With just 6% roadspace (against a minimum of 25% requirement) Kolkata's burgeoning vehicle population was going nowhere.

Things however are looking up in the eastern part of the city which is expanding rapidly.

The chief minister today inaugurated a 10 lane road connecting the airport to Salt Lake and the New Town. The road will be the main connector with the New Town, which, with a projected area of 3,075 hectares, will accommodate a residential population of 750,000 and a floating population of 250,000.

Sector I of the town is almost ready. Construction work is under progress in Sector II, while land acquisition is underway in Sector III. In Sector I, a total of 5,693 plots have been allotted so far to individuals, cooperative societies and bulk cooperatives, while 3,290 apartments are in the final stages. The new town will have shopping malls, several banks, schools, an engineering college and a central business district, offices of IT majors in addition to offices of the BSF and CRPF and a host of other organisations.

At the inaugural function the Chief Minister also welcomed national and international construction companies to invest in the state. He informed the gathering that the Kolkata Durgapur expressway would be completed by December 2004. Two lanes of this expressway are already operational.

i have pictures of the ten lane road in kolkata, i saw them in the indiahighways yahoo group, tommorow i will try to post them

i have pictures of the ten lane road in kolkata, i saw them in the indiahighways yahoo group, tommorow i will try to post them

That would be nice. I didn't see any photos in Times of India city galleries. They are more into fashion and beauty contests now a days when it comes to pics.

yes you are right!! i will post the pictures at the india highways thread

Boom Time in Kolkata
T N Ninan
July 24, 2004
Rediff

All of you who have old, fixed notions about Kolkata and West Bengal should pay the state a visit; it has more zip than you think. I have never seen the business mood in the city so buoyant, nor the news quite so upbeat.

There is new life in the markets for real estate, shopping malls and retail finance -- all of it telling us that people are spending more. Ask where the money comes from, and the answer is that there is momentum in software and BPO (18,000 jobs already created, and 10,000 new ones expected annually from now on), leather, toys, and food processing.

New industrial parks for the latter two industries have got snapped up in no time, as has space in an export zone for jewellery. Engineering is going through a huge revival because of new foundries that have been set up in the Durgapur-Asansol belt. It also helps that a showpiece project like the once-troubled Haldia Petrochemicals is now profitable.

There is money coming in from agricultural surpluses. And the city is reviving its role as the regional hub: people from the north-east, Bangladesh and elsewhere are coming over for education (there are some 40 new private colleges and institutes), medical care (the hospitals are expanding and several new are coming up) and plain shopping (eight new malls planned, in addition to the three that have already opened).

The last week alone has seen delegations come visiting from Indonesia, Japan, Italy, Singapore and Bangladesh; next week will see one from China. The international lending agencies too seem to be keen on lending: Japan is financing four flyovers, Britain is paying for public sector restructuring (because there is an active programme to privatise, and shut down what cannot be sold), and the ADB wants to lend.

You can see the results in the usual secondary activities. The number of luxury hotel rooms has doubled in the last two or three years, but occupancy rates remain high. Thai wants to increase its Bangkok flights from three to seven per week; Gulf has started serving the city; Bangladesh's Biman will increase its daily service from two flights to three in the winter. Still, businessmen complain that they can't get seats out of Kolkata. And the media is a boom sector, with seven or eight Bengali channels apart from the plethora of national channels. Clearly, there is advertising to go round.

But everything pales in the face of the real estate and construction boom (which is helping both the steel and cement industries). Satellite towns are coming up east and west of Kolkata, and others are springing up in places like Siliguri. Hundreds of acres are being developed, new highways laid down (including a smooth new by-pass from the airport), and bridges planned.

Fast new (or widened) roads are also planned in all directions: down to Haldia, and of course the national highways to Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Real estate developers now talk as they do elsewhere, in individual projects of a million square feet and more, some of it in the new towns and some on disused industrial land.

The biggest seems to be a 15-million square foot project planned on surplus Bata land. An Indonesian group is building a whole township, and the big builders from Delhi have now come rushing in -- and driven up prices in real estate auctions!

Ask why this new burst of activity has been triggered on such a wide front, and the general answer is that the chief minister has made a difference. There must be more to it than that -- like being within easy distance of vibrant East Asia when India is signing FTAs with countries there.

It is encouraging that even the old Kolkata city (still very battle-scarred) is getting a facelift: the riverfront is being re-developed, the corporation is discussing how to give the major buildings fresh coats of paint, the metro is being extended, and flyovers are everywhere.

There is no shortage of power and water, so the city is livable in ways that many others aren't. Businessmen say there is new momentum in the job market; two recruiters even said they can't get enough people and are beginning to shop in other cities, to fill jobs in Kolkata. That seems to say it all.

nice article.

I hope that Kolkata continues to grow economically and otherwise. I always feel that Kolkata is marginalized compared to the other metros just because of its economic history (post-independence) and the fact that it is in Eastern India. The more important it becomes on a national scale the better. ;-)

Like the other metros of India, Kolkata is going ahead with plenty of projects. I will try to post information about projects that are going on in Kolkata.

1) Mani Karn & Suryamani

http://www.mani-group.com/images/new_04.jpg

A complex of 12 storey towers at 3B, Rammohan Mullick Garden Lane. EM Bypass, Opp. Salt Lake Stadium. It will be ready by July 2006.

Suryamani the 50,000-sq-ft retail mall is attached to thehousing complex Mani Karn. It will also have a 12,500-sq-ft food zone with takeaway counters.


2) Rukmani & Parasmani

http://www.mani-group.com/parasmani/images/web_theme_09.jpg

The twelve storied twin towers of Rukmani & Parasmani, will have 145 apartments and 5 penthouses. Located right opposite Subhas Sarobar (Lake), a beautiful and well-maintained aquatic complex, the project has a feel-good neighbourhood consisting of The Hyatt Regency, Swabhumi Heritage Park,
Salt Lake Stadium, 4 screen Chillax 89’, Apollo Gleneagles Hospital.

Status: Preconstruction Stage. Bookings invited.

3) Mani Square

The area: 5,50,000 sq ft
The address: A four-acre prime plot next to Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, on the EM Bypass
The attractions: A 20-storey IT park to a four-screen multiplex, a 300,000-sq-ft retail mall to a multi-cuisine food court, a state-of-the-art business club to twin-level parking for 1,000 cars…
The rollout: From early 2005 to mid-2006.
The WBIDC project is being implemented by Mani Group and is expected to be ready by mid-2006. Giant, the RPG Enterprises hypermart outlet anchoring the retail mall, will move in by the first quarter of 2005.
The Rs 110-crore “intelligent and efficient edifice” will be a configuration of blocks unified by two atriums and the façade characterised by geometrically patterned tinted glass and brightly-coloured bondages. The showpiece 130,000-sq-ft IT tower will also offer temporary facilities on rent for a month, a week or even a day, at “competitive rates, much like service apartments”.

The management wants to try out the hire-and-use concept with the 30,000-sq-ft food court initially, with 60 to 90 days’ commitment. “We want to use real estate as a product and create entrepreneurship,” explains Jhunjhunwala.

Penetti, the business club, is being designed to pamper today’s executive. The 40,000-sq-ft club will have a fitness centre, temperature-controlled swimming pool, fine-dining restaurant, sports bar, conference hall, synthetic tennis court and indoor games.

With concept design by SAA International Ltd of Singapore, the local architect for the project is J.P. Agrawal. Structural stability is being designed by Meinhardt of Australia, with Encon Services as the local structural consultant. The landmark project, which hopes to provide an “interesting alternative” to City Centre in Salt Lake, will contribute “in excess of Rs 9 crore” to the state exchequer in stamp duty, according to the Mani Group.

In two years: Plenty of options to eat out on the EM Bypass

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040622/images/22zzmetrobig.jpg

Hungry, kya? Then just head for the Bypass. From phuchka to pasta, chaat to Chinese, malpoa to milk shake, there’ll soon be something to tickle every taste bud in town.

Large-format housing complexes and giant retail malls are ready to add thousands of square feet to the city’s gastronomic matrix along the EM Bypass .

This Puja, Hiland Park will roll out Foodies, the 8,000-sq-ft food court inside its retail-food-entertainment centre, The Metropolis. The eight self-service outlets will offer a mix of north and south Indian, Oriental, Italian, Bengali, chaats, soft beverages and desserts.

A motley menu will also mark the 15,000-sq-ft food court at Silver Arcade, the 80,000-sq-ft commercial complex of Silver Spring, next to ITC Sonar Bangla Sheraton & Towers. While the 20 different stalls on the food court will serve dishes from various corners of the country, the Arcade will boast four fine-dining outlets over 30,000 sq ft.

“With so many multiplexes and malls coming up and the IT sector looking buoyant, the Bypass is set for a massive facelift and food will be a major driver of business,” says Piyush Bhagat, director, Bengal Silver Spring Projects Ltd.

Mani Square, the “compatible infrastructure solution” in IT, food, entertainment and retail, coming up beside Apollo Gleneagles, will also unveil a 40,000-sq-ft food court with centralised dining in October 2005. “We will offer the entire range from pavement-style fast food to high-end fine-dining with a plug-n-cook environment for entrepreneurs,” explains Mani Group CEO Sanjay Jhunjhunwala.

The group’s 50,000-sq-ft retail mall Suryamani, attached to its housing complex Mani Karn, opposite the Salt Lake stadium, will also have a 12,500-sq-ft food zone with takeaway counters.

And the square feet food count keeps mounting. Forum chief Rahul Saraf is finalising plans for his second mall opposite Science City, which will have a 30,000-sq-ft food court with 550 covers.

“The trend signifies the manner in which the city is evolving,” observes Sumit Dabriwal, managing director, Calcutta Metropolitan Group, developers of Hiland Park.

Under palate pressure, Swabhumi, the heritage plaza, has lined up a budget bridge of eight to 10 snacks counters located between the park and its new cineplex.

The 3,500-sq ft-food court will serve a mix of Mughlai, south Indian and Chinese fast food, besides a variety of chaats, according to general manager P. Sandeep.

4)Millennium City

DN 62, Sector V, Saltlec

http://www.rungta.com/mc-img/mc-pic.jpg

Millennium City, aims to provide office space for the corporates in IT/ IT enabled services, Electronics / Telecom / Infocom /Banking /Insurance/ Biotechnology(biometrics) /Healthcare Management /Designing / Publishing / Education / Airlines / Railways.

It will have over 300,000 sq.ft. of office space built on more than 2 acres of land. There will be two towers - Millennium Tower-I & Millennium Tower-II

http://www.rungta.com/mc-img/mcn-pic.jpg

The techno-park project has been undertaken by Madgul Parks (P) Ltd., a Rungta group company in collaboration with Sonodyne Television Co. Ltd. Agrawal & Agrawal who have several landmarks in the city are the architects.

The Rungtas have completed a couple of commercial projects in the city -

Suprabha Corporate Park

http://www.rungta.com/images/suprabha-pic.jpg

and the Lansdowne Tower (IBM)

http://www.rungta.com/lt-img/lt-pic.jpg

5)Ashoka

A 11 storey project by Merlin Projects at 14 Ashoka Road, Alipore, Kolkata

http://www.merlinprojects.com/images/as_elevation.jpg

Merlin Developers have completed many projects in the city like

Merlin Heights

http://www.merlinprojects.com/images/com_p_merlin_heights_b.jpg

Merlin Woodlands High

http://www.merlinprojects.com/images/com_p_woodland_high_b.jpg

Merlin Manor

http://www.merlinprojects.com/images/com_p_mm_b.jpg

Merlin Links

http://www.merlinprojects.com/images/com_p_merlin_links_b.jpg

5)Merlin Greens

This project is 25 kms from city centre. The phase I has been completed recently with 70 homes with an overall planned development for 300 Villas, Bunglows & Row houses.

http://www.merlinprojects.com/images/mg_rowhouse.jpg

http://www.merlinprojects.com/images/bungalow-d.jpg

http://www.merlinprojects.com/images/mg_gal3.jpg

http://www.merlinprojects.com/images/mg_gal6.jpg

http://www.merlinprojects.com/images/mg_gal11.jpg

6) Sunrise City

http://www.compassindia.com/com-images/it-park.gif

This project is being developed by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority and several other companies. The project hopes to meet the surge in demand for commercial properties in the city. It is spread over 40 acres.

There will be three towers initially - Uranus, Neptune & Pluto.

7) The Calcutta Leather Complex, Bantala

The CLC-World Eco Technology Park is spread over a sprawling 1100 acres. Just 14 kms from the Science City on the recently upgraded four- lane Kolkata-Basanti Highway. CLC is convenient to reach by 25-minutes drive from the city's business hub. A prestigious project of West Bengal, the complex has been declared as an industrial park. There are police and fire stations, petrol pump, bank, post office, market complex and so on. Housing, hotels, commercial establishments are to follow. The activities within the CLC include the entire leather industry starting from the basic raw material units to tanning and finished leather, chemicals, leather machinery, by products, components and leather products such as footwear, goods accessories and garments. lt has also provision for Backward and Forward linkages. A unique "Special Economic Zone" for leather and allied industries is also being developed in CLC. An SEZ is a "duty free enclave that is considered to be foreign territory for trade operations, duties and tariffs". CLC is a step towards India's goal of achieving 5 % of world trade in leather and leather products in 2007. An estimated Rs.5,000 crore direct project investment now looms large over the eastern fringe of Kolkata which simply makes CLC the right destination for the leather sector in the country.

http://www.dalmiya.com/images/clc_infra_im1.jpg

http://www.dalmiya.com/images/infra_power.jpg

http://www.dalmiya.com/images/infra_water.jpg

8)Brindavan Gardens at 98 Christopher Road, consists of eleven 12 storey towers.

http://www.nkrealtors.com/images/brind10.jpg

9)Metro Heights - a 19 storey, 105 apartment tower, at 114 Dr. Lalmohon Bhattacharya Road, is being developed by the Belanis.

http://www.belanis.com/images/ongoing_projects/metro_heights/metro-heights-projdet-bldg_bottom.jpg

10)Sunflower Garden - one 13 storey and one 14 storey tower.

http://61.11.71.103/sg/images/introimg.jpg

http://www.nkrealtors.com/image/sunflowergardenpic.gif

more to come..

11)Greenwood Park in New Town
Greenwood Park at Rajerhat covers 5 acres and is conveniently situated near the bridge over the Krishnapur canal. Greenwood Park comprises LIG, MIG and HIG units of different sizes along with support services, institutional and recreational requirements and a convenient market complex. The LIG complex has three storeyed walk up buildings, while the MIG and HIG units are constructed in 9 storeyed buildings.

http://www.shrachi.com/images/content/real_estate/greenwood/new/greenwood_park.jpg

12) Emerald Isle Extension

http://www.shrachi.com/images/content/real_estate/greenwood/extension/main.jpg

13)Coral Isle at Greenwood Nook

This is a 17 storey tower.

http://www.shrachi.com/images/content/real_estate/green_nook/body_nook.jpg

14)Utsa New Town

http://www.bengalambuja.com/projects/utsa_04.jpg

http://www.bengalambuja.com/projects/utsa_06.jpg

I am glad this great city is shaping up so nicely.

I am glad this great city is shaping up so nicely.

Yes it is good to see most Indian cities changing for the better.

15) Suncity

mostly completed. Five 12 storey buildings..

http://www.nkrealtors.com/images/suncityc.jpg

http://www.nkrealtors.com/images/suncityd1.jpg

16) Ideal Residency

12 storey tower

http://www.nkrealtors.com/image/ideal_residency.jpg

17)Sanjeeva Town

Bunglows

http://www.nkrealtors.com/image/sanjeevaele.jpg

18)Orbit Heights

12 storey tower

http://www.orbitheights.com/image/rightpic.jpg

19)City High

16 storey tower

http://www.nkrealtors.com/image/cityhigh.gif

20)Ideal Towers

New 14 storey tower

http://www.nkrealtors.com/image/idealtowerpic.gif

21)Diamond Enclave

10 storey blocks

http://www.nkrealtors.com/image/diamondele.jpg

Kolkata: 8000 IT jobs for grabs

BS Bureau in Kolkata | August 03, 2004 11:55 IST


The information technology and IT-enabled services sector will be adding 8,000 jobs, this year.

IT secretary, G D Gautama said that the number of jobs would be directly proportional to revenues generated from the sector, which is expected to be in excess of Rs 2,800 crore (Rs 28 billion), from Rs 1,760 core (Rs 17.6 billion) registered, last year.

At present, there were 18,000 employees in the sector.

Most of the jobs would come from the expansion initiatives announced by companies like Wipro, IBM, Tata Consultancy Services, Cognizant Technology Solutions and SkyTECH Solutions.

However, Gautama said, the job growth would continue right through 2005-06. At least two companies, GE Capital and HSBC had evinced interest in Kolkata.

Gautama said, GE Capital had communicated that they would be employing 3,000 people and the land requirement would be three acres. The company was expected to commence operation in 18 months' time.

Similarly, HSBC had also conveyed their requirements -- three acres for 3,000 people.

It was likely GE Capital would be allotted land in Salt Lake area, the IT hub of Kolkata while HSBC had seen both Salt Lake and Rajarhat, the proposed IT and ITES destination.

Meanwhile, the state government was also lobbying with the union government for greater support.

The IT team would be visiting the national capital tomorrow to meet Union IT Minister, Dayanidhi Maran.

One of the main points in the agenda was the submarine cable landing station, a long standing demand from the state IT department. In fact, the matter was first taken up with the erstwhile IT minister, Arun Shourie.

Gautama said, the state required more software technology parks in Haldia and Siliguri and this would be taken up at the meeting with Maran. At present, there were three STPs in Kolkata, Durgapur and the more recent one in Kharagpur.

The IT team was also keen on support from the union IT ministry in the state's e-governance initiative.

The wide area network would be taken up right upto the panchayat level and this would be require an investment of Rs 35 crore (Rs 350 million).

The state IT team was likely to ask for some financial support for this project.

Kolkata seems to be moving up in this area.

22)Bengal Intelligent Park Phase III

The phase III of the project will have a 18 storey tower to be completed by 2006. The other phases consist of several low rise buildings which are completed and occupied.

23) Westwind

Westwind consists of six residential towers of 14 storeys. It is being developed by Right Address Projects Limited.

WIPRO Kolkata - pics of the new centre

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/newsmakers/793752.cms

Nice to see Calcutta developing so fast.

Yeah some nice projects there.

24)Hiland Park
9 towers fom 17 to 28 storeys.

Updates:

http://www.hilandparkcal.com/site_progress/images/1s.jpg

http://www.hilandparkcal.com/site_progress/images/2s.jpg

http://www.hilandparkcal.com/site_progress/images/7s.jpg

http://www.hilandparkcal.com/site_progress/images/8s.jpg

http://www.hilandparkcal.com/site_progress/images/6s.jpg

25)Bengal Silver Spring

3 Towers of 18 storeys
3 towers of 16 storeys
4 towers of 14 storeys

http://www.thesilverspring.com/images/building02.jpg

http://www.thesilverspring.com/images/current/03.jpg

http://www.thesilverspring.com/images/current/04.jpg

26)South City Projects

4 towers - 35 storeys

http://www.southcityprojects.com/images/index.jpg

http://www.southcityprojects.com/images/status_24704_2.jpg

http://www.southcityprojects.com/images/status_24704_7.jpg

27)Shree Housing Complex

Three 14 storey buildings

http://www.bengaldcl.com/Welcome%20to%20Rupashree___files/rupaone.jpg

Suncity Alright!!!!. South City Project is what I am talking about. Calcutta needed to hit those mid 30s to late 30s mark if it needed to stay in competition with Mumbai in skyscraper competition. These 4 35 story towers will do a lot of good for Calcutta skyline situation. Great news!!!.

Suncity Alright!!!!. South City Project is what I am talking about. Calcutta needed to hit those mid 30s to late 30s mark if it needed to stay in competition with Mumbai in skyscraper competition. These 4 35 story towers will do a lot of good for Calcutta skyline situation. Great news!!!.

Mumbai has plenty of 30 storeys. Kolkata has none.

So there is no competition really.

But once they build these four, there surely will be more.

oh yeah....c',mon kolkata

DLF would probably end up constructing another Gurgaon type settlement in Kolkata, and this is good news. :) Check this newsclip below:

_________________________________________________________________

DLF plans Rs 1,000 crore mini township in Kolkata

Kolkata August 13, 2004



DLF, one of India’s leading real estate developers, is planning a mini township in Kolkata for an investment upwards of Rs 1,000 crore.

