of a full-fledged township? Realtors and developers acknowledge the deficiencies and want the New Town Development Authority (NTDA) to show some urgency in resolving the issues but they are confident that New Town will evolve as one of the best satellite townships in the country.

"The pace of development could have been quicker but one mustn't forget that the economic slowdown impacted the real estate sector in 2008 and 2009. New Town, which is still in the making, obviously took a big hit. But now that we are past the crisis, things are shaping up well," said Bengal Shrachi Housing Development Ltd managing director Rahul Todi.

Referring to its sheer size 15,000 acre, 8-10 times the size of an average satellite township Todi felt such a huge project was bound to encounter some speed bumps.

"Progress on internal roads, sewage and electricity picked up pace in the past year. A robust plan is needed for managing the township and the solid waste that is generated. But that apart, New Town is right up there. There are pockets of Gurgaon where electricity is yet to reach. I know of businesses that have for years operated on gensets but it is not known because people don't make a hue and cry," said Todi.

"In Rajarhat, the only major problem was that of electricity and it was a political issue, which cropped up after Singur."

Pradeep Sureka, president of Credai-Bengal, maintained that New Town was a unique project as it ensured development in a controlled environment. "Nowhere else in the country can you get such good quality housing at such reasonable prices. Logistically, it is better placed than any other satellite township. The proximity to the airport and the city means it is just an extension of Kolkata and not a far-flung development that is passed off as a satellite township," he argues.

NK Realtors director Pawan Kumar Agarwal remains bullish on New Town. "Unlike Salt Lake, where 70% residents have to travel to Kolkata proper on work, the emphasis has been on creating job opportunities within New Town. Some 10,000 people are already working in various service sector firms in New Town," he points out.

Bengal Unitech Universal head (east) Sameer Bahri feels New Town is about to reach the "critical mass" that will be the catalyst for accelerated growth. "We are reaching that point with Tata Cancer Hospital, Infospace SEZ, campuses by IT biggies and residential complexes like Uniworld City," Bahri said.

Pointing out that teething issues are part and parcel of any new township, he stressed the need to look at the project positively. "We can see positive efforts by Hidco. We desire that all agencies responsible for infrastructure should have a focussed approach in executing the infrastructure works on time."

Suncity

December 22nd, 2010, 02:45 PM

On the contrary, in some states people feel proud if major areas are named after their hero. If a person does not have a problem in VT (Victoria Terminus) being renamed to CST (Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus), then they should not have a problem if Tollygunge is renamed as Mahanayak Uttam Kumar! But I personally prefer that we should continue with the previous nomenclature alongwith the new name for the ease of citizens.

When I first went to Mumbai, I noticed Jai Bhim everywhere with a flag, expecially in the slum type areas. For the longest time I thought that people were big fans of Bhim (of Mahabharata). It was after a longtime I asked a Marathi friend as to why Bhim was so popular in Mumbai as compared to say Arjuna or Krishna. He laughed at my ignorance and explained to me what it really meant. So yes, I do agree that visitors will have a problem because of ignorance.

As far as renaming of VT to CST, there was quite a bit of opposition to the renaming. People who were opposed to the renaming were naturally branded as anti Marathi and anti India elements. The running joke at that time (amongst some) was that the political parties had done a sex change operation of the Railway station with just an announcement - from Victoria to Shivaji. And look what happened. Instead of people saying give me two Shivajis, they say give me two CSTs.

footballbengali

December 22nd, 2010, 11:30 PM

The videos of Mr Gautam Deb countering Miss Mamata's charges about Rajarhat. There are six parts. It is kind of interesting with him showing Miss Mamata's allegations at some meeting and then presenting his view point.

http://www.youtube.com/user/sayakdeb

I recently read this article that seems to be about those videos. Looks like the media is contented :)
Politicians and Powerpoint! Bengal minister takes on Mamata the hi-tech way

In a country where politicians are known for their rambling speeches and predictable media interactions, a West Bengal Marxist minister on Tuesday, surprised journalists by making an elaborate slideshow presentation against Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee. Under attack from the Trinamool for alleged coercion of marginal sections for land acquisition for a satellite township at Rajarhat, State Housing Minister Gautam Deb used video footage and slides as he gave a point by point rebuttal of the opposition's charges.