Yogesh Verma, chief executive—-DLF Info City Developers (Kolkata) said that the company entered Kolkata with the IT park project and was looking at other growth opportunities in the city. Verma said, the company had communicated its interest in the township project to the state government.

According to the preliminary blueprint, the township would be spread over 100 acres of land. Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) had asked for an expression of interest, said Verma. The project would be a combination of commercial, residential and recreational complex.

Typically, to develop 100 acres of land the investment required was in the region of Rs 1,000 crore. However, the investment could stretch depending on the nature of residential apartments.

If the project materialised, it would be DLF’s second project in Kolkata, the first being IT park at Rajarahat. DLF today, commenced construction of the largest integrated information technology hub in eastern India, spread over 1.3 million square feet.

Verma said, the Rs 280 crore project would be completed in 24 months’ time. Around 300,000 square feet would be functional by April, next year for an IT major.

The IT park could house 10,000 professional across 30 companies. Designed by Hafeez Contractor, DLF IT Park would be an integral IT complex and a city by itself.

Verma said, Kolkata was emerging as an attractive destination for outsourcing back-end operations of MNCs, business operations in the booming BPO/ITES sectors as well as call centres.

Located at Rajarhat in New Town close to National Highway 34, the complex would comprise three towers and a landscaped garden in the heart of the plot. The IT park was also close to the airport.

Verma said, DLF Universal had a number of projects under its belt and was set to complete over five million sqaure feet of commercial space by 2004.

Another three million sqaure feet was under development and would be operational by mid-2005.

Now, lets hope the towers mentioned in the report, are actually towering :cheers:, and not middling highrises! Hope to see a rendering soon...

ViMo...Lets hope so. I would like to see Calcutta get some 50 stories soon. It will be great if it happens.

Good project, but unlikely those towers will be very tall. Pretty sure it won't exceed 30 storeys. Still sounds very good though.

I think Kolkata still has a 40-storey height restriction,

India's largest IT park in Kolkata

August 12, 2004 16:33 IST


Real estate development major DLF Universal Limited, part of the Rs 1000 crore (Rs 10 billion) DLF group, would set up the country's largest information technology park in West Bengal, which would be ready within 24 months.

Announcing this in Kolkata, on Thursday, chief executive of DLF Universal Yogesh Verma said the Rs 280-crore (Rs 2.8 billion) project would be built on a 10-acre plot in Rajarhat and would offer 1.3 million square feet workspace incorporating the latest technology.

Verma said that the first phase of the project would be operational by April 2005, adding that a renowned corporate had already booked a floor space of 300,000 square feet.

He said that the park would cater to information technology companies as well as business process outsourcing and call centres.

He said that once completed, nearly 10,000 people could work in the IT park on 24X7 basis with a underground parking facility for 2000 cars.

Looks like we have three threads for the same project today!!!

I have seen a rendering of the project and I know I have a copy of it somewhere.

It's nice looking but I believe is 15-17 storeys only.

P&O to develop SEZ near Kolkata

Our Bureau / Kolkata August 12, 2004

P&O Ports will invest $400 million for developing a private port and a greenfield special economic zone (SEZ) at Kulpi 45 miles down the river Hooghly from Kolkata.

The company, along with its consortium partners, today signed agreements with the government of West Bengal (GoWB) for the project. P&O will develop port facility for both break bulk cargo and container cargo.

Jimmy Sarbh, chairman and managing director, south-east Asia and Middle East, of P&O Ports, said, "Our focus would be on container because that is where we specialise in. But there will be provision for bulk to serve units at SEZ."

The port will be developed by a company called Bengal Ports Ltd (BPL). P&O has 44.5 per cent stake in BPL, with Keventer Agro of Mahendra Jalan and Mukund Steel of Rajesh Shah holding 44.5 per cent more jointly.

The rest was owned by West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC). Sarbh said actual groundwork would start after 18 months.

P&O would undertake studies to look into various activities of the port using consultants to prepare reports on environmental impact, cargo flow, port alignment, and power water availability, among others. "We are reasonably confident that there is good prospect for the port and SEZ ," Sarbh pointed out.

"The marketing for SEZ will start shortly. We expect demand from domestic and foreign companies," M K Jalan told Business Standard.

At a later stage, BPL would be demreged into two companies, one exclusively for the port venture with P&O holding 69 per cent stake. A second company for the SEZ will have P&O holding 44.5 per cent stake.

To serve the West Bengal and the eastern region, BPL would be a greenfield multi-industry SEZ. In the first phase, it will have a 350 metre berth deigned to handle 0.5 million TEU containers.

Later, BPL would expand the berth to 1200m. The port would be on a 300 acre plot while the SEZ will come up on 2,700 acres. To begin with, the port and SEZ would require 600 acre land.

BPL will pay a royalty to GoWB for the project. The royalty will be one per cent to 15 per cent of gross revenue, rising over a period of time.

How many SEZ's have been established? Is this one also a 'foreign territory' within India i.e tax-free etc.??

the Ministry of Commerce has a website on the Special Economic Zones in the country:

http://www.sezindia.nic.in/

and it has a page on the site which gives all the SEZ's operational in the country, in addition to the ones under implementation and ones on the drawing board.

LIST OF OPERATIONAL AND APPROVED SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE (http://www.sezindia.nic.in/important_addresses.asp#app)

14 operational
3 under implementation
10 approved

^ Thanks for the link!

Here's the rendering in response to some of the questions in three earlier threads..

DLF Infocity, Kolkata

http://www.webel-india.com/images/content/pictures/dlf_large.jpg

Here's the rendering in response to some of the questions in three earlier threads..

DLF Infocity, Kolkata

http://www.webel-india.com/images/content/pictures/dlf_large.jpg

Hardly inspiring for a 1000 crore rupee project. I guess the usual suspect Hafeez Contractor, seems to be behind this project too..

I don't live in India so I may not know about all these matters. I visited Kolkata a few months ago and I found it a wonderful city bustling energy. There is a very nice urban life in the city center (around Park str.) and I really like it. I don't understand why there are so little foreigners (businessmen and tourists) going there!!!
KOLKATA IS GREAT!!!!!!!

I don't live in India so I may not know about all these matters. I visited Kolkata a few months ago and I found it a wonderful city bustling energy. There is a very nice urban life in the city center (around Park str.) and I really like it. I don't understand why there are so little foreigners (businessmen and tourists) going there!!!
KOLKATA IS GREAT!!!!!!!

Kolkata is a lively city although a bit laid back.

So good to hear good news about Kolkata for once. I would love to see Kolkata become a truly great city again/.

The City of Joy gets hi-tech (http://us.rediff.com/money/2004/aug/30spec.htm)

Anyone who'd like to replace those images with newer, fresher ones should make a whistlestop trip to the bustling, glass-and-concrete, information technology hub at Salt Lake. From there the next stop on the itinerary should be Rajarhat, where Delhi-based developer DLF is spending Rs 280 crore (Rs 2.8 billion) to build a 21st century infotech park.

Kolkata has leapfrogged into the infotech era and the pace is hotting up. Take a look at TCS, the big daddy of the software services industry. It already has 3,000 people on its rolls in Kolkata and it will be adding another 2,500 by July next year.

It's the same story at Cognizant, which has put big bets on Kolkata, now the home to its second-largest development centre employing 1,750 people. Cognizant is looking at adding another 1,100 jobs in the coming months.

Others too have giant expansion plans. And the target is to add 20,000 jobs in the next 18 months' time to the now 20,500-strong sector.

Other newcomers heading in this direction include Satyam Computers, ITC Infotech and HSBC Electronic Data Processing India, which will be setting up their centres shortly.

Is the infotech revolution having a broader impact on the city? Certainly, the economic indicators point to increased prosperity though it isn't clear how much of that can be attributed to the arrival of the tech companies.

Over the last five years, the state has been growing at 7.2 per cent. The number of vehicles on Kolkata's potholed streets has risen from 450,000 to 950,000 during the same time. Also, consumer spending has climbed and the malls are filled with people throughout the day.

Bengal seeks French IT connection (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/832649.cms)

State IT secretary G D Gautama said the department planned to use the proposed visit of a high-powered delegation of senators from France next month to showcase West Bengal's strengths in the infotech arena.

The French delegation would be in Kolkata from September 17 to 19.

Incidentally, Australian trade commissioner Tony Burchill met Gautama on Monday to explore how Australia could further its IT links with Bengal. A German delegation is expected to visit Kolkata in February 2005 to also scout for collaborations in the infotech sector.

but.......

Infosys still undecided on Kolkata: Murthy (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/832640.cms)

Infosys Technologies, despite recent government claims, has not yet made up its mind on establishing a facility in Kolkata. A decision to send a scouting mission here has also not been taken so far.

In an e-mailed reply to TOI, Murthy said: "We are debating whether to look at any new development centres in India. Once we come to a conclusion on this, we will send a team to Kolkata, Bhopal, Jaipur and a few other places. We have not decided on this."

Infosys is the only one among the country's top four software exporters which does not have a centre in Kolkata. Its only facility in eastern India is at Bhubaneswar.

The City of Joy gets hi-tech

Ishita Ayan Dutt & Pradeep Gooptu | August 30, 2004


For decades, the very mention of Kolkata conjured up images of unwhitewashed buildings or of colonial-era creations like the majestic Howrah Bridge or the stately Victoria Memorial.

Anyone who'd like to replace those images with newer, fresher ones should make a whistlestop trip to the bustling, glass-and-concrete, information technology hub at Salt Lake. From there the next stop on the itinerary should be Rajarhat, where Delhi-based developer DLF is spending Rs 280 crore (Rs 2.8 billion) to build a 21st century infotech park.

Kolkata has leapfrogged into the infotech era and the pace is hotting up. Take a look at TCS, the big daddy of the software services industry. It already has 3,000 people on its rolls in Kolkata and it will be adding another 2,500 by July next year.

It's the same story at Cognizant, which has put big bets on Kolkata, now the home to its second-largest development centre employing 1,750 people. Cognizant is looking at adding another 1,100 jobs in the coming months.

Others too have giant expansion plans. And the target is to add 20,000 jobs in the next 18 months' time to the now 20,500-strong sector.

"The realities on the ground are changing faster than the perceptions," says D K Chaudhuri, chief executive officer, SkyTECH Solutions, a homegrown software solutions company.

The state infotech department, once a placid backwater undisturbed by the swift-moving action of the IT revolution is now in overdrive, fielding queries from a mix of multinationals and hi-tech companies searching for new bases.

Senior officials are cagey about the future but say queries are coming in all the time. According to the city's infotech grapevine the newcomers in the near future could include GE Capital and Reliance Infocomm in the IT enabled services space.

"Setting up a unit in Kolkata is like setting up a pithead power plant -- the centre comes up where the human resource is located", says PriceWaterhouseCoopers Ltd managing director Roopen Roy who set up the city's and his company's first centre in Kolkata in the late 1980's and the first dedicated complex in the mid-1990s.

Other newcomers heading in this direction include Satyam Computers, ITC Infotech and HSBC Electronic Data Processing India, which will be setting up their centres shortly.

The fact is that ever since Buddhadev Bhattacharjee took over from the computer-bashing Jyoti Basu at Writers Building, IT and ITES companies have been flocking to Kolkata, largely at the behest of a more pro-active government.

The government realised that it had to actively woo fast-growing IT and ITES companies from around the country. And the state IT department led by minister, Manabendra Mukherjee and secretary, G D Gautama have already notched up many victories by wooing companies like Wipro Technologies and Wipro Spectramind to Kolkata.

The results are already clearly visible. There are almost 200 IT and ITES companies operating in the city. This year revenues from the sector are expected to be in the region of Rs 2,800 crore (Rs 28 billion). The state IT minister says that during a trip to Bangalore he persuaded Infosys to send a team to evaluate Kolkata's infrastructure.

Not surprisingly, the mood in the sector is upbeat and almost all companies seem to be expanding. Indu Khattar, general manager and head of Kolkata's Wipro operations says that the West Bengal government has been more helpful than any other government she has interacted with. Khattar's comments are significant because she's a Wipro veteran who has also worked in Bangalore and Pune.

Wipro has already taken 17 acres and it has room on its campus for about 5,000 people. Says Khattar: "We will populate the infrastructure as soon as possible."

Besides that Wipro is also looking at a 40-acre plot at Rajarhat, the new IT hub. Similarly, Cognizant is also looking at the option of taking new premises at Rajarhat.

The government's new attitude is also bringing in multinationals who might otherwise have steered clear of the city. HSBC Electronic Data Processing India, for instance, plans to start operations with 500 people and ramp up swiftly after that.

Niall S K Booker, group general manager and chief executive officer, HSBC India says, that the government's new attitude was a significant factor in the bank's decision to head towards Kolkata.

The arrival of a bank like HSBC is a watershed event because the first banking sector entry will attract the attention of other banks and open up new opportunities", says Roy of PwC.

"I am worried about whether the state will be able to produce trained manpower at the rate at which demand could grow. Competition for resources could erode some of the advantages," he cautions.

Even smaller companies have ambitious plans for the city. Kolkata-bred SkyTECH Solutions (a joint venture between TCG and United Airlines) is an airlines and transportation solutions provider that has doubled its numbers over the past year. It aspires to be a $100 million company in three years' time.

Of course, Jyoti Basu's "chelas" haven't vanished from the scene entirely. The government has promised that IT operations won't be disrupted by strikes and bandhs.

But that hasn't always worked in practice. Some companies like PwC, have avoided trouble by staying shut during strikes. And most 24/7 units like call centres have lost one day a year for the last two years.

Inevitably, the infotech boom is making its impact felt around Kolkata. The coming of DLF has made other builders sit up and take note of the city's new ambitions in the infotech sectors and it's very likely that more technology parks will quickly become a reality.

"Rajarhat is one of the few locations in the country which offers hundreds of acres of prime land close to a major airport", says Roy.

Is the infotech revolution having a broader impact on the city? Certainly, the economic indicators point to increased prosperity though it isn't clear how much of that can be attributed to the arrival of the tech companies.

Over the last five years, the state has been growing at 7.2 per cent. The number of vehicles on Kolkata's potholed streets has risen from 450,000 to 950,000 during the same time. Also, consumer spending has climbed and the malls are filled with people throughout the day.

The infotech chiefs still say the government should do more to project the new realities of the city. Foreign clients are still chary of moving here. To change these impressions, the government should sell itself more energetically with roadshows abroad.

Ajoyendra Mukherjee, vice president, Tata Consultancy Services suggests that the government should adopt more sophisticated techniques and focus on selling itself to analysts like Gartner who shape the minds of foreign investors.

At a slightly different level, Siddharth Mukherjee, vice president, Kolkata operations, Cognizant says that the government has made the right moves but will now have to show execution excellence. He reckons the city needs a few more anchor companies like Wipro to change fixed opinions about the city. Around 16 per cent to 18 per cent of Cognizant's revenues come from Kolkata.

What could be a weak point in all this? The city's biggest selling point is the large talent pool that's available. But, the talent is all, unfortunately, at a junior level. At the top, people responsible for building brands and turning around companies, have migrated and it's tough to woo them back.

Kolkata is, of course, still a software midget compared to cities like Chennai and Bangalore. But it would be an amazing about-face if high technology helps turn the slow-paced, growth-starved first city of the British Raj into a fast-moving thriving 21st century metropolis.

Flower mart and fun zone?

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040831/images/31flowerbox.jpg


How about some cappuccino and a light bite in a revolving restaurant overlooking the Hooghly? Or a capsule-lift ride into the country’s only international flower auction centre? Or some window-shopping before settling down in star comfort?

Calcutta’s mega flower mart promises to be 32,000 sq ft of pure indulgence at Mullickghat. Showcasing India’s finest floral fare to buyers at home and abroad, the complex will also offer star hospitality and shopping hotspots (see graphic).

The project, to cost the state horticulture department around Rs 20 crore, has been cleared and work is likely to begin after the Pujas. If things go according to the plan on paper, the hub on the riverfront should open its revolving doors next year.

“This will transform the concept of flower-vending in India. We would like to create a space for promoting flower exports from this part of the country in a special manner,” claims Sudhangshu Sil, chairman, Mullickghat Phoolbazar Parichalan Samity.

Sil heads the nine-member committee set up to oversee the project, that will boast around 900 flower stalls on two floors, selling every variety produced locally.

The four-storey mall has been conceived by Bose Architects. The second floor will be dedicated to “the first international flower auction centre in the country”.

Complete with a state-of-the-art cold-chain (meant to preserve flowers at 4 degrees Celsius), the centre will display some of the best blooms from Bengal.

The ground and the first floor of the address will be earmarked for plush stalls enticing buyers to splurge. “The space will be dedicated to the setting up of a mall offering everything, from rare Indian handicrafts to garments, foodstuff to flowers,” claimed a member of the committee.

The endeavour, he added, was to create the right ambience by the Hooghly. So, it’s not about flowers alone, but about creating a one-stop shop for the bloom brigade.

“The guesthouses will offer nothing short of star luxury. They will have pools, parlours and with art arcades to woo visitors,” said Subrata Bose, deputy manager of the Horticulture Development Corporation.

“We flew in experts who advised us on ways to develop Dutch roses. The groundwork has begun and the produce should be available by early 2005. Besides, investors are already queuing up to produce rare varieties of flowers here,” adds Bose.

And the best is probably saved for last — from ground level, that is — in the form of a revolving cafeteria, fitted with a capsule lift and offering an all-in-one spread — from fish ’n’ chips to tandoori specials.

Flyover Delays! So what's new? - The usual story of lazy bums and their excuses

Flyover bags a breather
- Extension, funds surplus put govt on to-do mission
SHANKAR MUKHERJEE
What the government plans to do with the spillover JBIC funds in the year ahead

Original deadline: May 2004.

Progress report: Slow motion.

Revised deadline: December 2005.

The Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government has won quite a breather from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), which is funding the Rs 400-crore programme for the construction of four flyovers and development of five major road intersections in the city.

Government officials on Monday confirmed the extension of the JBIC deadline, that came about following the intervention of the chief minister and lobbying by transport minister Subhas Chakraborty in Delhi.

“We had urged the funding agency to extend the deadline, citing some unavoidable circumstances for the delay in completing the flyovers. They were convinced and responded to our appeal,’’ said transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury.

The flyovers and road intersections were scheduled to be ready by April 2004, with a buffer month kept to tie up the loose ends.

The Lockgate flyover has just been completed, six months behind schedule. But the Park Street flyover is still a few months away from completion and is close to being two years behind schedule.

“Extension of deadline does not mean that the ongoing work will continue to be tardy. We are determined to complete it by this year and have directed the contractors and others accordingly,” added the transport secretary.

“Once the Park Street flyover is ready by this year-end, we will get another year to take up some other projects, to be implemented with the surplus funds,” he added.

Officials said the surplus fund has been estimated at about Rs 40 crore. Several options — from part-funding of flyovers to major road repairs — are being explored for its utilisation (see box).

“Whatever we do with the surplus funds, we have to complete it within November 2005. But, going by experience, it is not possible to complete any major project within this time-frame. So, we are opting for a package of projects on a smaller scale, that can be completed within a year,” said H. Mohan, joint secretary in the transport department.

So, road repair, installation of a signalling system, setting up guard-rails on pavements and dereservation of tram tracks are topping the to-do list. “We will finalise our programme within a week,” added Mohan.

Why Kolkata Port has a future

September 01, 2004


Until about two years ago, the Kolkata Port Trust was struggling to improve its operations. Its annual cargo handling had stagnated at around 30 million tonnes. Growth prospects appeared bleak.

India's oldest and the only riverine port also faced the problem of shallow draughts ranging between seven and eight metres at both its dock systems at Haldia and Kidderpore.

This was one of the shallowest draughts in any major port in India and it meant that neither of the dock systems could attract ships of higher tonnage capacity. This raised the cost of operations.

And add to this the relatively high non-port charges like those of stevedores and a none-too-cooperative cargo handling workforce, a turnaround in the performance of the Kolkata port looked a remote possibility.

But the new management at the Kolkata Port Trust had other ideas. Last year, it handled over 41 million tonnes of cargo--a rise of 35 per cent in two years, while all major ports grew by only 20 per cent in this period. Only two major ports handled more cargo than Kolkata--the Kandla port at 41.5 million tonnes and the Vizag port at 47.7 million tonnes.