The hi-tech presentation was broadcast live by many local news channels for its entire duration -- nearly two hours -- making it perhaps one of the lengthiest direct telecasts of a media conference addressed by a politician in India. The presentation even had background music, with Deb displaying documents -- on an LCD screen -- of the praises heaped on the Rajarhat project by the Central Government and successive chairmen of legislative committees belonging to the opposition parties.

Divided into several sections, the documentary also showed videos of Trinamool leaders, including Union Minister of State for Urban Development Sougata Roy, abusing Deb in recent rallies, immediately followed by a letter purportedly written by Roy requesting for land to be given to the National Building Construction Company under his ministry at Rajarhat. The presentation gave a detailed report with data and documents on the project from the first day of its inception, the processes of land acquisition, setting up different committees comprising leaders from various political parties and even engaging different government and private agencies.

Court verdicts and views of some farmers who voluntarily gave their lands for the township were also part of what may be called the 'Gautam Deb Show'. The minister pitched in with his witty comments and analyses in between the presentation, and also did the job of translating into Bengali the documents written in English. His audience was clearly impressed.

"Even top national political leaders do not get such mileage on television. And Deb is anything but a national leader. But it was a highly captivating show, and I am sure it must have fetched high TRPs for the channels," said a scribe. "Had all media conferences addressed by our politicians been so colourful, we would have had greater motivation other than mere professional commitment to attend them," said another journalist.

In an apparent jibe at Banerjee, the presentation ended with the lines of a popular song of Kabir Suman, a singer turned Trinamool MP, who does not see eye to eye with his party chief on several issues.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/638690.aspx
© Copyright 2010 Hindustan Times

sidney_jec

December 23rd, 2010, 02:15 AM

^^bravo minister sahab :) :applause:

arijeetb

December 23rd, 2010, 12:36 PM

^^this dude is smart. I watched him giving interviews from the time MB and her party started the rajarhat agitations. He displays a sense of brash confidence not mounting to arrogance and has used witty remarks when referring to TMC and MB

studdmanster

December 23rd, 2010, 02:20 PM

^^IMO, instead of BB, GD would be a better option for projecting as the next CM of Bengal in the next from LF instead of BB. BB off late is getting fairer and more tired. somehow or the other the press conference of GD was more powerful in terms of words and not decibel than BB, whose decibel is louder than his words. Sudhu chechale ki r neta howa jai?...GD speaks to the point while BB keeps beating around the bushes, and keeps repeating the same thing in all party meets/press confs!:wallbash:

Suncity

December 23rd, 2010, 02:42 PM

Suncity

December 23rd, 2010, 02:48 PM

That's not the case. People ran around the water tanks because maps were not available on the roads! :ohno:

Actually there were big maps in every block. People just stared at them because map reading skills were not taught in schools.

studdmanster

December 23rd, 2010, 04:44 PM

BB is too meek and old style bhadrolok. He is too afraid of his image being spoilt by taking tough decisions. The net result is he just sits on problems till they become mega problems. In politics you never give your opponent any leeway. BB has instead given many broadways. He is best suited for minister of Nandan and doing his censorship of movies there.

:lol:..esp for the last l9!!...btw the latest stunner from BB is that at a party meeting in Kol, with the school teachers, he literally begged to the teachers to campaign to the parents to vote for LF!:wallbash:..i dont know what on earth JB had on his mind that he made BB as his successor, when a strongman like subhash jethu was in l9!!!:ohno:

sabya99

December 23rd, 2010, 11:56 PM

BB is too meek and old style bhadrolok. He is too afraid of his image being spoilt by taking tough decisions. The net result is he just sits on problems till they become mega problems. In politics you never give your opponent any leeway. BB has instead given many broadways. He is best suited for minister of Nandan and doing his censorship of movies there.

Yes, BB is gentu. Completely unfit for insane blood thirsty politics of Bengal. However INDIAN politics today needs men like him. UPPIES ( Urban upstart elites ) should do sometng to rehabilitate him. I also hope sanity prevails in Bengal and a luni does not end up in CM office in the name of just change.

debayanlahiri

December 24th, 2010, 05:57 AM

Yes, BB is gentu. Completely unfit for insane blood thirsty politics of Bengal. However INDIAN politics today needs men like him.