In 2003-04, the Kolkata Port Trust clocked a growth of 15 per cent, compared to the 10 per cent growth recorded by all the major ports.

There was no looking back for the Kolkata Port even in respect of container cargo, which grew by 19 per cent to about 4 million tonnes last year, behind only the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and the Chennai Port Trust.

How was this achieved? The Kolkata Port Trust management had a simple strategy that was implemented with little fanfare. It abandoned the age-old fixed tariff system and introduced a flexible policy in which the tariffs were linked to market rates. So, tariffs dropped when the port management considered that necessary to woo cargo away from other ports.

True, this meant a drop in revenue as the port's operating income fell by 24 per cent to Rs 868 crore (Rs 8.68 billion) in 2002-03. But the volume of cargo handled also went up by 18 per cent in 2002-03.

And like in all such tariff-cut measures, operating income began rising from subsequent years. In the case of the Kolkata port, it went up by 10 per cent in 2003-04, riding on a 15 per cent growth in the volume of cargo handled.

That trend is likely to continue in the current year as well.

For the Kolkata port management, tariff flexibility was not the only strategy.

It worked towards attracting new types of cargo that would also give a boost to the economy of its hinterland. For instance, it found out that West Bengal had an annual surplus of 2.5 million tonne of potatoes and that Singapore was a market ready to import more of this vegetable, which would otherwise either go waste or be sold in the domestic market at a throwaway price.

A few thousand container loads of potatoes had been exported. But it was felt that such exports needed special containers, which increased the packaging costs. If only the port could reduce its cargo handling charges, Bengal's potato growers could reap huge export benefits.

The Kolkata port authorities did not take long to reduce by half the wharfage charges for handling potato containers. Now potato exports have become viable. The gainers are the Kolkata port and of course the farm economy of Bengal.

Another such move is to create special linkages with ports in Chittagong and Narayanganj in Bangladesh. A proposal is now under consideration to use barge-based terminals at Narayanganj to ferry about 2,500 containers of products/food items that are exported from Kolkata to Dhaka every month.

So far these were being shipped to Chittagong. But the market targeted by the Indian exporters is Dhaka -- a distance of 300 kilometres from Chittagong.

The implementation of the proposal to set up a barge-based terminal at Narayanganj can reduce the transportation cost for Indian exporters, because the distance between Dhaka and Narayanganj is only 21 kilometres.

To sweeten the deal and improve its cargo handling, the Kolkata port already decided to slash its wharfage charge from Rs 6,000 to Rs 1,000 per container (TEU). In a similar move to get more business from north India, the wharfage charges for cargo from north India have been slashed by more than a third to Rs 500 per container.

These are all aggressive measures to attract more cargo for the Kolkata port system and are certain to improve its performance. But the Kolkata Port's growth in the future will be sustained not just by these measures.

There is now a proposal to build a new dock facilities at Sagar, about 150 kilometres from Kolkata.

Estimated at a cost of Rs 2,300 crore (Rs 23 billion) and to be funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the new dock system will actually be a big help for both the Kolkata and Haldia dock systems.

Studies have shown that for every tonne of cargo handled by the new Sagar dock system, there would be an incremental traffic flow of about 2 tonnes to each of the dock systems at Kolkata and Haldia. The proposal is now awaiting the clearance of the Union finance ministry.

The advantages are many: Sagar can attract bigger ships because its draught is about 12 metres, almost as deep as the draught available at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal, though not as deep as the Chennai port's 15 metres. But it will be far deeper than the draught available at Kolkata and Haldia.

That is the medium-term strategy for the Kolkata Port. What about its long-term strategy?

Well, a plan has already been formulated to set up a floating port at Sandheads, 232 kilometres away from Kolkata. And the draught there is 50 metres!

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040827/images/27flyover.jpg

Fast forward on flyovers
SHANKAR MUKHERJEE


The chief minister has found a pet hate — the flyovers left hanging around town.

Several times last week, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee called senior ministers and bureaucrats to his chamber to drill home just one point: do something about those unfinished flyovers, or else…

Early this week, fresh from his successful showcasing of Bengal at a roadshow in Mumbai, Bhattacharjee rolled out a flyover time-table, too.

“These flyovers must be commissioned this year,” he said. “I am visiting other states to showcase Bengal, whereas there is nothing but a mess in my own backyard. This can’t go on,” he told one of the ministers.

On Thursday, transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury chose the unfinished Park Street flyover, on Chowringhee Road, as the right platform to read the riot act to implementing agency Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC) and contractor Senbo.

“We are tired of your excuses for the delay in constructing the flyover,” Chowdhury told Senbo chief executive Kajol Sengupta.

Known for his proximity to the CPM brass, Sengupta cited delayed payments, construction problems and uncertainties in procurement of steel as causes for the slowdown.

“I want to drive up to the middle of the flyover with the chief secretary on September 15 and then accompany the chief minister on a point-to-point drive in November. How you do it is your problem,’’ Chowdhury told Sengupta.

“I shall complete the flyover within the November deadline, provided my payments are not blocked,” declared Sengupta.

The fast forward on flyovers comes a month before a team from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) visits the city. The government is keen to pitch for more infrastructure development funds and a wider association with JBIC at the September 22 meeting.

The bid for fresh JBIC funds, to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore, could collapse if the visiting team frowns on the unfinished flyovers. The fresh JBIC funds are needed for the East-West Metro, the East Calcutta Development Project and the Raichak-Kukrahati bridge.

“Please remember, there are several states pitching for JBIC funds, so we must put our house in order first,” Bhattacharjee told ministers Asok Bhattacharya, Subhas Chakraborty and Amar Chowdhury this week.

Urban development minister Bhattacharya will visit the Lake Gardens flyover on Friday and the Sonarpur flyover next week, while PWD minister Chowdhury will inspect the Bondel Gate site on Saturday.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040827/asp/calcutta/story_3678779.asp

Kshatriya...Indeed its a tragedy. But look at the big picture. Usually what happens in India is if 5 projects are announced 2 doesnt get completed. But no one talks about the other 3 projects that are completed. In this case, its a blessing in disguise. If 5 flyovers are still left hanging, around 15-18 flyovers were probably completed in time in Calcutta. so that is a good news. :) :)

The Park Street flyover which has the potential of completion by early next year. The Lake Gardens, Bondel Gate and Sonarpur ones have been delayed a lot by legal disputes over land. But still that isn't a worthy excuse. If the government wants it can do anything. Now that BB has given the minister AB a kick in the a** he is running around taking a "tough" stance. Shows you that if you enforce strictness in the administaration everything starts to move.

Delay frown for flyover

A STAFF REPORTER
Either wind up the project by December or face the music.

Urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya fired this salvo at the contractor building the Sonarpur flyover and officials of the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), entrusted with supervising the project.

On a prod from chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the minister and a host of CMDA officials visited Sonarpur on Saturday to monitor the progress of work.

The flyover, coming up near the railway station, was scheduled to be completed in June 2000.

The public works department had taken up the Rs 16-crore project in 1997, but could not make much progress.

The government then roped in the CMDA.

Annoyed over the delay, the chief minister has asked Bhattacharya to personally monitor the work and ensure its completion by the year-end.

“A lot of hurdles were encountered, including problems in acquisition of land and the hazards of working in a congested area. Still, the project should have been over much earlier. We have taken some serious steps to complete it as soon as possible,’’ minister Bhattacharya said.

“I have made it clear to the CMDA officials and the contractor that I will not hear any further excuse. I hope the deadline will be met,’’ he added.

Bhattacharya also reviewed the state of drinking water supply in the area. The CMDA has taken up a project to augment supply.

“The population in and around Sonarpur has been rapidly increasing. Following the extension of the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass to Sonarpur, an increasing number of people are opting to move into the area. We are taking all steps to provide the basic amenities to the people,’’ the minister asserted.

Address shift for flyover settlers

A STAFF REPORTER

A vote costs Rs 2 lakh. What else can explain the Left Front government’s delaying the Bondel Gate flyover for eight years? It refused to upset a votebank of 750, allowing the project to run up a cost escalation of Rs 15 crore.

Now, under the aegis of local CPM legislator Rabin Deb, the state government has decided to rehabilitate the 150 tenant families who refused to budge at the upcoming Nonadanga housing project, under the Centre’s Valmiki Abas Yojana scheme.

Work on the Rs 21-crore Bondel Gate flyover began in 1995. But because of frequent suspension of work due to agitations by the encroachers, the flyover is still far from complete and the project cost has soared to Rs 36 crore.

“Construction on the eastern flank of the rail tracks was completed about five years ago. But we have been facing hurdles in carrying out construction on the western flank,” said public works department (PWD) minister Amar Choudhury. The railway authorities are now working to bridge the gap over the tracks.

According to a senior PWD engineer, 58 families at 60, Bondel Road had been shifted to construct the approach road to the flyover. The main objective of the project, he explained, was to provide a third corridor to the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, after the Park Circus and Gariahat connectors.

Construction of the road connecting the flyover with Rifle Range Road has been suspended because of encroachments. The PWD has already paid compensation to the owners of the structures but their tenants are now demanding rehabilitation.

“The landlords have received compensation but where will the tenants go? Altogether 150 tenant families live in those structures,” said local MLA Deb. According to him, eight decks are to be cast on the western end of the gate to connect the flyover with Rifle Range Road, but only three of them have been cast.

Casting the rest requires eviction of the tenants. “I have taken up a scheme to rehabilitate them in flats at Nonadanga. Flats will be made available to them for Rs 30,000,” Deb said. Since the Nonadanga project is not ready yet, the families will be given temporary shelter elsewhere.

Picnic Garden Road and GS Bose Road will be widened by the CMDA after the flyover is commissioned next year.

The Lake Gardens Flyover has also been held up for similar reasons where a few families have refused to move to alternative government provided accomodation in the new townships in the eastern part of the city.

Bondel Road bridge to be ready by May 2005 (Sept 16-30, 2004)
PM News Bureau

Come May 2005 and the Bondel Road bridge in Kolkata will be completed - 16 years after the project was first conceived. The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority and the state PWD are jointly implementing the project. According to officials, 60 per cent of the work has been completed and the balance work is expected to be completed in next eight months.
Although the project was conceived in 1988, the foundation stone of the project was laid in 1995 by then Chief Minister Jyoti Basu. As per the original plan, the project was to be completed by 1998 but it faced various hurdles, in the main land acquisition and rehabilitation, political protests and paucity of funds. Around 35 families in Ballygunge are yet to be rehabilitated and unless this issue is resolved, the project may overshoot even the new deadline.
In the meantime, the cost of the project has escalated from Rs 21 crore to Rs 36 crore. Most of the project cost is being met by KDMA.

http://www.projectsmonitor.com/detailnews.asp?newsid=8160

High-fly airport agenda

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040925/asp/calcutta/story_3800146.asp

Kolkata: A new terminal building, more aerobridges, revamped landing and lighting systems, giant cargo terminal — Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata, is taxiing to a turnaround.

A five-year, Rs 150-crore makeover model was rolled out by civil aviation minister Praful Patel here on Friday.

The idea, he said, was to upgrade the airport with international-standard infrastructure.

“Conditions at Kolkata airport need a great deal of improvement. This includes increasing the capacity of terminals,” the minister asserted, after meeting chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at Writers’ Buildings.

In a matter of months, the Centre will start building an international terminal with a new building. The existing one will be demolished.

“The new terminal will meet international standards and will accommodate traffic for the next 25 years,” the minister said.

The architectural design for the new terminal is ready and financial approval has been granted. The terminal has been designed by an architect behind another airport in Paris, added Patel.

Admitting that Indian aviation hadn’t grown much compared to some other Asian countries, Patel added: “Our facilities need to be as good as Singapore and Dubai. The airports in the metros should have world-class facilities to act as a catalyst for business and industry.”

Kolkata is among 28 airports targeted for a makeover. The domestic terminal at Dum Dum will also be upgraded with more aerobridges and the landing and lighting systems will be overhauled. “We don’t want delays of flights due to fog,” the minister said.

The airport will have a new Rs 50-crore cargo complex with cold-storage facility.

“We hope this will give a fillip to export of fruits, vegetables and flowers from Bengal,” said Patel.

The Centre will also use Kolkata as the engineering base for the Airbus 319, set to replace the Indian Airlines Boeing aircrafts.

The minister, however, expressed concern about the fact that Kolkata has few international flights.

“We want to correct the situation. Any foreign airline seeking permission for operating from here will be given top priority,” promised Patel, adding that both Indian Airlines and Air-India would start additional international flights next year.

“These flights will concentrate on Asean cities like Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Kolkata has the potential to be a hub for the region,” Patel said.

Great news! At last India is beginning to try and compete with Singapore, HK and other regional hubs. Is there anything planned for Delhi and Mumbai, which really this sort of makeover too?

Dozen bids for transit

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041001/asp/calcutta/story_3823417.asp

Traffic in Calcutta may move at a snail’s pace, but a dozen companies, both Indian and foreign, have responded readily enough to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s invitation for bids to modernise the mass transit system in the city.

Seven Indian and five foreign companies have responded to the invitation, which expired on September 15, officials said on Thursday.

Among the foreign firms are CSR Sefang Locomotive of China, KLRS of UK, Amex International (Czech), ILFS & Taxia of Singapore and Connex of France. Indian ones, like Konkan Railways, Alsthom, Bharat Heavy Electricals and Gammon are also in the fray.

The government would like to introduce either a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) System or Light Rail Transit (LRT) System to connect different parts of the city.

The project will have to be implemented fully or partly on a build-operate-transfer basis and the track will be elevated, without disturbing vehicular movement on the roads.

“We have engaged Consulting Engineering Services (CES) to shortlist the bids… A final decision will be taken on the basis of the shortlist,” transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury said.

“Different companies, like Skybus and LRT, have made offers. We will have to see which proposal can be executed fast, with minimum investment and maximum benefits.”

According to officials from the Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation (TIDC), the agency that had floated the tender, five more companies, including three from abroad, have sought more time to submit their offers.

They were unable to procure the necessary documents and complete the formalities for foreign investment. A decision will be taken soon.

Concerned over the rising number of vehicles in and around the city, the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government has decided to introduce a modern mode of transport to ease the chaos and increase vehicular speed.

The government is in favour of the LRT, as it takes little space to lay the elevated track and will not disrupt traffic services during construction.

Kolkata Building rules

The West Bengal State Government has approved Kolkata mayor Subrata Mukherjee’s proposal for abolition of the height restriction for buildings that are on roads not less than 15 metre wide. The abolition has become necessary for the civic body to allow construction of highrises. The municipal affairs department approved the civic body’s proposed amendments to the building rules on Thursday. Some members of the mayor’s council, like Javed Ahmed Khan, have opposed the abolition of the height restriction. In case of a fire, they argued, residents of upper storeys will be beyond the reach of firemen’s ladder.

Sounds good to me!

There's plenty of highrise residential buildings in the world that are too tall for fire ladders. So what's the big deal?

Sounds good, but these new buildings should have strict fire codes (escape routes, sprinkler systems etc)

Good. Fire is an issue, but the solution, as Ubermensch puts it, is to impose strict fire codes. It can be done if the government is truly committed to it. So good :D

Dozen bids for transit
They were unable to procure the necessary documents and complete the formalities for foreign investment. A decision will be taken soon.

Concerned over the rising number of vehicles in and around the city, the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government has decided to introduce a modern mode of transport to ease the chaos and increase vehicular speed.

The government is in favour of the LRT, as it takes little space to lay the elevated track and will not disrupt traffic services during construction.

LRT is called "Light" for a reason. If there is to be a true solution, then no pain no gain. Go for MRT.

Also, why is it that companies are "unable to complete formalities". So much for cutting red tape...

last time i went to calcutta it was very big

Good. Time to get some 40+ story skyscrapers planned for the City of Joy. Fire Dept will catch up. Dont neet to worry too much about them.

I guess when the huge buildings come up, the fire department will equip itself. Anyway Kolkata needs to house those millions of people. No way but to go up. Thank God something is finally happening in Kolkata.

The Association of Hospitals of Eastern India (http://www.ahei.org/) (AHEI), an organisation of 12 leading private hospitals in the region, has decided to set up a Health City project in Kolkata metropolitan area. It has chosen Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas district for the project. The association has already made a presentation to West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who has asked his colleagues to conduct a feasibility study for the mega project. The state’s health and urban development department is currently carrying out the study.

Health City will have 50,000 beds but will take at least five years to come into being. It will spread across 800 acres with 100-odd hospitals, a hospital management school, ayurveda and naturopathy centres, nursing colleges, shopping malls, guest houses, banks and internet cafes.

The project proposes to house several speciality hospitals and will be a city within the city. According to the scheme of things, AHEI will hold two plots each for their hospitals while the rest of the plots will be given to reputed health institutes and hospitals from the country and abroad. The project entails an investment of Rs 20,000 crore, half of which will be funded by foreign investors. Health City has been modelled as per entities in southern India but on a much bigger scale.

A major focus of Health City will, however, be international patients who have been coming to India in increasing numbers. According to AHEI estimates, as many as 70,000 Bangladeshis, 20,000 Nepalese and another 20,000 people from neighbouring countries come to West Bengal every year. AHEI is eyeing patients from other South East Asian countries, too.

The association has requested the state government for jointly setting up the infrastructure including developing the land, roads, sewerage, drainage and electricity, in the first phase. The hospitals will be built in the second phase with part-financed by the state government.

According to AHEI, the cost of hospital operations will be significantly lower since all the hospitals operating in Health City will outsource activities such as laundry, food services, housekeeping and supplementary power generation.

The Health City will have warehouses of many reputed pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers of surgicals, disposables and implants equipment. The onsite warehousing will not only help the companies in selling their wares but will also help the hospitals operating in the Health City reducing inventory costs.

AHEI has assured the state that the cost of medical treatment for local patients will be kept lower than the prices to be charged for international patients. A thoroughly impressed chief minister said, “It is a good proposal. We’re working according to the plan.”

Apollo Hospital, Calcutta

http://www.sitacare.com/hospital-in-india/apollo-kolkata.jpg

SSKM Hospital, Calcutta (Calcutta's oldest)

http://www.bengalweb.com/calcutta/images/medical/sskm.jpg

Kothari Medical Centre & Research Institute, Calcutta

http://www.kotharimedical.com/images/pixentranc2.jpg

NRS Medical College & Hospital, Calcutta

http://www.bengalweb.com/edu/nrsc1.jpg

http://www.bengalweb.com/vtour/nrs3.jpg

Calcutta Medical Research Institute (CMRI), Calcutta

http://www.kolkatabest.com/CityResources/Health_and_Medicine/img/CMRI2.jpg

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/873695.cms

For a home in the skies
SUBHRO NIYOGI

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, OCTOBER 05, 2004 02:31:30 AM ]

KOLKATA: The excitement at is palpable. It's no longer just Chowringhee and Eastern Metropolitan Bypass that are eligible for highrises.

Plots alongside most major city roads are now open for the race to the sky.

The easing of restrictions on highrises has opened the real estate playground to an explosion of opportunity.

While the earlier norms restricted construction to eight storeys, builders can now build as tall as they wish without seeking special permission.

"Shimmering skyscrapers will replace drab, stunted structures. For this metropolis, it's a never-before opportunity to acquire an international character," says architect Jayprakash Agarwal.

Though chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has been trying to convince the world that Kolkata has changed, it has been tough to drive home the point in the absence of tangibles. A city bristling with swanky skyscrapers could do the magic.

"There are exciting times ahead. The waiver of embargo on construction height for projects on roads that are 14.5 metre wide will metamorphose Kolkata," said Pioneer Property Management director Rajkumar Khaitan.

Jugal Khetawat, president of the Bengal chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India and managing director of Rameshwara Group agreed.

"The shift from horizontal to vertical development will ring in the change," he said.

The waiver - prodded by a Calcutta High Court judgment and embraced by mayor Subrata Mukherjee last week - has allowed developers the flight to fancy.

"Don't be surprised if a 20-storey building is developed on Amherst Street or AJC Bose Road," said PS Group director and CREDAI honorary secretary Pradip Chopra.

Merlin Projects MD Sushil Mohta has already rushed to the drawing board, redesigning future projects. "It adds creativity to the work of architects and innovation to builders," he explained.

Home-buyers in Kolkata have already shown willingness to pay a premium to move up in life. In highrises, the average price hike for every three storeys is Rs 25 per sq ft.