BB is just incompetent for the position of a CM. Even if the LF wins the assembly polls next yr, I hope they make GD as the CM instead of BB. However, chances seem to be very low for LF to come to power next year.

sabya99

December 24th, 2010, 02:55 PM

BB is just incompetent for the position of a CM. Even if the LF wins the assembly polls next yr, I hope they make GD as the CM instead of BB. However, chances seem to be very low for LF to come to power next year.

Remember BB had to fight two fronts: his own boss Mr.Karat and Mamota. It is not that easy. Also bulk of the population of Bengal are in stone age, they dont understand 21st century economic equations. So BB's concept of industrialization will take a hold in public mind as the stone age people slowly disintegrates by natural course.

Souvik_N

January 4th, 2011, 09:29 AM

Development plans yet to click

Rajarhat needs to put infrastructure initiatives in place in order to become an IT hub..

Rajarhat (now renamed Jyoti Basu Nagar), located on the eastern fringes of Kolkata city, is turning out to be the new destination for IT companies in the state.

With Sector V in Salt Lake area of the city reaching a near saturation point, IT companies are focussing on Rajarhat as the next technology hub.

From big names, such as Wipro and Infosys, to lesser known ones, as many as have 50-odd companies have queued up for land in Rajarhat.

With the increase in demand for IT space, the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (WBHIDCO), in a recent move, also increased allotment of land to IT to 350 acres, from 300 acres earlier.

ROAD CONNECTIVITY
Despite the government giving acquisition notices in 1998 and completing formalities in 2000, putting in place a road network connecting all the areas still has not happened.

While roads have been constructed, majority areas spread across the 6,820 acres of the township are yet to be connected completely.

Wipro, which has got 50 acres of land in Hathisala mouza (Action Area III), made its first payment some time ago but is yet to take possession, confirm WBHIDCO officials.

Speaking to eWorld, an official who did not want to be named, says, “Land demarcation has not been done as there were no approach roads to the project site then. Payments were made on a part basis keeping in mind the consideration that WBHIDCO would be paid later after infrastructure in the area was in place.” He adds that work on setting up new roads began just a few months ago.

Initially, it was decided that work would start within 18 months of Wipro taking the land. Wipro is yet to start construction.

Infosys, which signed an agreement with the West Bengal government in November last year, has announced that it will start construction within the next six months but has made it clear that WBHIDCO needs to develop infrastructure, such as roads and public transport, first.

Infosys, which has 50 acres of land in Hathisala, has not taken possession of it. Nor have boundary walls been constructed yet.

Officials say that 50 per cent of the work on setting up the necessary infrastructure has already been completed.

They maintain that around one kilometre of roadways will be constructed as approach road for Infosys' project site.

POWER AND WATER
Other than connectivity, WBHIDCO is facing an uphill task regarding power connection and availability of water in the area.

While a new company, West Bengal HIDCO Power Supply Corporation Ltd, has been formed to supply power in the project area, agitations by people losing land due to the setting up of electric poles are increasing the worry lines for officials.

“It will take a maximum of 15 days to provide power connections here” Prasanta Bhattacharya, general manager, WBHIDCO, has assured.

Water availability, meanwhile, is another issue. Currently, Rajarhat is totally dependent on ground water for sustenance. Work is being done to divert water from the Hooghly, after filtering it, to these areas through a nearby canal.

A trial run of the system will be carried out on January 15, 2011.

Wait and watch
Industry mandarins are keeping an anxious watch on the developments, including political happenings in the area.

“Once we get land and other infrastructure support, we will start work on the project,” an Infosys official says, adding that the State Government has assured to put things in place within six months.

Admitting that infrastructure development is a major area of concern, S. Radhakrishnan, President of Sector V Industries Forum, says: “Infrastructure in the area has to develop a lot.

We are told that it will take six more months for basic services, such as power and transportation, to come up. Once it happens we hope it will be helpful for the IT companies.”