Calcutta Metropolitan Group director Sumit Dabriwala, who ushered in variable pricing at the Hiland Park development on EM Bypass, feels the premium is as much for a pie of the sky as for more ventilation and less pollution.

"We'll now have sensible tall buildings and more open space in the city. The earlier guidelines had stifled development and forced horizontal development that led to the creation of a concrete jungle" he said.

But it's not just aesthetics and premium. The new law, said Park Chambers director Pradeep Sureka, would correct imbalances like depleting ground water table due to massive concretisation.

Are there 14.5m wide roads in Kolkata. The general image painted by papers and tv show it as some kind of a congested city. Though this is a good development. Hight time Kolkata became famous for something other than it's slums and EDEN gardens.

Are there 14.5m wide roads in Kolkata. The general image painted by papers and tv show it as some kind of a congested city. Though this is a good development. Hight time Kolkata became famous for something other than it's slums and EDEN gardens.

Yeah. Kolkata's image is kind of stuck in the rut. But it is not as bad a city as is made out to be by the media.

Maybe Kolkata will get some more media attention for the right reasons:

Impressed Azad sees a New Town in all states
SAUGATA ROY AND SUMAN CHAKRABORTI

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, OCTOBER 05, 2004 02:30:07 AM ]

KOLKATA: It's hot, it's happening, and it's here. That's Rajarhat New Town. Ask urban development minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

In Kolkata on Monday, the minister was so impressed by New Town that he wants to play up the satellite township as a model for other states to follow.

"This could be really an eye-opener for the neighbouring states," Azad said in a meeting with state housing minister Gautam Deb at the Rajarhat site office.

The minister asked state officials to send a representative to make a presentation on the New Town Project before the chief ministers of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab, who will meet in the Capital to attend a meeting on housing on October 28.

"All these states now want to set up satellite townships, 20 years after Rajiv Gandhi mooted the idea. And most of them have been complaining of funds crunch. They should learn from Bengal how to decongest the city without taxing the state coffers. The chief ministers can also come here and see the good work," said Azad.

But what makes the New Town, spread over 3,075 square kilometres, unique?

"First of all, the proposed New Town project isn't a mere township. It will grow into a second city where residents won't have to move out to Kolkata every day for their daily needs. (Some 1.5 million people are expected to stay there.) Secondly, it is close to the airport - and that's something very few satellite townships in the country can boast of," said Gautam Deb.

He didn't ask for monetary support from the Centre. Instead, he urged Azad to take up joint venture construction projects, especially in the proposed Central Business District.

For this, he wants the National Housing Bank to grant soft loans to the tune of Rs 400 crore for infrastructure that the Union ministry had assured for the satellite township.

More about the rule changes...

Post-Puja building rule bonanza
DEEPANKAR GANGULY

The civic authorities said on Sunday that a new set of building rules will come into effect post-Durga puja, offering a bonanza for builders of houses, especially highrises, by way of extra built-up areas.

“The new rules will please everyone,” hoped mayor Subrata Mukherjee. “There will be more saleable space, both in terms of actual living and parking of cars. The city will benefit as a whole because the rules will address the problem of shortage of parking space.”

The rules will create more carpet area — wall-to-wall inside a flat –- by excluding the parking lot and the staircase from the calculation of covered area (plinth area) while determining the floor area ratio (FAR) for sanctioning a building construction plan.

Under the new rules, the FAR will be allowed in proportion to the width of the roads abutting the plots.

Now, the total covered area allowed on a particular plot is limited by the FAR in accordance with the width of the road, and the parking lot and the staircase are included while calculating the covered area.

As a result, a plot-owner has to forego a portion of the carpet area to get a parking space or a wider staircase.

Moreover, the civic authorities will encourage construction of more basement parking lots by offering to keep the basement outside the calculation of the plinth area and by allowing the builder the benefit of an extra floor equal to the area of the basement.

Under the present building rules, there are slabs of road width for the value of FAR. For example, a plot-owner on a four-metre-wide road does not get more covered area than a plot-owner with a three-metre-wide road in front of his premises, since the FAR is all the same for the slab 3-5 metre.

The forthcoming rules will make the FAR proportionate to the width of the road and hence, a plot located on a four-metre-wide road will get proportionately more covered area than a plot abutting a three-metre-wide road.

Definitions:

FLOOR AREA RATIO: Land area divided by plinth area
CARPET AREA: Wall-to-wall area inside a flat
BUILT-UP AREA: Internal and external walls of a flat and 50 per cent of a partition wall of a neighbouring flat
PLINTH AREA: Carpet area + built up area + proportionately shared areas of common corridor, staircase, ceiling area of the staircase at the topmost floor, lift space, covered space in front of the lift and staircase on the ground floor .

Wow, awesome!

Maybe Kolkata will look like Shanghai someday soon! :D

Also, maybe they'll get enough highrises, and Mumbai will get jealous, so they too will start building lots of skyscrapers. :D

So in 20 years,
Kolkata = Shanghai, and
Mumbai = Hong Kong

:D

Wow, awesome!

Maybe Kolkata will look like Shanghai someday soon! :D

Also, maybe they'll get enough highrises, and Mumbai will get jealous, so they too will start building lots of skyscrapers. :D

So in 20 years,
Kolkata = Shanghai, and
Mumbai = Hong Kong

:D

Wishful thinking.. But,
Hope springs eternal :D

Wow, awesome!

Maybe Kolkata will look like Shanghai someday soon! :D

Also, maybe they'll get enough highrises, and Mumbai will get jealous, so they too will start building lots of skyscrapers. :D

So in 20 years,
Kolkata = Shanghai, and
Mumbai = Hong Kong

:D

Uhmm
I dont want Calcutta or Bombay to be like Shanghai or Hong Kong.

They are both great places (Shanghai/Hong Kong) but Calcutta has its own charm and Bombay its own personality. No need to memic any other city. Development in these two cities will happen keeping their individuality in my mind.

Stung by the non-clearance of his dream "Kolkata Gate" project on ecological grounds, Kolkata's mayor Subrata Mukherjee has now proposed a 50 storey tower to be built on the EM Bypass.

"A group of eminent developers has shown interest in the project. Keeping that in mind, we have decided to call for an expression of interest before the end of this month," Mukherjee said on Thursday.

The Rs 400-crore project will be a joint venture between KMC and the construction firms. The former will provide a 12-acre plot off EM Bypass for the construction of the residential-cum-commercial building.

http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/articleshow?msid=877638

All Kolkata related news goes here..

Any idea the IT building project shown in this BBC photo, purported to be in Kolkatta?

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40178000/jpg/_40178740_build.jpg

Looks nice

Any idea the IT building project shown in this BBC photo, purported to be in Kolkatta?

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40178000/jpg/_40178740_build.jpg

Looks nice

Yes it is in Kolkata..It's called Millenium City (unimaginative name)

http://www.rungta.com/mc.html

http://www.rungta.com/mc-img/mc-pic.jpg

http://www.rungta.com/mc-img/mcn-pic.jpg

BTW I read the BBC article. It's the same old sterotyping crap complete with the standard cow picture.

The guy found nothing else to photograph? How about the Wipro Centre itself?

The IT complex is in SaltLec where there is no space left because it is full of modern buildings. The new town is empty because it is being built.

For the BBC such pictures don't sell

http://www.cleanindiagroup.com/images/cradle_photogal/kolkata/kol_big_infinitytowers.jpg

or

http://www.cleanindiagroup.com/images/cradle_photogal/kolkata/kol_big_cognizant.jpg

But this one does..

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40178000/jpg/_40178738_cow.jpg

Superiority complex? The same old colonial attitude of telling the natives their place on this planet.

Yes it is in Kolkata..It's called Millenium City (unimaginative name)

http://www.rungta.com/mc.html

http://www.rungta.com/mc-img/mc-pic.jpg

http://www.rungta.com/mc-img/mcn-pic.jpg

BTW I read the BBC article. It's the same old sterotyping crap complete with the standard cow picture.

The guy found nothing else to photograph? How about the Wipro Centre itself?

The IT complex is in SaltLec where there is no space left because it is full of modern buildings. The new town is empty because it is being built.

For the BBC such pictures don't sell

http://www.cleanindiagroup.com/images/cradle_photogal/kolkata/kol_big_infinitytowers.jpg

or

http://www.cleanindiagroup.com/images/cradle_photogal/kolkata/kol_big_cognizant.jpg

But this one does..

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40178000/jpg/_40178738_cow.jpg

Superiority complex? The same old colonial attitude of telling the natives their place on this planet.

LoL suncity, it is a typical BBC article, i have read it too!!

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40178000/jpg/_40178738_cow.jpg

Superiority complex? The same old colonial attitude of telling the natives their place on this planet.

I personally think the cow likes the new highway :)

It's all good Suncity, we will have our day in the sun again!

hehe yeah that typical cow-stereopicture..
;) :)

hehe yeah that typical cow-stereopicture..
;) :)

We should show them a picture of the Queen, she's more of a nuisance than the cow is :)

We should show them a picture of the Queen, she's more of a nuisance than the cow is :)

thats true :) :)

We should show them a picture of the Queen, she's more of a nuisance than the cow is :)


self-edited.

The pun is just too easy... :D

Bengal Shrachi has announced a new project Greenwood Sonata..

http://www.shrachi.com/images/pop_images/building1.jpg
http://www.shrachi.com/images/pop_images/building2.jpg
http://www.shrachi.com/images/pop_images/building3.jpg
http://www.shrachi.com/images/pop_images/building4.jpg

Stung by the non-clearance of his dream "Kolkata Gate" project on ecological grounds, Kolkata's mayor Subrata Mukherjee has now proposed a 50 storey tower to be built on the EM Bypass.

"A group of eminent developers has shown interest in the project. Keeping that in mind, we have decided to call for an expression of interest before the end of this month," Mukherjee said on Thursday.

The Rs 400-crore project will be a joint venture between KMC and the construction firms. The former will provide a 12-acre plot off EM Bypass for the construction of the residential-cum-commercial building.

http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/articleshow?msid=877638
That's great news!

Astral,
23 Gurusaday Road
Sep 2006

http://www.psgroupweb.com/images/23,-gurusaday-street_b.jpg

Classica & Lansdowne Manor
2/8B Sarat Bose Road
Sep 2005

http://www.psgroupweb.com/images/classica_r_b.jpg

http://www.psgroupweb.com/images/classica_b.jpg

Trinity Towers (commercial)
83 Topsia Road (South)
Nov 2004

http://www.psgroupweb.com/images/trinitytowers_b.jpg

Merlin Riverview

http://www.merlinprojects.com/images/mrv_elev_b.jpg

Kolkata to get another IT park
SUMALI MOITRA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, NOVEMBER 01, 2004 06:36:34 PM ]
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-906788,curpg-2.cms

KOLKATA: The man who gifted Kolkata its first mall is now lining up another present in the form of an IT park, the biggest in Salt Lake's Sector V.


Enthused by the enormous potential of the information technology business in Bengal, Forum developer Rahul Saraf is now giving final touches to a plan to construct a five lakh sq ft plug-and-play facility to meet the needs of the flourishing BPO and call centre sectors.

The intelligent building would be located on a 2-3 acre plot at Salt Lake's Sector V and involve an investment of Rs 75 crore. Construction is expected to start the moment certain legal formalities with regard to the land is taken care of and the facility is likely to be operational by mid-2006.

"Kolkata is now the destination of choice of all leading IT companies and the opportunities for builders of IT infrastructure as a result are limitless," Saraf told TOI on Monday, while explaining his decision to return to his IT roots.

Saraf, in association with his then partners, was actively involved with the construction of Infinity, the first intelligent building at Salt Lake's electronics complex, during its initial phase before moving on to other projects.

"Having been involved with an IT project earlier, we will take care to ensure that the new venture we are contemplating keeps pace with the evolving needs of the clients.

"We will therefore build the entire facility at one go so that IT companies don't have to modify their expansion plans on account of the building not being completely ready," Saraf said.

Bengal's biggest IT park, currently being built by DLF, is also being constructed in phases.

State IT secretary G D Gautama said Saraf's decision to re-enter the IT arena should augur well for Bengal's infotech business.

"More players getting involved in IT infrastructure would increase space availability and also help in providing more choice to infotech companies since there would now be greater competition among the builders," Gautama said.

Last week, another real estate developer PS Group had also announced plans to build a three lakh sq ft IT facility at Salt Lake.

Gautama said the state IT department would make presentations to Oracle (Asia-Pacific) officials and Reliance group chairman Mukesh Ambani at Mumbai on Thursday.

Kolkata gets a new flyover

- Rs 6-crore plan to upgrade Saltlec infrastructure

A ‘S’-shaped, 570-metre flyover was inaugurated today in Kolkata. It was completed in one-and-a-half years at a cost of Rs 9 crore by Tantia Construction. “The flyover will solve the problem of traffic congestion at the Chingrihata-EM Bypass as well as Ultadanga crossings,” a CMDA official said. All airport-bound traffic will now use the flyover to enter Salt Lake Bypass.

Speaking at the inaugural function, urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya, also chairman of the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), said CMDA has been tasked with the maintenance and development of Salt Lake Bypass, connecting EM Bypass with Rajarhat New Town and the roads in Salt Lake Sector V, the electronic complex.

“It (CMDA) has been asked to develop and beautify the roads in Sector V,” said Bhattacharya, voicing the government’s concern at the poor condition of infrastructure in the IT showcase. The government will spend Rs 6 crore on ensuring a smooth ride in the complex.

“We will hand over the project to some private company for a period of five years. They can later earn revenue by imposing charges,” the minister said.

“The roads in Sector V need major upgradation. We will be working out the details now,” said Alapan Bandyopadhyay, chief executive officer, CMDA.

“A host of multinational and Indian IT companies are coming here. We need improved infrastructure and roads to draw capital investment,” chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said in his speech with heads of Indonesian multi-nationals Saleem and Ciputra groups by his side at the inaugural programme.
“Once the link to Rajarhat New Town is complete, it will be a 20-minute drive from the airport to down town Calcutta,” he said.


Chingrighata Flyover Complete

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 09, 2004 02:29:44 AM ]

KOLKATA: Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's 20-minute dream drive from airport to the central business district inched closer to reality with completion of the twin-lane right-turn flyover at Chingrighata-EM Bypass crossing.


"There are two sections of the Salt Lake Bypass connecting the flyover to Rajarhat that aren't complete. The section till Wipro campus will be ready by November 19. The rest will be in ship-shape condition by end-March, 2005. Then, it will take 15-20 minutes to drive from NSCBI Airport to BBD Bag," the chief minister said. While the 15-20 minute drive is unrealistic (unless one has the privilege of a pilot car with a flashing beacon and wailing siren), the 70-80 minute journey will still be slashed by around 15 minutes, allowing airport-bound traffic to bypass bottlenecks at Ultadanga, Lake Town, Baguiati and Kaikhali.

In last 12 months, two other components of the superway were completed — Rajarhat Road and the right-turn flyover at Kaikhali. One bottleneck remains — the mess at Bridge No. 4, Park Circus. "The Rs 9.3 crore S-shaped flyover will not just serve airport and Rajarhat-bound traffic but also provide a lifeline to techies commuting between the city and IT hub in Sector-V. It will also carry traffic to NH 34," urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya said.

Taking inspiration from timely completion of the flyover (Tantia Group completed construction in just over a year-and-a-half), the minister announced deadlines for the other ongoing projects. While Dum Dum underpass and flyovers at Lake Gardens and Sonarpur will be completed by December, the Bondel Gate flyover is set for inauguration by early 2005. Pointing to the need for more bridges, flyovers and roads, the chief minister told the gathering about the mutlifaceted projects in the pipeline — Light Rail Transit system and East-West Metro — to keep the city with a population of 80 lakh, 10 lakh cars and 50,000 trucks moving. "Unless we improve roads and adopt alternate transport systems, the beeline of foreign and domestic investors in IT, iron & steel, plastics, chemicals, construction and agri-business will disappear," Bhattacharjee said.

Looks like many people are realizing that infrastructure is not "elitist".
:-)

Indonesian thrust to integrated township
A STAFF REPORTER
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041109/asp/calcutta/story_3981757.asp

Housing development in west Howrah has been put on the fast track with the chairmen of the Indonesia-based Salim Group and Ciputra Group touching down on Monday to finalise the details of an integrated satellite township there.

Slated to come up on 390 acres at the junction of Howrah-Amta Road and National Highway 6, the township will boast of nearly 7,000 bungalows, schools, hospitals, shopping centres and multiplexes.

Beni Santoso, executive director of the Salim Group and Ciputra, chairman of the Ciputra group, along with senior officials of both companies met commerce and industry minister Nirupam Sen, housing minister Goutam Deb, urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya and finance minister Asim Dasgupta on Monday morning.

“We expect the first phase, spread over 17.65 acres, to be complete in one-and-a-half years. The entire township should be complete in around four years,” Ciputra said at Writer’s Buildings.

The Indonesian visitors were taken on a three-hour sightseeing tour by officials and engineers of the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA).

“Apart from West Howrah, we also took the delegation to Dankuni township, second Vivekananda Bridge (Bally bridge), Belghoria Expressway and some National Highway projects in the vicinity to review the local infrastructure. We told them that once the Bally Bridge is commissioned, Dankuni would only be a 20 minute drive from the airport,” said a state government official who accompanied the team.

The Indonesian groups are reportedly considering developing the Dankuni township.

A memorandum of agreement was signed in July between the CMDA and Beyond Limit International Ltd (BLIL) , a company formed by the groups for developing the Howrah township.

BLIL will pay CMDA Rs 95 crore to obtain a 999-year lease of the land. The first instalment of Rs 20 crore will be paid to the state government on Tuesday, at the time of the land registration.

On Monday evening, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said this is the first instance of a foreign private player developing a township.

“The bosses of Salim and Ciputra groups are here and will stay till Tuesday evening, when the West Howrah township project will be finalised. The Salim group has expertise in the field – they have developed townships in Vietnam and China,” Bhattacharjee said. He expressed hope that the Dankuni township would also be developed.

Edited.

Toll tax for Sector V planned

Statesman News Service
KOLKATA, Nov. 8. — The state government is planning to impose a toll tax for travelling on roads in Sector V of Salt Lake.
This was announced today by urban development department minister Mr Ashok Bhattacharya in the presence of chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. The minister was speaking at the inauguration of a two-lane flyover at the EM Bypass-Chingrihata crossing.
“We know that roads in Sector V are in a bad shape. The KMDA has decided to beautify and develop the roads in the area at a cost of Rs 6 crore, earmarked from the megacity funds. KMDA will also enter into a five-year maintenance contract with the agency building the roads, so that after the construction they can retrieve some of the money through tax imposed on vehicles using the roads,” Mr Bhattacharya said.
The urban development minister said that the maintenance work of the Salt Lake Bypass from EM Bypass to Rajarhat-Nayapatti crossing would be handed over to the KMDA.
The chief minister, while inaugurating the flyover, said that once the Rajarhat Bypass is completed, vehicles coming from Dum Dum Airport and using the Rajarhat-Airport link Road would be able to reach BBD Bag in 20 minutes.
“The paperwork for the East-West Metro corridor would be over by November. We have received wide response from several companies for an alternate transport system in the city, which will essentially be an elevated one,” he said.
The Sonarpur flyover will be inaugurated by the chief minister on 15 November


http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=6&theme=&usrsess=1&id=59442

Foreign funds find Bengal home

Picture (note there are a few highrises!)

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041110/images/10budha.jpg

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041110/asp/frontpage/story_3987294.asp

Two Indonesian companies will build a township in west Howrah at a cost of $350 million. The Salim and Ciputra groups are coming together to construct the township over 400 acres. Flanked by Benny Santoso of the Salim group and I.R. Ciputra of Ciputra, Bhattacharjee said: “This is the country’s first FDI-funded project in a township and we have completed all the formalities.”
It is also the country’s largest foreign investment in housing.

To be developed by Beyond Limit International Ltd — the joint venture company set up by the two Indonesian firms to implement the project — the township, christened Calcutta West International City, will have 6,800 residential buildings, a commercial complex, health centres and entertainment zones. “The project will be completed in 10 years and will be home to around 1,50,000 families,” Bhattacharjee said.

With the tinkle of investment came the praise. “Fast, proactive and forward-looking” — that’s how the chief minister and his government were described by the foreign investors.