The State housing minister, Gautam Deb, is hopeful of setting up the required infrastructure.

“The construction work on the road leading to the Infosys project site is almost complete. By January it will be ready for use by the company,” he says.

Source : http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ew/2011/01/03/stories/2011010350090300.htm

Suncity

January 4th, 2011, 03:32 PM

Development plans yet to click

Source : http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ew/2011/01/03/stories/2011010350090300.htm

Each newspaper seems to give its own spin on repeat news.

avishar

January 4th, 2011, 06:51 PM

Each newspaper seems to give its own spin on repeat news.

Rajarhat and the airport must be filled with journalist considering the number of articles they write about them,and bemoaning about everything.

Souvik_N

January 11th, 2011, 08:53 AM

Just notice the negative comments !!!!!!!
Source : The Telegraph.

A Bailey bridge in New Town that was due for replacement collapsed under the weight of two overloaded trucks early on Monday, cutting off Action Area III and proving once again that Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s showpiece township is a bridge too far.

The incident occurred when both trucks, one of them a 10-wheeler laden with sand, were headed for a construction site across the Bagjola canal around 1.30am, police said.

The drivers of both vehicles — none of them was apparently injured — fled after the incident.

One of the sand-laden trucks was stuck nose down in the bog along with the collapsed part of the bridge till late in the evening, appearing to symbolise everything that is wrong with the “world-class township” that the Left Front had set out to build.

Officials of Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Ltd, which had built the “portable” bridge over the Bagjola canal in 2005, said it wouldn’t have collapsed had Hidco stuck to the load limit. “A 30-tonne bridge can bear a load of up to 45 tonne but it won’t remain stable if overloaded vehicles use it day in and day out,” said D. Pati, the general manager of the state-owned company.

The two trucks involved in Monday’s incident are estimated to have been carrying a combined load in excess of 70 tonnes.

Hidco was supposed to build a heavy-duty bridge over the canal before opening Action Area III to developers, but seemed to forget all about it even as it went about handing one plot of land after another to private parties. A Shapoorji Pallonji project is among the 20-odd housing complexes coming up in that part of New Town, including Akandakeshari and Chapna.

Housing minister Gautam Deb, also the Hidco chairman, insisted that development activity wouldn’t be affected much by the bridge collapse. “Trucks can use the alternative canal bank road off Patharghata to reach the eastern part of New Town,” he said.

On why the five-year-old bridge hadn’t been replaced with a permanent one despite the surge in construction activity, he said Action Area III had become a hive of activity only recently.

“We will construct a six-lane permanent bridge within a year. We had deputed a person to prevent overloaded trucks from taking the bridge, but it seems he failed in his duty,” added a senior Hidco official who did not wish to be named.

Prasanta Bhattacharjee, Hidco’s director-general of planning, admitted that the Bailey bridge was meant for light vehicles. A colleague blamed lack of policing in the area for temporary bridges — there are eight of them over the Bagjola canal — being used by heavy vehicles.

But nobody had an answer to how Action Area III could be developed if only light vehicles were allowed to reach the construction sites.

debayanlahiri

January 11th, 2011, 10:16 AM

mountaincloud

January 11th, 2011, 02:37 PM

^^ Whatz negative abt the comments?? TT is criticising for all the right reasons..

absolutely. or should commmunists form a coordination committee of journalists as well, who will march lock step with the politburo?

Souvik_N

January 11th, 2011, 03:10 PM

absolutely. or should commmunists form a coordination committee of journalists as well, who will march lock step with the politburo?

Have you ever seen telegraph writing anything good about NewTown these days ?? or everything is going on wrong there ??? I totally agree that criticism is good for development but that also has a threshold point......day in and day out..they are just pessimistic about New Town !!!!

Suncity

January 11th, 2011, 03:53 PM

The news article is typical Telegraph. Np surprises.

First the Left Front didn't say that it is building a "world class" city. The WB Govt is building Rajarhat to meet the expansion needs of Kolkata. The term "showpiece city of Buddha" has become a favourite of wannabe journalists trying to show their deftness in English sarcasm. Very few things in India (including the newsmedia like Telegraph, TOI) can be world class for now - at best India leads the world in trash/garbage dumped everywhere (much like the ones generated in TOI or ABP or IToday).

:lol:

The Telegraph has raised a seemingly rightful question though

But nobody had an answer to how Action Area III could be developed if only light vehicles were allowed to reach the construction sites.

From the article, the Minister seems to have answered the question

[I]“Trucks can use the alternative canal bank road off Patharghata to reach the eastern part of New Town".

Now whether the minister is wrong or right, someone who has recently visited that area can say.

Also DLF, Shapoorji, Elita are under various stages of construction for quite some time despite the temporary bridge.

I took a look at google earth (Feb 2009) and indeed there is a road along the canal. What shape it is in, I don't know.

This is my guess:

The orange circle is where the temporary bridge collapsed. The orange route was one of the routes.

The red route could be the alternate one.

http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/8817/bridgecollapse.jpg (http://img29.imageshack.us/i/bridgecollapse.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
As regarding solution, maybe lazy WBHIDCO should try to build another temporary bridge for now till the six lane road / bridge is built. Hopefully the new road and bridge will not take ages to build like the Jubilee rail bridge.

Suncity

January 11th, 2011, 04:03 PM

Have you ever seen telegraph writing anything good about NewTown these days ?? or everything is going on wrong there ??? I totally agree that criticism is good for development but that also has a threshold point......day in and day out..they are just pessimistic about New Town !!!!

See many journalists nowadays write two kinds of articles.

One kind is full of bubbliness with lots of cool words used. Like say a new mall or new store coming to city. You can be 100% sure that this is promotional journalism (ektu hoyto cha pastry hoye gecche).

The other kind is peppered with criticism and sarcasm for the sake of proving that the person is a professional journalist.

studdmanster

January 11th, 2011, 04:30 PM

hmm..the same report has been reported somewhat differently by ToI this time. Here it goes:

An iron bridge collapsed at Akandakeshari near New Town in North 24-Parganas early on Monday.
Police said the incident took place around 2.30 am when a sand-laden truck was crossing the bridge over Bagjola canal and a portion of it collapsed.The truck driver and his helper are missing since the accident occurred.Cops suspect that the duo might have fled fearing arrest.The truck was later lifted by a crane and work to repair the bridge had been initiated.

cc: TNN
source: http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/getpage.aspx?pageid=5&pagesize=&edid=&edlabel=TOIKM&mydateHid=11-01-2011&pubname=&edname=&publabel=TOI

sidney_jec

January 11th, 2011, 04:34 PM

^^Now that is one piece of sensible reporting from ToI.
Must say after a long time.
The problem with such kind of writing is that it doesn't create enough sensationalism to get the eye balls rolling.
Thus lesser interest amongst the masses.

Suncity

January 11th, 2011, 04:38 PM

sidney_jec

January 11th, 2011, 04:43 PM

:lol:

studdmanster

January 12th, 2011, 05:37 AM

Plus, masses will not check out google earth.

j/k

:lol:

:hilarious:

Souvik_N

January 12th, 2011, 07:19 AM

See many journalists nowadays write two kinds of articles.

One kind is full of bubbliness with lots of cool words used. Like say a new mall or new store coming to city. You can be 100% sure that this is promotional journalism (ektu hoyto cha pastry hoye gecche).

The other kind is peppered with criticism and sarcasm for the sake of proving that the person is a professional journalist.

Not only that,today's media has become the public interface for the parties....
For example take STAR-Ananda and 24ghanta....They are campaigning openly for TMC-Cong and CPM respectively...
Not a single news channel presents neutral news these days !!!:ohno:

avishar

January 13th, 2011, 06:09 AM

The Terminus mall,office and ultra modern bus station.

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/6371/dsc01351e.jpg

This is DLF galleria? or novotel?
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/5563/dsc01352ks.jpg

Suncity

January 13th, 2011, 06:17 AM

S = Salarpuria (http://www.salarpuriagroup.biz/), I guess.

Which side of the main road is this? If it is on Axis side then it is Novotel.

studdmanster

January 13th, 2011, 07:19 AM

@ avisar: its novotel, 100% sure...btw terminus seems to lying in dust, also have u noticed the shattered glass panes?