Both Santoso and Ciputra, heading conglomerates with an annual turnover in excess of $20 billion, said the chief minister was “friendly” to investors. Prasoon Mukherjee, the NRI who had worked as the link between the government and the two companies, said the most important facilitator in the investment was “the chief minister”.

“We are glad to get this opportunity in West Bengal, where the concept of market economy is just three years old,” said Ciputra.

To “market economy”, Bhattacharjee has added the “human face” by insisting that some of the land in the township be kept aside for housing for the poor. “They have agreed to our proposal of earmarking 5 to 7 per cent of the land to develop low-cost housing for people below the poverty line,” he said.

New Year’s Day has been set as the kick-off date for work on the township. “We believe we can deliver international standard commercial and residential complex to the people of West Bengal,” said Santoso.

more pictures:

http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/51700018.jpg?x=x&dasite=MS_GINS&ef=2&ev=1&dareq=0F88D096635BE440C505905881392AB0A9C30E9B9B114CE8

http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/51700011.jpg?x=x&dasite=MS_GINS&ef=2&ev=1&dareq=0F88D096635BE440EC9FB1ED9C8701BEA9C30E9B9B114CE8

Drwho

Nice pics..

Westwind project:

http://www.bengalweb.com/skyline/calcutta/westwind.JPG

Westwind consists of six residential towers of 14 storeys for which the critical contracts have been finalised. ICRA has upgraded Westwind Project from RT2- to RT2, a real estate project being developed in Kolkata by Right Address Projects Limited (RAPL[1]). The grading indicates Strong Project. The prospects of successful implementation of the project and transfer of ownership as per terms are high. The project risk factors are low. While the scale of the project is larger than RAPL’s past projects, agencies with the relevant skill-sets and experience have been deployed, which mitigates the execution risk to a considerable extent.

Putt, sweat, make a splash
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041114/asp/calcutta/story_3993601.asp

Indoor mini-golf course, temperature-controlled swimming pool with counter current, nightclub with latest acoustics and illumination besides vacuum-filled double glass cover for the dance arena, state-of-the-art health club, Sony Play Stations, ornate banquets and well-appointed conferencing facilities…

Ocio at Belvedere, the “country’s first leisureplex” in Alipore, hopes to be fully functional by New Year’s Day and reach out to Calcutta with an array of top-of-the-line amenities. “Leisure, pleasure, fitness and business make up the four-pronged motto at Ocio and we want to make sure it’s the preferred address in town for the stressed-out urban soul to unwind,” stresses CEO B.M. Thakkar.

While looking at an optimum membership strength of 500, the management plans to throw open most of the facilities to walk-in clientele as well. “The mini golf course, swimming pool, the gym and the multi-cuisine restaurant will all be open to the paying public and we are in the process of firming up the walk-in rates,” Thakkar says.

The nightclub, which hopes to “offer a classy alternative to Tantra”, will also be thrown open to walk-ins after 7 pm, and the dance floor will stay warm to pulsating DJ beats till well past midnight. “We are keen to make sure that Ocio doesn’t stay the exclusive preserve of the elite. So, we are keeping options open for the pay-and-use crowd as well,” says general manager J.K. Seal.

Besides the synthetic putting pad imported from Wisconsin, Ocio’s strength lies in the three swimming pools in an air-conditioned environment. The large one is temperature-controlled and suitable for swimming in rain or shine with ambient temperature kept compatible.

The pool is also fitted with a counter-current device against which one can swim for exercise and test one’s level of competence. Two luxurious steam closets with body jet massage showers, a special jacuzzi with 33 massage pressures, an aqua aerobics pool for exercise, a rain shower dance arena and a fibre-optic chandelier placed over the aerobics/toddlers pool add to the fun splash.

The new-age gym equipped with ultra-modern strength and cardio-vascular equipment with eight individual TV screens, giant plasma TV and World Space radio/CD/DVD player would excite both fitness freak and casual participant.

With resistance equipment from Cybex International, members can also avail of the upgraded Cybex Eagle premier strength equipment, “for the first time in the city”, says Thakkar.

“One can become a swimming, golf or gym member by forking out Rs 40,000 for a year, while we are offering annual membership for the family with access to all facilities at a bundled price of Rs 90,000,” declares the CEO. The family offer, valid till December 31, comes with introductory incentives.

Restoring Calcutta's crumbling heritage

By Matthew Grant
BBC News, Calcutta


http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40477000/jpg/_40477969_clivehouse_203.jpg
Calcutta's Clive House was left to rot for more than 200 years

For decades British buildings in India were either deliberately torn down or left to decay, but now strenuous efforts are being made to preserve them.

Nowhere is this more the case than in Calcutta, formerly known as the second city of the British empire.

But differences between the organisations seeking to preserve the city's heritage may hamper the work.

A ruined mansion in an area known as Dum Dum, near Calcutta's airport, still keeps the name Clive House.

But today the crumbling structure is home to 18 families of Bangladeshi immigrants.

Anal Majumdar says he has lived in Clive House for 42 years.

That is far longer than its famous owner, Lord Clive, the civil servant of the East India Company who defeated the local rulers of Calcutta in 1757 in the Battle of Plassey.

He became known to his supporters as the "conqueror of India".

His house was left to rot for more than 200 years, but restoration work has now begun.

Workers from the Archaeological Survey of India are rebuilding the structure - and soon the families will have to move out.

English Heritage is a supporter of the restoration of Clive House.

But its Indian equivalent, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), is sceptical.

"In my opinion that house, if it needs to be preserved at all, should be preserved as a ruin," says GM Kapur, the convenor of Intach's West Bengal chapter.

"The British in 200 years didn't create a memorial for Clive," he said. "Why should we?"

Cultural colonialism

The disagreement highlights the difficulty in restoring colonial heritage.

Besides English Heritage, other British organisations are active. The London Rivers Association has created a millennium park on the banks of the Hooghly river in Calcutta's centre.

But to some, these groups' involvement smacks of cultural colonialism.

The Calcutta Telegraph claims the British have "bagged" the river front and accuses British experts of "condescending" to locals.

What no one disputes is the destruction wrought on Calcutta's building heritage.

In many places - including Dalhousie Square, now renamed BBD Bag after the nationalist leaders Binay, Badal and Dinesh who died in the independence struggle, developers demolished old buildings and built office blocks.

New laws are supposed to protect listed buildings. But Mr Kapur says they are not foolproof.

"The builders know how to find loopholes in the law," he said. "At times buildings have vanished overnight."

Endangered site

The threat remains. Construction projects, including a network of flyovers, are going on all over the city.

Action Research in Conservation of Heritage (Arch) has raised awareness of the threat through walking tours of Dalhousie Square.

Walking tours of Dalhousie Square raise awareness of the heritage
This helped to persuade the World Monuments Foundation (WMF) to list the square as an endangered site.

Arch's secretary, Manish Charkraborti, is now working on an action plan to protect and rejuvenate the square.

He will present this in February to a conference of the United Nations cultural organisation, Unesco, in Calcutta.

One explanation for the damage to Calcutta's heritage is the so-called "problem of plenty".

According to this theory, the British left so many buildings, monuments and statues that it never seemed important to preserve any of them.

Yet the problem of plenty is now afflicting the conservationists. Many different organisations work in the area - and not all of them talk to each other.

Archives

Another Briton has now come forward with a solution.

Sir Rob Young was until last year Britain's high commissioner in Delhi. He is now chairman of the Calcutta Tercentenary Trust.

The trust has already restored the paintings housed in the Victoria Memorial, most of which came from the personal collection of Lord Curzon, the former Viceroy of India.

Its next project is to set up a Centre for the Built Heritage to co-ordinate the work of the many groups.

"It could be in a very fine building in Dalhousie Square called the Currency Building, which is going to be restored," Sir Rob said.

He said it could be a documentation centre, with a full set of archives for consultation. Other possible uses include training, mounting exhibitions, bringing in children for education purposes or raising local awareness.

If the conservation work is successful, many more foreigners may well come to Calcutta.

Not as conquerors seeking to make money - just as tourists looking to spend it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3972423.stm

French firm draws up masterplan for a better Salt Lake (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/924986.cms)

Officials from the French company Seureca have had two rounds of meetings with Bidhannagar Municipality and state municipal affairs officials, one at Writers' Buildings and the other at the municipality building, to finalise an agreement that could pave the way for better civic services for the elite township.

According to the terms of agreement, the French firm will take a close and hard look at the township's civic amenities. Of particular interest will be sectors like drainage and sewage, management and disposal of waste and supply of water.

It was decided that the municipality would provide the French team the basic data on the township's network of sewer lines, water-supply pipelines and drainage-pumping stations.

The team would then carry out a detailed study on the ground to ascertain the drawbacks of the system and the mismatch between the infrastructure and its effectiveness.

The French government will provide the Rs 2 crore funds for the study.

"We will go through their report, but may or may not take their help when it comes to implementing their recommendations," he said, adding that this was one of the biggest instances of public-private partnership in Salt Lake.

There has been one before involving a Pune-based firm. It was roped in for a pilot project to rid a part of the township of its waste and then make energy — and money — out of it. It fell through midway and resulted in allegations and counter-allegations between the municipality and the firm.

One explanation for the damage to Calcutta's heritage is the so-called "problem of plenty".

According to this theory, the British left so many buildings, monuments and statues that it never seemed important to preserve any of them.


That's very true.

Sometimes I think if all the political parties instead of calling and enforcing strikes, just volunteered to paint Kolkata's buildings, Kolkata would look completely different.

There is another point. Most of these huge buildings are expensive to maintain in today's environment. The Rajas and Maharajas are gone. The families are small nowadays. How can they maintain the palaces of yesteryears?

http://www.singaxp.net/SunsetBoulevard/Journeys/india/img/india_147.jpg

http://www.singaxp.net/SunsetBoulevard/Journeys/india/img/india_153.jpg


The LIC is floating in money - yet look at this building..They don't want to restore it till they get rid of all the tenants.

http://www.singaxp.net/SunsetBoulevard/Journeys/india/img/india_154.jpg

The Town Hall - restored and converted to a Museum..

http://www.singaxp.net/SunsetBoulevard/Journeys/india/img/india_149.jpg

The Indian Museum - getting a paint job

http://www.singaxp.net/SunsetBoulevard/Journeys/india/img/india_160.jpg

The High Court

http://www.singaxp.net/SunsetBoulevard/Journeys/india/img/india_150.jpg

Writers' Building

http://www.singaxp.net/SunsetBoulevard/Journeys/india/img/india_148.jpg

The Raj Bhavan

http://www.singaxp.net/SunsetBoulevard/Journeys/india/img/india_152.jpg

Some great projects for Kolkata!

suncity> true,
it would be a good thing if the Kolkata-gov renovate LIC just like the Indian Museum.

Updates! Kolkata is seeing so much activity..

Parliamentary Standing Committee recommends Metro expansion (November 16-30, 2004)
PM News Bureau

Kolkata's Metro Railway has got a nod from the Standing Committee of Parliament on railways for expansion up to Barrackpore and Baruipur. The committee will recommend the Railway Ministry and the Railway Board in this regard. It will also urge the Railway Ministry to help complete the stretch of Dakhineswar-Thakurpukur which was under the overall plan of the metro railway. The chairman of the Standing Committee, Basudev Acharia, said the expansion of the metro from Ramrajatala to Salt Lake would be completed under the supervision of the state government. He added that the committee would also recommend connecting the metro railway with the circular railway to make the service in the state integrated.



Kolkata flyovers on track (November 16-30, 2004)


The twin-lane right-turn flyover at Chingrighata-EM Bypass crossing in Kolkata has being completed recently. The flyover will decongest traffic from airport to the central business centre. But, the two sections of the Salt Lake Bypass connecting the flyover to Rajarhat are yet to complete. It is expected that the section till Wipro campus will be ready this month. The rest will be in ship-shape condition by March 2005.


Curzon Park project to start soon (November 16-30, 2004)
PM News Bureau

The techno-economic feasibility study for the project to convert Curzon Park in Kolkata city into a sprawling underground car parking zone and a shopping mall will be complete by the end of this month. SembCorp and Surbana of Singapore will be collectively working with the Kolkata-based infrastructure solution provider, Pragati Growth and Development Limited on this project. The government has formed a team comprising officials from the public works department, Kolkata Municipal Development Authority, Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the state transport department to oversee the project implementation.
The project is expected to take off early next year. The proposed underground parking plaza will be a two-level arrangement to accommodate 1,200 cars at a time. A shopping mall, a food court, an open air theatre and a jogger's path are also planned. The project is expected to cost Rs 50 crore, and may take two years to complete.

great news kshatriya!:)

Now if the white money component is over a crore, what's the black money component?

Homes for a crore or more
Subhro Saha

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041122/asp/calcutta/story_4020443.asp

Video door phones, electronic access control in elevators, tucked-away double-height car porch, heated swimming pool, synthetic tennis court…

Boutique apartments, where the private persona of a cosy home is wrapped in the add-ons of a star hotel, are very much ‘in’ and Calcuttans are ready to dish out a crore and more to make it their own.

The one-crore barrier has been comfortably vaulted, and in the next 36 months, close to 300 lavishly-endowed apartments, each costing Rs 1 crore and above, are expected to be thrown open.

With the city’s nascent buoyancy translating into living life king-size, real estate players in town are moving fast to meet the new demand for elegant living.

The same realtor stables that have launched high-profile highrises like Hiland Park, South City and Sherwood Estate, are lifting luxury living a notch higher, pampering the manor-born, from Ballygunge to Alipore.

Take Hiland Sapphire — the “clean-lines, pure-form, glass-façade” G+14 project tucked away in a quiet corner of Ballygunge Park Road. Being developed by United Credit Belani Properties of Hiland Park fame, the prices of the 24 luxury apartments range between Rs 1.75 crore and 2.75 crore, with its extra floor-to-ceiling clearance, French windows and stately driveway.

“Earlier, Calcutta was not about conspicuous consumption. Now, the plot has been turned on its head and there are people sticking out their necks and asking for better than the best. It’s all about how much you can rock this market,” offers Sumit Dabriwal, the man behind Sapphire along with Nandu Belani, a leading player in this creamy layer.

The Belani Group, which already has Belmont up and running in Alipore, is also raising La Palmerie at 23B Ballygunge Circular Road and another high-end condominium project at 6, Queens Park. Greenwoods on DL Khan Road, from the same realtor roster, has its customised apartments selling for Rs 1.5 to 2.5 crore.

“The aspiration levels were always higher than affordability. Now, there are products to match that desire,” feels Pradip Chopra of the PS Group. With Harsh Patodia of the Heritage Group, Chopra is developing Astral, another top-end project, on Gurusaday Road.

Jugal Khetawat, Sushil Mohta and Pradeep Sureka, three of the directors of the towering South City, are also developing an Alipore property of 40 opulent units, to be ready by mid-2007. Designed by J.P. Agrawal, the Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore apartments are expected to give the Ballygunge building blocks a serious run for their residents.

“There are hardly any land parcels going in the heart of the city. So, whatever is available, becomes premium property,” observes Khetawat, who is going solo with Rameswara, another 130,000 sq ft premium development on Elgin Road, close to Forum. Again, each apartment is over a crore.

Making people pay their taxes..

:-)

Interest waiver cash for roads

- Plan to mop up 600 cr unrealised property tax
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041113/asp/calcutta/story_3990475.asp

Mayor Subrata Mukherjee plans to invest the earnings — expected to be not less than Rs 200 crore — from the second phase of the waiver of interest scheme to tone up the city’s road infrastructure.

The list of proposed priorities includes two complementary flyovers at Esplanade and Ballygunge Phari, a vehicular underpass or flyover at Moulali, concretisation of tram tracks along BB Ganguly Street and a mastic asphalt top coat for important roads.

In the first phase of the waiver scheme, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation collected Rs 120 crore and spent it to augment the city’s water supply infrastructure to make it compatible with the population load till 2025. “I invested Rs 300 crore on the city’s water supply augmentation scheme and created new facilities for an additional supply of 60 million gallons of treated water daily,” said Mukherjee.

Following a meeting between the mayor and municipal commissioner Debashis Som it was decided that the waiver of interest scheme will remain valid for about nine weeks from November 22 to January 31 (2005). From February, the civic authorities will start taking stringent action — disconnection of water supply and drainage lines, acquisition of movable properties — against house owners who don’t clear dues by then.

The total unrealised property tax from one lakh house owners is about Rs 600 crore, of which Rs 400 crore is due from 5,000 owners. The mayor will write to all of them to notify them of the waiver scheme. During the first waiver of interest scheme in 2001, Rs 120 crore was collected out of the total outstanding of over Rs 700 crore. Owners of both residential and commercial buildings can clear their unpaid property tax up to 1999-2000 without paying interest and penalty on the outstanding principal amount.

According to officer-on-special duty Shaktibrata Ghosh, house owners will be given 34 working days till December 24 to apply for the benefit of the waiver of interest scheme.

They will be allowed to deposit their outstanding principal amount during this period if they get a demand notice to pay up.

“It is the last opportunity for house owners to pay outstanding property tax with a double bonus in the form of savings of the amount of cumulative interest on the principal amount and the penalty,” said Mukherjee.

Last opportunity, as the basis of civic property will be changed from next year. Necessary legislation is in the offing. Till now, notional rent value of a landed property served as the basis of determining property tax on a building and it will be replaced with area-wise tax rate per sq ft.

hehe nice article:)

this will be intresting ...i wonder how many will turn in their taxpapers before December 24;)

Star Theatres was one of Calcutta's heritage theatres before it got burn down in a devastating fire. It's now ready to reopen its doors in a new avatar.

Star stumbles in glory trek
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041123/asp/calcutta/story_4019726.asp

An auditorium with 525 seats, electronic lighting with remote control system, pulsating sounds, air-conditioned make-up rooms, floors of Italian tiles covered with Belgian carpet, parking and lift facilities.

That’s a peep into the resurrected Star theatre, with several ingredients of a modern, state-of-the-art theatre complex. All made possible with a whopping Rs 15.5 crore of the taxpayers’ money.

To put the money matter in perspective, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) annual budget for maintenance of roads is Rs 12 crore and the amount spent in a year on drainage is around Rs 4 crore.

The move to use CMC funds for the Star trek has put the civic authorities in the spotlight — why, after all, must a tax-payer bear the brunt of a stage revival when the city is in dire need for basic necessities, from roads to drainage to garbage disposal?

Far removed from the days of Nati Binodini, the ‘multiplex’, apart from a theatre, now has space for exhibitions and cinema shows, and even the option of utilising square feet as coffee shop or dining zone.

“This is nothing but a commercial venture. Why should precious public funds be spent on it?” is one common query. “Why did the CMC not pitch for private funds?” is the other.

“If I have funds, why should I go begging with a bowl?” demanded mayor Subrata Mukherjee. He was, of course, referring to the tax-payer’s money lying with the CMC.

“If the CMC has coughed up Rs 2.5 crore for this property, how can we approach private individuals or industrialists for financial help? They will demand a share of the property,” added Mukherjee.

The CMC acquired the theatre in September 2002, and pumped in Rs 13 crore for the restoration.

Refusing to draw a parallel with the revival of Town Hall, Mukherjee pointed out: “The Hall came up with funds raised by a lottery. Besides, the then Left Front board was faced with a funds crunch and so, required aid from outside agencies and individuals.”

What, however, has creased the mayor’s brow is the possibility that the all-new Star will not attract enough commercial ventures.

Fearing Opposition attacks on the CMC board for “misuse of the precious tax-payers’ money”, Mukherjee is already moving towards streamlining operations.

“We’ll form a separate managing committee to run Star theatre. This will comprise CMC representatives, technical experts and artistes,” stressed the mayor.

According to officials, Star will be projected as the first multiplex theatre of the city. “We have put the basic concept in place to make the theatre self-sustainable,” said Debashish Kar, engineer in charge of the theatre’s restoration. “We do not want to leave any space unutilised, as other activities can rake in revenue,” he added.

Samir Sen, Paschimbanga Jatra Sammelan secretary, confirmed that the CMC hadn’t asked for funds. “If it seeks our help, we will raise funds by hosting shows,” he said.

Facilities to keep pace with infotech boom
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041123/asp/business/story_4037292.asp

Calcutta, Nov. 22: The state government is gearing up to provide the perfect working environment for an estimated 60,000 employees in the IT industry by March 2006.

Bengal IT minister Manabendra Mukherjee today laid the foundation for the Rs 80-crore Infinity Benchmark project that will have a built-up space of 5.5 lakh sq ft, with 2.5 lakh sq ft distributed over a five-storey parking area for 600 cars, electronics mart, executive club, gym, restaurants and a business centre. The remaining space will house IT companies.

Like the first Infinity Twin Towers, Benchmark will also have uninterrupted power and back-up, bandwidth connectivity and central regulation.

Infinity Infotech Parks chairman Ravindra Chamaria said, “We expect to roll out our third project — Waterside, which will have a built-up space of 4.5 lakh sq ft — next month.”

Mukherjee said, “We are creating the infrastructure to provide amenities like car parking, cafes, eateries and entertainment, besides a comfortable working environment, to an estimated 50,000 people, who will come to Saltlec every day.”

Currently, the IT industry in Bengal employs around 21,000 people, 3,000 of whom have been added in the four months since April.

“We expect 40,000 people to be added in the IT and related industries like BPO over the next 15 months,” said Mukherjee. “To accommodate this huge rise in the employee base, we are building offices with 4 million sq ft area in addition to the campus of large investors like Wipro.”

The social infrastructure is expected to be ready in 15 months, while the building will be available for possession in 24 months.

Other infrastructure projects in the city include a multiplex over 0.5 acres and two more Bengal Intelligent Park projects.

The state government is also sure of roping in two hotel majors, though Mukherjee refused to divulge details.

Webel pact

Come December, and Webel will enter into an agreement with Reliance Infocomm to take broadband services into homes through the cable operator.

Webel managing director S. K. Mitra said, “We have already placed a proposal and expect to sign the agreement when Mukesh Ambani is in the city next month. We already have 1,500 cable operators under our wing and expect to add another 500 by December-end.”

The broadband market in Bengal alone is estimated to be close to Rs 1,000 crore and Webel is eyeing a 25 per cent share of the pie. There are around 18,000 cable operators across the state.

Jogger’s park and fountain that leaps high

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041123/images/23DSC3110.jpg

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041123/asp/calcutta/story_4036681.asp

Go green was the call from the chief minister, at the inauguration of 90,000 sq m of parkland in the heart of the city on Monday evening.

Elliot Park, a joint venture of Calcutta Police and Tata Steel, sports a 1.5 km jogger’s park and a fountain that leaps high into the sky. Opposite Tata Centre, it will remain open for public use.

“Calcutta needs more trees and waterbodies,” said Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. “We plan to build gardens from Grand Hotel to Brigade Parade Ground,” he added. The city has only six per cent of greenery, and the state 18 per cent, while the ideal green cover is 23 per cent, Bhattacharjee admitted.

“Please do maintain the park well,” was the plea to the public from Tata Steel’s Muthuraman.

The chief minister was all praises for the Tatas’ “interest in all-round development” of the state. “Ratan Tata has conveyed to me that he is planning to set up an automobile factory in Midnapore, a power generating centre in the state and a cancer research centre in Calcutta,” Bhattacharjee said.

Flowers bloom in garbage heap Buddha (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/931930.cms)

Till a few weeks back, this plot of land near the Maidan Metro Railway station used to be a dump for offal. On Monday, as the city gave a thumbs-down signal to the second of its bandhs this season, the public and private sectors came together to transform the dumpsite into a blooming park with a joggers' track, a fountain and a cluster of trees.


From waste to wealth: that is how Elliot Park can be described now. The park on 25 acres of land in the heart of the city was thrown open to the public by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee with an assurance that the state government would not let the Maidan stretch along Chowringhee remain an eyesore much longer.

Mayor Subrata Mukherjee, too, felt that a healthy competition had started between different government agencies for beautification of the Maidan, and quickly added that the corporation park under construction opposite Rabindra Sadan would soon be a better place to step in.

Elliot Park, a joint venture between Tata Steel and Kolkata Police, has a jogging track stretching for 1.5 km, a musical fountain, trees of rare varieties, two bandstands and, of course, lush greenery.

Added good news of a failed bandh.

This news shows how changes in political attitude are taking place in this part of India..Even a few years back potential foreign investment in such retail ventures would be frowned upon because of their supposed effect on the small grocers/stores.

World giant in retail stores eyes Kolkata

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/933384.cms

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2004 02:17:32 AM

KOLKATA: Who said only IT is hot in Bengal? Retail packs in an equally strong punch. What better proof than German retail giant Metro group's decision to explore the possibility of establishing its presence here.

A delegation from Metro Cash & Carry India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of the world's fourth-largest retailer, told chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday that it would examine opportunities for setting up cash and carry stores in Kolkata on the lines of its distribution centre in Bangalore.

Metro representatives T.M. Huebner and Harsh Bahadur later told reporters that they were keen to start operations in Kolkata quickly.

"West Bengal holds tremendous potential for our kind of operations," said Bahadur, MD of Metro Cash & Carry India. Metro has identified India as one of the markets where it wants to grow rapidly. "India today can boast of a fast growing economy with fast rising customer standards.

That coupled with the largest business-tobusiness environment provides a successful business opportunity for Metro Cash & Carry," Metro group CEO Hans-Joachim Koerber had said at the inauguration of its maiden store in Bangalore in October 2003.

The Metro Cash & Carry merchandising concept with its high-quality goods assortment, exclusively targets business customers like small and medium sized retailers, restaurants as well as other businesses.

"Metro's distribution centres will bring together farmers, agri cooperatives, traders, retailers and small to medium business enterprises under one roof," Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said. "They will also explore opportunities for export of commodities like fish, fruits and vegetables from Bengal, besides creating a market for these items domestically. We will provide all help in their location-hunt exercise," he added.

Internationally, Metro's model has proved beneficial to small and medium sized retailers who are able to source high quality products from a one stop location in the quantities they need at the time they require.

"By establishing a modern supply chain we ensure that they are able to get their merchandise at the best prices possible, thereby making them more competitive in their market place," officials said. With sales of $ 53.6 billion in 2003, Metro group has a headcount of about 250,000 in 28 countries. The operating business is performed by the six sales divisions which operate independently: Metro/Makro Cash & Carry – world market leader in cash & carry wholesale, Real hypermarkets, Extra supermarkets, Media Markt and Saturn – market leader in consumer electronics centres in Europe, Praktiker home improvement and DIY centres, and Galeria Kaufhof department stores.

Satyam dreams big in Rajarhat
SUMALI MOITRA
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/933385.cms

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2004 02:18:11 AM ]

KOLKATA: Starting with three acres and going on 50. Satyam Computer Services, India's fourth-largest software exporter, suddenly has bigger designs on Kolkata than it started out with.

Enthused by the prospects Bengal offers in the IT arena, Satyam has sought 50 acres of land at Rajarhat to establish a campus of its own.

The request was made during a series of interactions Satyam officials, led by its senior vice-president V. Murali, had with the IT department and Webel on Tuesday.

Murali, who had played a big part in Satyam's decision to establish a presence in Kolkata, visited Rajarhat during the day to get a feel of the place and assess its suitability for a large facility.

"They are clearly not content with a three-acre plot at Sector V. Given the land crunch here, they want to lap up as much as possible at Rajarhat because they feel that Ben-gal is now one of the most exciting places to be in," sources said, adding that the process of handing over land at Rajarhat would not delay Satyam's starting operations in Kolkata.

The company, which signed an MoU with Webel earlier this year in the presence of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Satyam chairman B. Ramalinga Raju, is expected to start its Kolkata foray in 2005-06.

"The discussions today (Tuesday) suggested that they will first start from a leased facility, then build a centre of their own at Sector V, and subsequently establish a bigger presence at Rajarhat," sources said.

Satyam officials, it may be noted, met several architects on Tuesday and are expected to meet some real estate developers on Wednesday.

"Satyam is likely to construct a 1.5-2.5 lakh square feet facility in Sector V to accommodate 1,500-2,500 people," sources said. "What the headcount will be once they start at Rajarhat would be just mind-blowing."

In an e-mail reply to TOI last month, a company spokeswoman had said that Satyam would begin its Kolkata operations with 20-100 people and then scale it up to 500. The New York Stock Exchange-listed firm employs nearly 17,000 associates at all its facilities put together.

Sources said Satyam's presence would boost Bengal to the big league. For then the state would have three of India's top four software exporters in its fold. Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro, ranked one and three on the list of software exporters, already have operations here.

A furniture and interiors mall, Kolkata

http://www.merlinprojects.com/images/homeland_b.jpg

more projects - www.merlinprojects.com

Rs 25 crore for mastic makeover (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/939415.cms)

A Rs 25 crore New Year gift from Kolkata Municipal Corporation is coming your way in 2005, in the form of ship shape roads and a legal instrument to ensure that every crack on the road is repaired immediately.

What’s more, it will be engineering giants like Larsen and Toubro, Tantia who will construct and maintain Kolkata’s roads.

All this is part of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s Rs 25 crore overdrive on road repair. It will start early January 2005 and finish by May — well in time for the municipal polls scheduled for June. The Trinamul-BJP-run civic board evidently doesn’t want to go into battle on bumpy roads.

For the first time, the firms that will be awarded the contract for laying of mastic roads will have to sign an annual (renewable) con-tract with the civic body agreeing that if any road cracks up, the firm would repair it free of cost. If the damage is caused due to digging for repair of the city’s underground utilities, the repair will be done by the firms but KMC will bear the cost.

Volvo keen to roll out luxury buses in Bengal
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/940594.cms

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2004 01:16:43 AM ]

KOLKATA: Travelling by bus over a long distance in the east may soon cease to be a back-breaking, exhausting experience, potholed roads notwithstanding.

Premier coach manufacturer Volvo India is preparing for talks with state transport corporations in the eastern region to sell its luxury buses to ply on the high-frequency, long-distance routes.

The company has a sales target of 30 buses in the region with the bulk of purchase happening in Kolkata. The city has some of the largest Volvo truck fleet operators in the country with over a 100 engaged in construction work at New Town, Rajarhat and others at coal and mineral mines in the region. A Volvo team has already surveyed various inter and intra-state bus routes and short-listed Kolkata-Malda-Siliguri and Kolkata-Cuttack-Bhubaneswar as key sectors.

Other potential Volvo routes include Kolkata-Jamshedpur-Ranchi, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Sambalpur, Bhubaneswar-Bhawanipatna and Bhubaneswar-Vizag, Guwahati-Agartala and many others in the North-east. A Volvo team will arrive in Kolkata in the next couple of months for dialogues with CSTC, North Bengal State Transport Corporation, South Bengal State Transport Corporation, West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation and other transport corporations in the region including those of Orissa, Jharkhand and Assam.

Of the 500-odd Volvo buses in operation countrywide, the company has sold a quarter of the volume (125 buses) to state transport corporations in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Goa.

"We are ready to roll our buses in the east. The entire south, west, north and parts of central India have been covered. The eastern region roll-out should happen by March," said Ulf Nordqvist, managing director, Volvo India. Private operators have been flooding them with enquiries, he added.

The reason behind Volvo's decision and preparedness to enter the east with its buses has been the recent upgradation of its workshop in Kolkata. Not only is it equipped to handle the rapidly burgeoning Volvo truck fleet in the region, it is now capable of servicing the needs of bus fleet owners, too.

Apart from the usual routes, the Volvo management is keen to usher in bus linkages to all neighbouring state capitals and key towns.

Another highrise hits the market

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041129/asp/calcutta/story_4044876.asp

Construction of Calcutta’s “first cluster of townhouses” is set to commence in January 2005, with targeted completion in 36 months. Each of the 13 townhouses, christened after trees like Maple and Oak, and with a captive elevator, will be made up of four duplex apartments. The cost of each duplex will work out to Rs 40-45 lakh.

Developed by Bengal United Credit Belani Housing Ltd, a joint-sector company between United Credit Belani Group and West Bengal Housing Board, the townhouses are part of Hiland Woods, a multi-layered project designed by architect Dulal Mukherjee.

“It’s a dream solution, quite in the mould of the quaint London properties in the old quarters of Knightsbridge or Hammersmith, which can’t be conceptualised for congested downtown areas. The focus of the low-height townhouses will be on landscaping and privacy,” says Mukherjee.

Nandu Belani, managing director of the joint-sector firm, adds: “Every duplex, for all practical purposes a two-storey bungalow inter-linked through small cut-outs, will have its own private lawn, back garden and dedicated concealed parking slot, with access from the basement.”

Following the European model, the front lawn will be minimal and the back gardens exhaustively done. There will be a four-metre forestation strip as natural boundary and the exposed-brick buildings peeping behind lush foliage will be girdled by a riot of colours in flowerbeds and rare trees. The semi-organic pattern of the sunken gardens will resemble terrace cultivation and spiral upward.

“All European hamlets near big cities and outlying districts have interesting mosaics of townhouses, but sadly Calcutta, despite its British legacy, has no such property. The Rajarhat project promises to plug that void,” Mukherjee observes.

Owners of the exclusive townhouses will also have access to a “distinguished” family club, housed in the adjacent 22-storey HIG (high-income group) tower.

To be located between the 19th and 22nd floors, the club — with indoor sports, library-cum-lounge, health spa and wading pool — will offer a “stunning view” from the top.

And here comes Technopolis Tower..

Green, keen tech work zone

- By March 2006, 6.75 lakh sq ft IT park with lifestyle add-ons

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041201/asp/calcutta/story_4068293.asp

Till yesterday, the strongest USP for Calcutta as an attractive information technology (IT) destination was its talent pool. Today, if IT minister Manab Mukherjee is to be believed, the government has found another carrot to lure investors — quality IT workspace.

“We have a little over a million sq ft of IT work area in the city. But by 2006, another four million sq ft will be added,” said Mukherjee on Tuesday, at a function to launch Technopolis, coming up at the Salt Lake Electronics Complex (Saltlec).

To be executed by city-based developers Saraf Group, which built Forum Shopping Mall on Elgin Road, the project involves setting up a 6.75-lakh sq ft state-of-the-art IT park.

“This building will be unique, as it will be the city’s first green building. We have plans to add some of the features of this set-up as benchmarks for other buildings,” said Mukherjee, who doubles as the state’s environment minister.

From generating cost savings up to 30 per cent by optimising energy consumption to providing a healthy indoor air quality by electronic monitoring of carbon dioxide levels, the 14-storeyed building in the state’s IT hub will set a new standard in the city, claimed the promoters.

“Such green buildings are fast becoming a norm in the US,” said developer Rahul Saraf, claiming that once completed, the building would be the single-largest IT set-up in the city. The 1.3 million IT space at the DLF mega complex coming up in Rajarhat will be spread over three towers.

“We will complete the construction at one go,” promised Saraf, explaining how the structure was being built to the specifications of the US Green Building Council. The company will invest around Rs 92 crore on the project and is working on a March 2006 deadline.

Elaborating on the green specifications — oxygen-rich environment, abundant natural light, minimum noise pollution, use of recyclable products for construction and provision for water harvesting — Saraf added that Technopolis will be fitted with the best possible safety equipment to tackle fire and other potential hazards.

“Then, we will have the lifestyle add-ons, like a wired business centre, food court, pub, gymnasium, convenience store and ATMs,” he added.

“We haven’t yet started marketing the project, but we are confident that given the growth of the IT industry in the region, roping in clients will not be a problem,” summed up Saraf.


Charnock's City goes green

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 01, 2004 02:32:13 AM ]

KOLKATA: Kolkata is out to steal the thunder as the country's snazziest IT hot-spot with the first ever dedicated 'green building' in India's infotech arena.

'Technopolis', at Salt Lake's showpiece Sector V, will be ready by March 2006.

Modelled on the specifications laid down by the US Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (USGBC-LEED), the 14-storey 675,000 square feet facility would be an architectural marvel designed to maximise natural light and ensure optimum insulation from heat and sound.

It would be equipped with sensors for on-line monitoring of carbon dioxide, intelligent humidification controls and a green house for oxygen replenishment to maintain the highest levels of indoor air quality for the nearly 5,000 people expected to be housed here.

"It will be the perfect answer to all those who still harbour doubts about whether we can match up with the best on the infrastructure front," said Technopolis promoter Rahul Saraf, who gifted the city its first mall, 'Forum'.


Green building recognition apart, Saraf claims his Rs 90-crore IT park (being implemented by Phoenix Software, a joint venture company with Webel, which he recently took over) packed enough punch to become a big hit with occupants.

"It will be the biggest facility in Sector V. With 300,000 square feet of office space, a 70-seater auditorium, completely fitted-out incubators, car park for 550 vehicles, 600-seat food court, 110-seater pub, 70-seater coffee shop and 150-seater dining facility. Everything that an IT pro could ask for," he said. There will even be two squash courts, a pharmacy, convenience and gift stores, laundromat and several ATMs thrown in for good measure.

IT minister Manab Mukherjee said 'Technopolis' would establish a new benchmark in IT infrastructure in Bengal. "Over 40 lakh square feet of ready-built space is expected to be added in the state in the next two years," he said.

A furniture and interiors mall, Kolkata

more projects - www.merlinprojects.com

Home building made easy

Organised retailing is homing in on one-stop solutions for all housing needs

Posted online: Sunday, November 28, 2004 at 0000 hours IST

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=75396

The Kolkata-based realtor Merlin Group have begun constructions for its proposes a swanky mall called ‘Homeland’ right in the heart of Kolkata. The five-storied mega mall will offer the entire gamut of products needed to build a house.

The Rs 50-crore project is being developed on a 1,00,000 sq ft plot at the junction of Chowringhee and Elgin Road. So far 25% of the total space has been booked by electrical appliances and furniture dealers.

The realtor claims that Kolkatans will no longer have to run from pillar to post finding that right shade of ceramic tile for the bathroom or that lampshade which matches perfectly with the drawing room decor.

“Not only for Kolkatans, in due time Homeland will cater to the entire east,” says Sushil Mohta, managing director of the Merlin Group.

Designed in-house by the Merlin Group, Homeland sees itself as a one-stop shop for homemakers.

The mall will have as many as 150 outlets ffering a wide choice in building materials, electrical fittings, furniture, upholstery, chldren’s furniture and paintings among others. In addition, the mall will house consultancy services for interiors, architects, Vaastu and Feng Shui. Home loan facilities will also be available.

According to Mr Mohta, a unique feature of the mall will be a resource cafe where browsers will get a chance to explore the latest books and periodicals dedicated to homemaking. Three new proposed townships at Rajarhat, Dankuni and Howrah is likely to propel this growth further in the future.

“The state government will also gain anything between Rs 2-3 crore a month via sales tax and octroi from Homeland,” Mr Mohta says.

According to Mr Mohta, 60% of the total space will be for outright sale at a price varying between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 per sq ft depending on the location, while the remaining 40% space will be leased on rent for between Rs 60 and Rs 110.

Unitech plans development in Rajarhat?

http://www.unitechgroup.com/pop-img.jpg

Ekta Heights, Raja S.C. Mullick Road, Jadavpur

http://www.axiomestates.com/img/ekta_images/elevation.jpg

Natural View, 82, Ultadanga Main Road
Kolkata 700 067

http://www.bppoddargroup.com/images/naturalViewBig.jpg

Golf Tower (completed), 9 Prince Gulam Muhammad Shah Road

http://www.mehariahousing.com/golf.jpg

Some new project details:

****************************

Hiland Woods (I had posted some info on it a few days back).
Location: New Town (Rajarhat)
Developer: United Credit Belanis
Architect: Dulal Mukherjee
Area: 5.18 acres
LIG Apartments: 4 storey blocks
Hazel: cluster of townhomes
Maple (MIG): 14 storeys
Birch (HIG): 23 storeys

The highlight will be the club atop Birch. The central part of the towers will be scooped out to make room for facilities like gym, badminton court and terrace garden.

***************************
Sunrise Point
Location: New Town (Rajarhat)
Developer: Bengal Park Chambers
Architect: Stephen A. Coates of aCTa International (Singapore)
Apartments: 550 flats, 50 per cent will comprise the LIG-MIG mix.
MIG Tower:17-storeys
HIG Towers: Three 20-storey towers.

There will also be a double storey car-park. Apart from the usual frills of greenery and water, the complex will have a paramedical centre with 24-hour doctors and nursing staff.