SamitB

January 13th, 2011, 02:23 PM

Rajarhat finance hub draws big business
Suman Chakraborti | TNN

Kolkata: Bengal may be on the boil,but thats hardly a deterrent for big business.
This is the signal coming in from the financial hub project at Rajarhat New Town.Expected to rake in investments to the tune of 16,000 crore,project work is picking up speed despite the cloud of bloodshed and political uncertainty hanging over the state.
Within three months of Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee laying the foundation stone of the project,the Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) has decided to hand over plots to five nationalised banking and financial institutions that had submitted applications expressing an interest in setting up offices at the hub.More companies have also come forward with similar requests.
The five banking institutions that will get plots are State Bank of India,UCO Bank,United Bank,UTI Mutual Fund and Industrial Financial Corporation of India (IFCI).These five financial institutions will be getting plots in the hub.The confirmation came through after the formal process in which their applications were received and replying sent to them.A few more financial institutions have also shown interest in setting up their offices in the hub.Their applications will be considered, said a Hidco official.
The 300-acre hub will have headquarters of several banking and financial institutions,stock exchanges and insurance companies along with integrated IT,hospitality and educational complexes.There will be houses for the staff of the institutions that have offices in the hub.Hidco officials estimate that the hub will create more than 2 lakh jobs.It will be the countrys second financial hub after Mumbais Bandra Kurla and will go a long way in pushing Kolkata as a big-budget investment destination.The state finance department is the nodal agency for setting up the hub while Hidco will put in place the infrastructure.The hub will be the gateway to the South-East and will help further the Look East policy, said Hidco managing director Saurabh Das.The authorities are expecting financial exchanges with South-East Asian countries like Singapore,Myanmar and Thailand.
The hub will have the advantage of having Kolkata airport and the Sector V and New Town IT hubs close to it.The hub will also be well-connected as the Metro will be extended to Rajarhat.Hidco authorities will now have to ensure that proper civic infrastructure is put in place.

Suncity

January 13th, 2011, 03:48 PM

Not only that,today's media has become the public interface for the parties....
For example take STAR-Ananda and 24ghanta....They are campaigning openly for TMC-Cong and CPM respectively...
Not a single news channel presents neutral news these days !!!:ohno:

Media doesn't have to be neutral. A bigger problem is there is a lack of accountabilty in the media groups and they are not truthful and honest in many cases.

Suncity

January 13th, 2011, 03:49 PM

@ avisar: its novotel, 100% sure...btw terminus seems to lying in dust, also have u noticed the shattered glass panes?

Why aren't they using this terminus? It is lying like that for ages.

studdmanster

January 13th, 2011, 04:25 PM

Suncity

January 13th, 2011, 04:30 PM

it seems it has no buyers. but when last heard, someone from srijan told me that Pride group of hotel would be coming up in the complex. Few days ago when i x-ed that area i was stunned to see the shattered glass panes. the driver of the car in which i was travelling told ekhane cricket khela hoye, ball lege lege kanch fete gache!!!!...:shocked:

I think I saw broken glass last year in March 2010.

Hopefully the hotel will take shape.

But why cannot the terminus start operations anyway for transportation purposes? They built a temporary terminus which could be shofted here.

studdmanster

January 13th, 2011, 04:34 PM

sudhu naamei ota terminus!...according to what i have observed there is hardly any place for parking of bus!!!...however, things would be clear on wikimapia or google earth. its been a long time since i hv checked on them!!!..:lol:

Suncity

January 13th, 2011, 04:42 PM

sudhu naamei ota terminus!... lol:

Tai hobey.

Eikhane plans acche (http://www.greenfieldrealestates.com/web/terminus/index.html). Mone hoye sirf mall aur service apartments ke liye banaya hay.

studdmanster

January 13th, 2011, 05:21 PM

^^eyewash

studdmanster

January 14th, 2011, 05:20 PM

cc: Star Ananda (Runner)

On the repeated appeal by Gautam Deb to CM, today (14.1.11), the Commisnor went on a visit to Rajarhat New Town and then decided to take over the area under their jurisdiction. This would be officially be handed over on 26th Jan!

avishar

January 15th, 2011, 03:54 PM

The westin taken today.new year gift to SSC:)
Bengal rising! 2 beautifully designed skyscrapers U/C in kolkata!