***************************

Akankha
Location: New Town (Rajarhat)
Developer: Bengal Shelter Housing Development
Architect:Prakalpa (Advisor Hafeez Contractor)
Area: 4.8 acres
Buildings: Not known yet

***************************

Lakeland Country Club, Howrah

40 acres of planned club town in Howrah city, with a 15 acres spread of interlinked lakes. 15 minute drive from downtown Kolkata via Vidyasagar Setu along Kona Expressway. Club, bunglows and ITC's fortune park hotel (opening soon).

Layout plan

http://img145.exs.cx/img145/820/kolkatalakelandcountryclub1qk.jpg

Site pictures

http://www.panchwati.com/images/19_big_mainentrance.gif

http://www.panchwati.com/images/41_big_swimmingpool.gif

http://www.panchwati.com/images/5_big_centrallawn.gif

http://www.panchwati.com/images/3_big_lawntopview.gif

http://www.panchwati.com/images/17_big_frontview.gif

http://www.panchwati.com/images/21_big_easternlawn.gif

http://www.panchwati.com/images/1_big_banquethall.gif

http://www.panchwati.com/images/20_big_go-kart.gif

http://www.panchwati.com/images/37_big_bar.gif

http://www.panchwati.com/images/39_big_cardroom.gif

http://www.panchwati.com/images/23_big_vivienebungalow.gif

ITC Fortune Park (opening soon)

http://www.panchwati.com/images/22_big_ITCfortunepark.gif

Guys, any info on that planned 50 storied building for Calcutta.

Guys, any info on that planned 50 storied building for Calcutta.

I have not heard anything more after the initial proposal (assuming we are referring to the same proposal). It's the Mayor's pet project. But he belongs to TMC (NDA) which won the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections. The Left Front rules the state. And the two are often at ego based loggerheads over petty issues including projects.

Lakeland Country Club is simply awesome! :applause:

Just give Kolkata couple of years, and it will give serious competition to cities like Mumbai and Delhi. Plus, the underground metro at Kolkata is ready for expansion...and the suburbs plus the local IT industry is coming up nicely. I am holding two thumbs up for Kolkata. :righton:

gentleman i dont wanna get imbroiled in a brit V bharat thing but
The BBC doesnt have to SELL images.
We all have to pay for it in the form of a compulsary TV licence.But then u knew that I'm sure, eh.
Also the cow pictures are still amusing no? The contrast between old & new.
Also most of us ( the population in the uk) & most of those who work at the BBC, a left of centre Org, are anti monarchy or at least have strong republican leanings.

so to qoute a classic

'God save the queen
she aint no human being
they made you a moron
potential H bomb

god save history
God save your mass parade
Lord god have mercy
all crimes are paid'

From the song that was both officailly banned & the best seller during the queens jubilee by the band that put a safety pin through the monarchs cheek.

But as to Kolkata lets hope the new regs do make adifference 'cos the last time I was there in 2000 it just looked like the whole place had merely become yet more dilapidted since my previous visit 10 years before unlike the rest of India which was begining to move on up.I loved it in then but found it a bit of a downer in 2000 it being a new millenium & all that.
We flew from BKK to Rangoon & thought new modern India was going to buzz us up .
But If BKK was the year 2000 then Rangoon was 1970(ish- its kind of like Bombay 10 years ago)) but KolKata was sort of 1850 meets 1950.
shit loads of people living on the streets. I know thats a pan-developing world problem but the there was loads of derelict buildings so the streets might have been a wise choice.A few of IT cafes struggling against the lack of power & no one had bought an ac/dc converter power cut off delay box (dont know the techie term)so all work was lost when it cut out...
There WAS indeed a 25 story tower & all the facing bricks had fallen off it so as to expose the red brick construction that looked to me like it should of been condemed as dangerous & demolished.
The buses were still made of wood in an old (British!) 1950's design, belched out plumes of black fumes so the people were constantly hacking & spitting.oh there was a new sort of mall thing where the ladies underwear shops were staffed by men ( ha, men , get real ) with pre second world war moustaches, & cinemas showing censored hollywood B movies.( I was shocked)It obviously wasnt working too well as city, I thought
Oh, Park St was sort of being built where they were just about to open a big musicDVD shop & the youth were well excited.Oh yeah the metro was up & running but the contrast between that & when one got out at a station was pretty phenominal
All in all very badly governed .
So lets hope it gathers momentum & improves the lot of its population who BTW were still as brilliant as ever.

gentleman i dont wanna get imbroiled in a brit V bharat thing but
The BBC doesnt have to SELL images.
We all have to pay for it in the form of a compulsary TV licence.But then u knew that I'm sure, eh.
Also the cow pictures are still amusing no? The contrast between old & new.
Also most of us ( the population in the uk) & most of those who work at the BBC, a left of centre Org, are anti monarchy or at least have strong republican leanings.

so to qoute a classic

'God save the queen
she aint no human being
they made you a moron
potential H bomb

god save history
God save your mass parade
Lord god have mercy
all crimes are paid'

From the song that was both officailly banned & no. one during the queens jubilee!

But as to Kolkata lets hope the new regs do make adifference 'cos the last time I was there in 2000 it just loked like the whole place had merely become yet more dilapidted since my previous visit 10 years before unlike the rest of India which was begining to move on up.I loved it in then but found it a bit of adowner in 2000it being a new millenium & all that.We flew from BKK to Rangoon & thought new modern India was going to buzz us up .
But If BKK was the year 2000 then Rangoon was 1970(ish- its kind of like Bombay 10 years ago)) but KolKata was sort of 1850 meets 1950.
shit loads of people living on the streets. I know thats a pan-developing world problem but the there was loads of deralict buildings so the streets might have been a wise choice.A few of IT cafes struggling against the lack of power & no one had bought a power cut off delay box (dont know the techie term)so all work was lost when it cut out...
There WAS indeed a 25 story tower & all the facing bricks had fallen off so as to expose the red brick construction that looked to me like it should of been condemed as dangerous & demolished.
The buses were still made of wood in an old (British!) 1950's design, belched out plumes of black fumes so the people were constantly hacking & spitting.oh there was a new sort of mall thing where the ladies underwear shops were staffed by blokes (get real)with pre second world war moustaches, & cinemas showing censored hollywood B movies.( I was shocked)It obviously wasnt working too well as city, I thought
Oh, Park St was sort of being built they were just about to open a big musicDVD shop & the youth were well excited.Oh yeah the metro was up & running but the contrast between that & when one got out at a station was pretty phenominal
All in all very badly governed .
So lets hope it gathers momentum & improves the lot of its population who BTW were still as brilliant as ever.

You do seem to know a bit of Kolkata. So where all have you been there?

I read your funny post about the train too.

Most of Kolkata's development is going on in the eastern outskirts - Salt Lake and New Town.

Personally though I found Kolkata improving quite a bit from 1990 - 1997 - 2003. Of course I don't go to the Sudder Street and other "touristy" areas too much.

The whole old city centre can be spruced up and restored. Very few places in India have so many colonial buildings.

unfortunatly as you said only a bit.
we stayed in sudder st/ park st area but got about a bit both on foot & bus/ tram /metro.
i remember now meeting some folk & saying all the above & they agreed realy but told us about a new tech park out of town that we didnt get to. Sounded very different to what we were experiencing.
btw mate you seem to be a main contributer to this forum & your doing a very wicked job. Cheers to ya!

unfortunatly as you said only a bit.
we stayed in sudder st/ park st area but got about a bit both on foot & bus/ tram /metro.
i remember now meeting some folk & saying all the above & they agreed realy but told us about a new tech park out of town that we didnt get to. Sounded very different to what we were experiencing.
btw mate you seem to be a main contributer to this forum & your doing a very wicked job. Cheers to ya!

Hope you get lots of pics of India this time with your camera.

glad you thought it was funny we need a bit of a laugh.though i cant remember what i wrote...Old age ...
yeah you're right we do get a bit of a distorted view as goras but as it says in the gita, one must have a discerning mind & with that we can get a vibe of a place I think.
It just seemed neglected.
And admin where them jamacian flag avatars.Eh???

glad you thought it was funny we need a bit of a laugh.though i cant remember what i wrote...Old age ...
yeah you're right we do get a bit of a distorted view as goras but as it says in the gita, one must have a discerning mind & with that we can get a vibe of a place I think.
It just seemed neglected.
And admin where them jamacian flag avatars.Eh???

You were speaking of how Indian train passengers ask whether you and your partner are married.

Dunno about why the Jamaican flag is missing.

oh yeah I remember cheers.
just been on the london forum & there still waiting...
So all you'se in india enjoy the change its exciting times for you.They'll be social change too though inevitably slower & hopefully progressive.
Thats one reason I love Asia the rate of change is phenominal.
I mean the only thing thets been built whithin walking distance of where i am is a new Tescos(supermarket) in the last 70 years. No joke most of the UK was already built be the time my dad was a kid! So its a bit boring on that front.
Cultural/social change has meen huge especially in the last 40 years but it LOOKS the same .
sorry, im blahing on & on this iz the Kolkata thread .im outa here

Mani Square (rendering)

Click on pic to get a bigger view!

http://img59.exs.cx/img59/6664/bigmansquareielevationplan1nv.th.jpg (http://img59.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img59&image=bigmansquareielevationplan1nv.jpg)

What can Calcuttans or Kolkatans look forward to in 2005?

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050101/asp/calcutta/story_4196704.asp

2004 is the year that was; 2005 is the year that is. Looking back means a crick in the neck; looking ahead means virtual vision. So, on the first morning of the Year of the Rooster, Metro picks up a binocular to peer into the future. Past the potholes and beyond the smokescreen, here’s looking at tomorrow’s Calcutta…

Calcuttans can look forward to the following:

Roads

Park Street flyover

Taratala flyover

Bondel Gate flyover

Dum Dum underpass

Extension of Prince Anwar Shah Road up to EM Bypass

EM Bypass, from Ultadanga to Chingrihata, to be six-lane from four-lane, and a service road along it

Extension of EM Bypass up to Baruipur

Construction of Barasat overbridge taking off

Widening and uplift of Canal East Road (BT Road to Maniktala Main Road)

Widening and improvement of Maniktala junction

Widening and improvement of Park Circus (from the tram depot to Mullickbazar)

Widening and improvement of Lockgate Road (along the Lockgate and Cossipore flyovers)

Widening of Rashbehari Avenue (from Triangular Park to Sarat Bose Road) and dereservation of tram tracks.

Building blocks

The ongoing buoyancy in the sector will be sustained, with the construction boom growing and spreading. And for once, the spotlight is on the other side of the Hooghly, with twin Indonesian companies — the Salim and Ciputra groups — building a township in west Howrah at a cost of $350 million, the single largest foreign direct investment in the housing sector in the country.

Construction of the 10-year project, on over 400 acres of land, starts today.

With the Batanagar township also poised for a complete makeover, the city should finally begin to grow in all directions.

The third phase of Hiland Park, on the Bypass, is set to be commissioned, marking the completion of the 956-apartment highrise complex, made famous by the city’s tallest tower (30 floors).

Still on the Bypass, another high-profile condominium residential complex, Silver Spring, should be ready by the year-end, with 500 apartments next to ITC Sonar Bangla Sheraton & Towers.

Work on South City, the mega mixed-use lifestyle project on Prince Anwar Shah Road, will also pick up pace, as will Sherwood Estate and a few other large-format properties across town.

Shopping spree

If the Calcutta shop-stops started coming into their own in the year that was, the racks will only grow bigger and brighter in the year ahead.

The narrow-format mall is where most of the action will be. Following in the footsteps of marriage mart Shagun and build bazaar Homeland, other specialised malls are in the offing, covering various segments. Both the Ambuja group and the Shrachi group are planning narrow-format malls in New Town, Rajarhat.

Metropolis, the giant mall inside Hiland Park, is slated for a full-fledged launch in April, with one of the anchors, Big Bazaar, already up and running. Shringar will be the other anchor, with a four-screen multiplex, while Crossword will set up its second store inside the same mall.

Metropolis will also house factory outlet stores of Raymond, Planet Sport and Primus, selling United Colours of Benetton, Levis and Dockers.

Westside will unveil its second outlet in town inside the Gariahat mall, which will house another C3 as well.

The PAM shopping plaza and another Big Bazaar on Rashbehari Avenue should be commissioned in the course of the year.

Fort Knox, the city’s first dedicated jewellery mall, will unveil itself, adding new sheen to the fast-changing Camac Street skyscape.

Work on the South City mall on Prince Anwar Shah Road and Mani Square and Forum II on EM Bypass will also get underway.

Travel time

Indian Airlines will augment its fleet. Forty-three new aircraft will be added all over India, with Calcutta on the list of beneficiaries, too.

The city international airport will finally get busier, with Malaysia Airlines taking off from January 29 with three flights to Kuala Lumpur, and Gulf Air adding a third weekly flight.

On the domestic front, Air Deccan plans to make Calcutta the eastern-region hub by February, with 20 daily flights to and from destinations like Ranchi, Patna, Jamshedpur, Agartala and Dibrugarh, followed by metros like Mumbai and Delhi.

On track are Eastern Railway projects like the new 13.5-km Kakdwip-Namkhana line, the Gurap-Shaktigarh (Howrah-Burdwan chord) third line over 25.42 km, Phase I of the Habra-Maslandapur double-line project, the 15-km project for Sonarpur-Champahati-Ghutiarisharif, extension of platforms to 12-coach length, shifting of signals, points and crossings at Howrah-Bandel, Sheoraphuli-Tarakeswar…

Extension of the Prinsep Ghat-Majerhat-Dum Dum Cant. Circular Railway line to the airport is also on the cards.

South Eastern Railway will focus on the Bankura-Chhatna-Mukutmanipur line and the Bankura Rainagar section till Sonamukhi.

BY THE BOOK

To scale up the scope of management development programmes and the evening MBA programme for working executives, the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta is ready to move into a new facility in the city.

The government had given a Rajarhat plot to the premier B-school and the authorities are bullish about commissioning the facility in 2005.

The second campus of St Xavier’s College, off the Bypass, near the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, will be on a six-acre plot. It will have a media centre, post-graduate departments of biosciences, information & technology as well as a management centre, with plans to introduce short courses in astrophysics, photography, business finance and export and import.

Though the project will require five to 10 years, a portion of the basic foundation work should be ready next year.

On the school front, Calcutta International School is bidding adieu to its Lee Road premises and heading for the Bypass, near Ruby General Hospital. At over two acres, the campus will be more than three times the size of the present school, but the student body will be kept small.

The third instalment in the growing Delhi Public School brigade in Calcutta will also open its doors to students from the new academic session in 2005, this time at Rajarhat.

MAIDAN BYPASSED

The city centre will lose much of its winter colour, with fairs shifting eastwards — for the Maidan action, as we know it, is finally moving to the Bypass this year.

This, environmentally speaking, is good news for the green that has been trampled year after year by lovers of books, leather, handicrafts and what not.

No more heaps of trash, no more anxious feet crushing tender grass, no more fights about who gets to clean it all up. But will the Bypass fall foul of the Maidan fair load?

CLUB CULTURE

Most traditional clubs are keen to present a younger countenance to draw GenX crowds. In this effort, 2005 will be the watershed, with renovation and reinvention touching food and fitness, look and leisure.

With the rules of the club game changing, Ocio, the leisureplex at Alipore, should unveil all its facilities by the first quarter and even keep a parallel channel open for walk-in, pay-and-play users.

Another significant addition to the new-age clubbing matrix will be Spring, slated to open its doors in June.

Located inside the premium Silver Spring residential complex on the Bypass, the club will have a heated swimming pool, air-conditioned indoor playing arena, rooftop tennis court, a state-of-the-art health club, business lounge and “unique tutorials” in yoga, meditation and different forms of performing arts.

Royal Calcutta Turf Club, ready to transform its Russell Street premises into a swank city social club, hopes to launch the first phase of its membership around March, according to the stewards.

The turf club authorities are also keen to begin work on a gradual makeover of the race course.

Royal Calcutta Golf Club, the oldest outside the British Isles, hopes to become “the best golf course in Asia” in the next two years by acquiring better equipment, like fairway aerators and green polishers, and also through better maintenance. “Much of the action on the course, remodelled by Peter Thompson, should begin by March,” says immediate past captain Ashit Luthra.

The Dalhousie Institute sports complex is also slated to get underway in 2005.

Big Bite

Kentucky Fried Chicken’s debut is big among a significant chunk of the Calcutta consumer. That’s at City Centre, where Mainland China is also slated to open its second address, but in a different avatar.

Also worth digging into is Amber’s foray out of Waterloo Street, the consolidation drive by Grain of Salt, Tangerine, Star Struck and KK’s Fusion.

Another significant new addition will be Dalchini, an 80-cover Indian-Chinese restaurant on Camac Street, from the popular Bar-B-Q stable.

STAR & STYLE

Having fun will be even more fun in 2005, as party places up the tempo.

The Park has major expansion and revamp plans, with Tantra not only expanding, but possibly multiplying. “A truly international experience for the city’s party animals,” is all that Anirban Shimlai, director F&B, would hold out the promise of.

At another end of town, the Hyatt nightclub is finally happening this year.

If fun is in focus, can food be far behind? At least five new food places are starred in 2005.

ITC Sonar Bangla plans to revolutionise the way Calcuttans eat healthy with a 30-seater wellness café that will serve Spa cuisine.

The HHI is all set with a lounge restaurant to dish out Mediterranean and Mexican cuisine. A new restaurant is also on the cards at The Golden Park.

Going international this year is popular city nightspot Shisha. The first hookah bar in town plans to branch out to Singapore and London in 2005.

But Camac Street won’t be losing out, with a new resto-bar and a nightclub covering one-and-half floors on the eighth and ninth levels of the Jewellery Mall.

SMALL SCREEN

Tune into a flurry of new channels this year.

STAR News focuses on regional, with the launch of its Bengali channel, while the bull-bear line defines three new beams. Zee Business News is already on air and one each from NDTV and TV18 is revving up. Kids gain with Disney Channel and Toon Disney, while music-lovers (of the phoren flavour, that is) can rock to VH1.

The other prime point: the beam-and-block cable industry finally starts to clean up its act, with the state government completing a “cable census” and laying down rules for service providers.

Switch on or switch off? Let’s wait and watch.


Big screen

If you thought 2004 was all about Bollywood invading town and leaving us starstruck, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

Mira Nair will camp in Calcutta February onwards for her screen adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri’s Namesake, bringing with her two ends of the Bolly spectrum in Abhishek Bachchan and Irrfan, with Konkona Sen Sharma for company. Mandira Bedi should pad up for an extra innings with a cameo in husband Raj Kaushal’s first Bengali film, No Poblem.

February will see Aparna Sen leave start-and-stop 2004 behind her and begin shooting in Bhutan for her next English feature film, 15 Park Avenue, with Shabana Azmi, Konkona and Rahul Bose.

Yash Pandit and Manjari Phadnis, the lead pair in Arindam Chaudhuri’s Rok Sako To Rok Lo, will be in Bolpur to shoot for Anjan Das’ Ranir Ghater Brittanto by March-end or April.

Rituparno Ghosh is not yet decided about his next venture. All that he knows is that it’ll be his second Hindi venture after Raincoat and that it will star Aishwarya Rai.

In reverse flow, Bhowanipore girl Koel Mullick will ride into Mumbai on an AB Corp chariot.

Buddhadeb Dasgupta will fly to Varanasi, and then London, in September to shoot for his next feature film.

In the halls, Shyam Benegal’s Netaji: The Last Hero will be Calcutta’s claim to the big Bollywood release pie.

Back in Tollywood, Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Swapner Din, starring Prosenjit, Rimii and Raima Sen, is to hit the screens after travelling to the Toronto Film Festival.

Also waiting in line is Anjan Dutt’s Bow Barracks Forever, featuring Lillete and Neha Dubey, Victor Banerjee, Moon Moon Sen and more.

With the multiplex movie-going explosion bringing the curtains down on several standalone halls, choose your screen and grab some popcorn.

Third Phase of Hiland Park

http://www.hilandparkcal.com/site_progress/images/5s.jpg

http://www.hilandparkcal.com/site_progress/images/2s.jpg

Big Bazaar at the new Metropolis Mall

http://www.hilandparkcal.com/site_progress/images/4s.jpg

http://www.hilandparkcal.com/site_progress/images/3s.jpg

Spruced-up roads to greet business summit delegates

KOLKATA: Don't be surprised if you see a little more bustle near two five-star hotels at Esplanade and Alipore from Monday.