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/3014/dsc01488cj.jpg

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/8971/dsc01487u.jpg

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/3416/dsc01496co.jpg

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/9018/dsc01494gj.jpg

Suncity

January 15th, 2011, 04:04 PM

Daroon updates!

:cheers:

studdmanster

January 15th, 2011, 04:11 PM

btw, whch one is Westin and which is the V?

avishar

January 15th, 2011, 06:01 PM

Tata Memorial hospital

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/1222/dsc01499nk.jpg

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/1258/dsc01500k.jpg

avishar

January 15th, 2011, 06:10 PM

DLF IT park 2

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/5601/dsc01502hh.jpg

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/6733/dsc01509m.jpg

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/4706/dsc01508m.jpg

avishar

January 15th, 2011, 06:15 PM

Infospace and in the fore ground,the Courtyard Marriot is under construction.
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/1347/dsc01511ow.jpg

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/724/dsc01512g.jpg

Samrat

January 15th, 2011, 09:39 PM

btw, whch one is Westin and which is the V?

The left one in the picture is the Westin Hotel(slightly taler) and the other one is the 'V' :)

Samrat

January 15th, 2011, 09:47 PM

Avishar thank you very much. Pl accept my bouquet for the bunch of pics which are really laudable:):)

I will be waiting for the other two:cheers:

sidney_jec

January 16th, 2011, 07:20 AM

brilliant updates avishar :applause:

avishar

January 16th, 2011, 01:59 PM

Novotel hotel.
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3038/dsc01525wa.jpg

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/7382/dsc01523g.jpg

avishar

January 16th, 2011, 02:02 PM

Synthesis Business Park
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/289/dsc01491h.jpg

avishar

January 16th, 2011, 02:04 PM

Ecospace business park
http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/1637/dsc01506mn.jpg

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/3039/dsc01505t.jpg

avishar

January 17th, 2011, 03:25 PM

Uniworld city & rosedale!This is one massive complex.

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1601/dsc01513ga.jpg

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/4802/dsc01514wj.jpg

SamitB

January 18th, 2011, 04:29 AM

published on today's pratidin
This for which area?

http://epratidin.in/epaperimages/1812011/1812011-md-hr-5/15756593.JPG

avishar

January 21st, 2011, 08:17 AM

I spent more time gawking than taking pics in rajarhat so i shall write whatever i missed out.

1.Coal India HQ is well under construction,foundation work going on.Its a huge plot,any renders?
2.The flyover has progressed well and should be ready in another 6 months.
3.Axis mall looked empty but Block by block mall was very busy with lots of shoppers.
4.DLF galleria progressing well.
5.Action area 1 has many highrises U/C which are most co-operative housing societies.There is a twin tower 18 storey building and lots of 10 storey towers.

6 OK now financial hub:Sorry to dissapoint you but that place is still nothing but acres of verdant green fields with cows munching away to glory.Not even demarcated plots.

Only the ONGC building is under construction.Any renders? Also the Westin,synthesis buiness park falls in the financial hub area.

7.Action area 2 is pretty much empty,the projects like with one cluster at city centre 2,the other one surrounding Akankha and the 3rd starting with Sunny fort,malancha all are nearing completion and are starting to get occupied.

8.Infospace was looking pretty busy,but DLF 2 looked empty.Ecospace is well occupied.

9.Ohio hospital was nowhere to be seen,but tata memorial looks to be on tract.ALso some more new projects there i guess something like a eye special netralaya.

10.Road leading to Uniword is 6 lane,but after uniword it just dies there.No inkling of gautem deb's promise of road electricity and water to wipro and infosys plots whithin a "fortnight".Pipe lines lie on both sides of the road with no progress.

11.Irritatingly jhuggis have come to new town too.There are many near ecospace,infospace.I just hope they remove them fast before they turn into slums.

sidney_jec

January 21st, 2011, 08:21 AM

CIL HQ

77Q_xNT5Ai4

arijeetb

January 21st, 2011, 09:25 AM