Or on the road stretch from the airport to Salt Lake. This will only be a worried government's response to give the city an image makeover before one of the most important business summits which will begin in Kolkata on January 12. Wondering what we are talking about? Roadrepairs , nothing else.

"We've decided to speed up the ongoing road improvement projects before the CII Partnership Summit," said state commerce and industries secretary Sabyasachi Sen. "All government agencies, including Kolkata Municipal Corporation, KMDA and PWD have been urged to do up the roads likely to be used by the delegates as quickly as possible," Sen added.

The decision to complete the road spruce-up job before the summit — to be held from January 12 to January 14 — was agreed upon during a meeting between CII representatives and government officials at Writers' Buildings on December 31.

"Surely you cannot have pot-holed roads when the summit is all about showcasing a resurgent Bengal to around 1,000 delegates," former CII chairman (eastern region) Dipankar Chatterjee said. "We appreciate the government's promptness in addressing this issue," added Chatterjee, who was present at the meeting.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, European Union trade commissioner Peter Mandelson British trade secretary Patricia Hewitt and a host of businessmen from the United Kingdom, Middle-East and Asean countries are slated to take part in the summit, that is returning to Kolkata after a gap of eight years.

Industry is hopeful that the state would utilise the summit platform to send across the message that Bengal means business and also clarify its position on the contentious FDI issue.While the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government has been openly supportive of greater FDI inflows, his comrades in Delhi have not always shared the same optimism on the subject.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-978127,curpg-2.cms

Hiland Sapphire, AJC Bose Road

http://www.hilandparkcal.com/newimages/sapphirs.jpg

Hiland Woods has a website but no render yet.. :bash:

Hopefully they will have something by next month.

http://www.hilandparkcal.com/hilandwoods/hilandwoods_index.htm

Suncity, you need to get us some Kolkata pics....:)

We need to build up over own image collection to avoid copyright problems.
Here's one I found on the net sometime back. They are by Shanmugak100.

1
http://img103.exs.cx/img103/7777/kolkataskylinenew12hy.jpg

2
http://img64.exs.cx/img64/2193/kolkataskylinenice2s1wx.jpg

3
http://img64.exs.cx/img64/4629/kolkataroad37ik.jpg

Kolkata has so many great sights, it is such an importat city. We need more photos! :) The waterfront skyline, that park skyline view, hiland park, south city.....not to mention EM bypass, durgapur expressway, vidyasagar setu, AJC bose flyover etc etc. And a huge infrastructure update (so many flyovers and underpasses constructed/ u/c), and of course the metro, and of course the gazillion landmark buildings, and howrah, and........:) Too few photos. ESP with soooo many misconceptions and stereotypes about it, it has improved so much off late!

Kolkata has so many great sights, it is such an importat city. We need more photos! :) The waterfront skyline, that park skyline view, hiland park, south city.....not to mention EM bypass, durgapur expressway, vidyasagar setu, AJC bose flyover etc etc. And a huge infrastructure update (so many flyovers and underpasses constructed/ u/c), and of course the metro, and of course the gazillion landmark buildings, and howrah, and........:) Too few photos. ESP with soooo many misconceptions and stereotypes about it, it has improved so much off late!


Heh, Heh - misconceptions won't go so easily. A lot of it is generated by certain groups who visit Kolkata (or India) for purposes other than tourism. They visit some small (but popular) sections of the city and carry that little exposure as being the whole story of Kolkata. [Just as Delhi is judged by Paharganj / Old Delhi].

But to be fair, while Kolkata has improved a lot since the seventies, there is still a lot to be done.

Some simple things would be just ask the private bus operators to replace their vinatge buses with new ones and let the old buses move out beyond the city. The Taxi owners could be asked to maintain their taxis properly. People could be asked to walk on the footwalk. There are so many small things that could be improved that would change the look and feel of any Indian city.

Improvement is needed in every city in this world! There isn't really a limit. But whatever improvement is there shuld be appreciated, esp. with cities like Kolkata which deal with so much negative perception. We just don't have enough photos of this amazing city.

Improvement is needed in every city in this world! There isn't really a limit. But whatever improvement is there shuld be appreciated, esp. with cities like Kolkata which deal with so much negative perception. We just don't have enough photos of this amazing city.

Actually there are more than enough photos of the stereotype kind taken by the stereotype mind available on the net.

:)

What we do need are pictures beyond the stereotype.

Let's see what can be done.

West Bengal Housing Board (http://www.wbhb.net/) has some fine projects in joint ventures with several private companies. However it also constructs stuff on its own which may not be as trendy as the joint venture projects.

Ruchira Residency
EM Bypass - Prince Anwar Shah Road crossing
Eight G+12 Towers, 576 apartments

http://www.wbhb.net/ruchira.jpg

Millenium Towers (this name seems to be very popular!)
Action Area I, New Town Kolkata
No details available of number of towers/floors

http://www.wbhb.net/millenniumhig.jpg

Eastern High
Action Area I, New Town Kolkata, Opposite Millenium Towers
Nine Towers
T1,T2,T3 - G1+G2+11
T4,T5 - G1+G2+13
T6, T7, T8 T9 - G1+G2+15

poor quality rendering

http://www.wbhb.net/newtownship.jpg

Lake View
Canal Road,Howrah
This project should be completed or nearing completion

http://www.wbhb.net/lakeview.jpg

We need to build up over own image collection to avoid copyright problems.
Here's one I found on the net sometime back. They are by Shanmugak100.

1
http://img103.exs.cx/img103/7777/kolkataskylinenew12hy.jpg

2
http://img64.exs.cx/img64/2193/kolkataskylinenice2s1wx.jpg

3
http://img64.exs.cx/img64/4629/kolkataroad37ik.jpg

Nice photos, Suncity!!! . Kolkata is one city that I really want to see doing well and catch up with the rest of the Indian cities. I have never been there, but have heard lots and lots about it from my girlfriend, who is Bangladeshi and goes to Kol every year with her annual shopping list ;)

Btw, totally agree with you about the taxis and busses. Even other cities in India have either Fiats or Ambassadors for cabs, but Kol cabs seem to be really badly maintained compared to Mumbai, Del, etc. In Del whenever I see cabs, the cabbies seem to keep scrubbing them down at the cab stand, but Kol's cabs are :down: . Along with cabs and busses, Kol should also do something about jaywalking on roads...I've heard its a huge problem there, and for driving enthusiasts like me, that a really pissing off thing. I respect peds but they should follow rules too, rules aren't there just for vehicles!!!

Nice photos, Suncity!!! . Kolkata is one city that I really want to see doing well and catch up with the rest of the Indian cities. I have never been there, but have heard lots and lots about it from my girlfriend, who is Bangladeshi and goes to Kol every year with her annual shopping list ;)



Just read an article by in an US newspaper, that one million people sleep in the pavements of Kolkata. A few weeks back another syndicate claimed 4 million. I was tempted to write to the newspaper that Kolkata's core population was less than 5 million as of 2001. And the "visitors" had not gone beyond the standard Missionaries of Charity tour. Such strange stories are generally spread by missionaries, NGOs and western reporters busy peddling stories based on limited experience and stories told by their "sponsors" (some have a vested interest in getting more funds).

Not that there are no homeless or poor but one million (forget about 4 million) on streets wouldn't leave any roadspace left (as it is Kolkata just has 6% roadspace). There are plenty. But it is no longer as bad as it was say in the 70s when millions of refugees just took over Kolkata in addition to the still struggling millions of refugess who had taken over in the late forties. Kolkata has come a long way since then. It is probably not doing too bad. But even the Indian media doesn't give it too much of importance because they can generally see nothing right with the left front.

Here's one recent but interesting article. It doesn't praise Kolkata but does give a peep into the changes. it is of course once in a blue moon article.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/985385.cms

:)

Just read an article by in an US newspaper, that one million people sleep in the pavements of Kolkata. A few weeks back another syndicate claimed 4 million. I was tempted to write to the newspaper that Kolkata's core population was less than 5 million as of 2001. And the "visitors" had not gone beyond the standard Missionaries of Charity tour. Such strange stories are generally spread by missionaries, NGOs and western reporters busy peddling stories based on limited experience and stories told by their "sponsors" (some have a vested interest in getting more funds).

Not that there are no homeless or poor but one million (forget about 4 million) on streets wouldn't leave any roadspace left (as it is Kolkata just has 6% roadspace). There are plenty. But it is no longer as bad as it was say in the 70s when millions of refugees just took over Kolkata in addition to the still struggling millions of refugess who had taken over in the late forties. Kolkata has come a long way since then. It is probably not doing too bad. But even the Indian media doesn't give it too much of importance because they can generally see nothing right with the left front.

Here's one recent but interesting article. It doesn't praise Kolkata but does give a peep into the changes. it is of course once in a blue moon article.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/985385.cms

:)

You are right Suncity. Kolkata probably suffers the most from stupid ill-informed stereotyping, as compared to the other Indian cities. ANother reason could be that becuase of its communist government, Western media probably gets an added incentive to portray it in bad light. :bash:

Glad to see though that Kolkata seems to be trying hard to step out of the stereotype. In the last one year, there has been some media coverage of the improvements taking place in Kolkata. The "Far Eastern Economic Review" ran a cover story in April 2004 titled "Kolkata on a roll" and that seemed to spark off quite a bit of media coverage, both amongst Indian and Western media, of the improvements happenin in Kolkata. But the stereotypes still remain, guess that will take time to go away.

I am hoping to get a chance to go to Kol sometime in the next 1 year...of course goes without saying that will take my camera along and get lots of pix...thats what we need, more visible coverage of the improvements happenin in Kolkata to set these stereotypes right.

Continuing on that Kol discussion, I was reading this pretty interesting bit on Kol's history as it went from being one of the most important cities in the world under the British and the political center of India's fight for freedom to being a stagnating declining city in the late 70s and early 80s. The article pointed out that 2 waves of migrations from East Pakistan really brought Kolkata to its knees. First during independence and then during the 1971 war for bangladesh's liberation, refugees flooded the city. The figure in the article placed the number of refugees who came to Kol in the 1971 war between 1.5-2.5 million!!!

Land acquisition for infrastructure projects is a major problem everywhere in West Bengal including Kolkata - here's a story on the Telegraph how the link road from Salt Lake to the airport is getting delayed.

This link road is currently the "weakest link" in the connection from South Kolkata to the airport via Rajarhat NEW TOWN. The last time I went there (about 4 months back) the 4-lane link road was completely potholed (huge craters to be precise). However, the 6-lane flyover and major arterial road upto VIP road is impeccable. And that is largely under-utilised because of the link road's condititon. One positive thing is that they are repairing the existing link road in the meantime.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050118/asp/calcutta/story_4264810.asp

Kolkata seems to be set for expansion on all sides - here's a TOI article on how the next focus on expansion is going to be towards the south-east -

http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/992153.cms

Highlights:

After Salt Lake and Rajarhat New Town, the state's attention is shifting south-east, towards the Baruipur-Sonarpur area, to accommodate the needs of a fast growing city.

KMDA's planning committee cites several reasons for why the Baruipur-Sonarpur area needs to be developed, chief among them being the high decadal growth rate of population in this region — the highest (40 per cent) in KMA. Salt Lake has reached its saturation point and Rajarhat township cannot be extended further due to the East Kolkata Wetlands, so the South-East KMA is the ideal area for development.

Kolkata has so many great sights, it is such an importat city. We need more photos! :) The waterfront skyline, that park skyline view, hiland park, south city.....not to mention EM bypass, durgapur expressway, vidyasagar setu, AJC bose flyover etc etc. And a huge infrastructure update (so many flyovers and underpasses constructed/ u/c), and of course the metro, and of course the gazillion landmark buildings, and howrah, and........:) Too few photos. ESP with soooo many misconceptions and stereotypes about it, it has improved so much off late!

Here are some pics of the waterfront Millenium Park built by the KMDA -

http://www.cmdaonline.com/images/mille5.jpg
http://www.cmdaonline.com/images/mille3.jpg
http://www.cmdaonline.com/images/mille1.jpg
http://www.cmdaonline.com/images/mille2.jpg
http://www.cmdaonline.com/images/mille4.jpg
http://www.cmdaonline.com/images/mille6.jpg

The new City Centre - A mall/multiplex/residential/office complex designed by Charles Correa.

http://img158.exs.cx/img158/9035/kolkatacitycenter1s5oi.jpg

Lake Town crossing - newly tarred - no lanes yet..

:)

http://img143.exs.cx/img143/9770/laketowncrossingcalcutta19vh.jpg

Kolkata gets On Track

On Track will be the latest addition to Kolkata's growing number of fine dining options. The restaurant is set in a vintage steam engine and two coaches.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/993343.cms

A survey by a hospitality industry platform shows that Kolkata's denizens eat out almost twice as often as their compatriots in Bangalore. The survey by the federation of hotels and restaurants association of India (FHRAI) says 260,000 people eat out more than once a week in Kolkata. Only 175,000 do so in Bangalore. They are followed by people in Greater Mumbai, Chennai and New Delhi.

This location map is from the South City Project website. Check out the general area South and South-East of the Lake/Gol Park...there seem to be a lot of residential highrises coming up in that area!!! Once all these projects are complete by 2007-2008, South Kolkata should have a pretty good skyline :cheers: :cheers:

Just Hiland Park and South City will do a lot for this area, but didn't know there were so many other smaller ones too in that specific area...another :cheers: !!!

http://img85.exs.cx/img85/9900/mallmap0tm.jpg

South Kolkata skyline is interesting specially a bunch of highrise buildings along the lake. Plus there are plenty along Gariahat Road and several completed ones on Anwarshah Road.

One thing missing in most Indian cities is an observation tower in the right places. When you are on top of a 15 storey and everything else is 12/15 storey, the city layout is never apparent. A tall tower gives the advantage of seeing the city spread.

But then where are our photographers? Ahmedabad has a Patang Restaurant. I have never seen a pic on the net which shows how A'bad looks from up there.

P sudhakar ,General Manager, Metro Railway, speaks with TOI

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/995602.cms

Highlights:

Dum Dum Cantonment-Dum Dum Airport extension is due to be completed in March or April.

The Princep Ghat-Majerhat circular railway project is also likely to be over in another three months.

Metro extension to New Garia to be completed by 2007.

*****************

In another news item..

Concerns over Dum Dum Airport station (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050120/asp/calcutta/story_4251407.asp)

In another news item..

Concerns over Dum Dum Airport station (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050120/asp/calcutta/story_4251407.asp)

The second article on the safetly threat to the airport because of the railyway station is ironic in some ways. On the one hand they are extending the circular rail to the airport, on the other hand they are saying that "Few air passengers will avail of the circular railway". If they are so sure that the circular railway extension will not be used by any airline passenger , why spend crores of rupees on such a project in the first place ? For a few airport employees ? Or the population living in villages near the airport ?

Secondly comes the question why airline passengers would not be using the new system - the natural answer is they can afford to take a cab / will get picked up by their own car / company car. But going by trends in developed countries across the world - rail connection to airports are considered the fastest / easiest way to reach the airport from the city centre. A few examples : JFK airport in New York City is well-connected to the city by the city's subway (their version of "metro") system - supplemented by "AirTrain" service - a light rail which connects the two nearest subway stations with all the airport terminals. Kuala Lumpur's airport which is located about 50kms from the city centre is connected by a high speed rail system (160kmph) by which it takes only 25 mins. In both cases, the airport is connected to the city centre by a network of expressways as well - but in times of rush hour traffic it is much better to take the rail route.

This is because their rail systems are much more comfortable (a/c, clean, efficient service) than ours. Our circular railway trains are simply pathetic (the ride along the ganges is scenic though) - filthy old EMU coaches - being used for a joyride by street urchins in off-peak hours. Service is also very limited (due to paucity of passengers ) except in peak hours. Who in the world would want to ride in that after coming out of a swanky air-terminal ? I feel had the Kolkata metro been extended instead (from the same place - Dum Dum) it would have attracted a few airline passengers at least -the Kolkata metro is way cleaner and more efficient than the circular rail - also it passes through the heart of the city.

A further 5-6km extension of the metro along the often-clogged VIP-road to Ultadanga would help this stretch too. And in future they could have extended the metro along the EM bypass to Garia (thus creating a full-circle). There are plans to have monorail / light rail service along the bypass in future - but I think extending the metro would make the city's rail system more integrated - and since it is proven indegenous technology, would be much cheaper to implement. Our planners always have grand plans in their minds - but in their isolated thinking process, sometimes they miss out the greater picture.

That was exactly my feeling. Why extend the EMU train services to the airport if it's not going to get any passengers?

However it may be good for all people residing in the area after the airport station.

Once the Circular Rail is complete, they should run more trains. If they can manage it intelligently they can really take off some load from the buses.

Also Indian railways needs to get rid of those EMUS and get some new decent ones. They are still in the Ambassador age.

Yeah - ER & SER should upgrade their EMUs soon - at least like Hyderabad MMTS if not the Delhi Metro ! BTW, have you seen the pics of Hyderabad's brand new EMUs ? They look much better and I hear they are pretty clean too ! I will post one here -You can see more pics in the irfca site www.irfca.org
http://www.irfca.org/photos/albums/EMU/mmts_1.sized.jpg

So what's new?

Kolkata mayor's 50 storey dream runs into trouble..

Mayor Subrata Mukherjee’s dream to construct the city’s tallest building has triggered a wave of protest from members of his own council, who claim he has taken the decision unilaterally.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050121/asp/calcutta/story_4277239.asp

Surprising how such small headaches hold up big projects, just like the NTC tower, hyderabad 60F tower (obelisk?), Bangalore sky tower etc. etc. I hope they build this, Kolkata needs it.

Last year when I was in Kolkatta we took the circular rail along the Hooghly river. I recorded it in my video cam - I have extracted some stills from the frames - quality is not very good, but would like to share them anyway -

Near Bagbazar -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/sudipta/river1.jpg

Millenium Park -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/sudipta/millenium_ark1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/sudipta/millenium_ark2.jpg

Eden Gardens -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/sudipta/riverside-eden-gardens.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/sudipta/riverside1.jpg

Vidyasagar Setu -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/sudipta/riverside4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/sudipta/riverside3.jpg

EMU at Princep ghat -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/sudipta/EMU.jpg

That looks cool!!!

Anymore such shots??

:)

Good to see that the circular railway electrification has been completed. I have a question. Is the circular rail line still a single line or has it been doubled. The doubling project was to have started last year but there has been no news in the media for a while.

nice shots!!:)

Merlin Residency , Prince Anwar Shah Road Phase I - completed.

http://www.merlinprojects.com/images/Merlin-residency_b.jpg

Phase II to start soon.

Merlin River View, Watgunge

http://www.merlinprojects.com/images/MerlinRiverView_ele_b.jpg

Prestige Towers, Manicktala Main Road

http://www.nkrealtors.com/images/pres_ele.jpg

City High, Prince Anwar Shah Road

http://www.city-high.com/images/sta1.jpg

That looks cool!!!

Anymore such shots??

:)

I have another video from a moonlight launch-cruise on the Hooghly. I can extract some stills of night view of landmarks like Vidyasagar Setu etc and post here. But again, stills extracted from digital video are of poor quality. Next time I go to Kolkata, I will try to take stills using my regular SLR camera and have them scanned on a CD. I am expecting to be there in late February - so if you have any particular photo requests do let me know.

Good to see that the circular railway electrification has been completed. I have a question. Is the circular rail line still a single line or has it been doubled. The doubling project was to have started last year but there has been no news in the media for a while.

Yeah...now they have EMU service to Princep Ghat from far-off places on the Sealdah main line (Naihati). The line along the river is still single-line. There was no sign of any construction work going on. However, near some stations - like Bagbazar, Burrabazar, Eden Gardens, Princep Ghat the tracks are doubled. I guess this has been done to let trains pass - our train had to wait more than 10 minutes in Eden Gardens to let the "UP" train to pass.

There was a lot of construction activity going on in the Princep Ghat station area - related to extension work upto Majerhat. I have also seen that the viaduct for the circular railway has already been built over Garden Reach Rd - it looks like a single-line viaduct though. I also saw that the viaduct for the airport extension has been constructed along Jessore Rd upto the airport - but this one also looked wide enough to accomodate a single line only !

I have another video from a moonlight launch-cruise on the Hooghly. I can extract some stills of night view of landmarks like Vidyasagar Setu etc and post here. But again, stills extracted from digital video are of poor quality. Next time I go to Kolkata, I will try to take stills using my regular SLR camera and have them scanned on a CD. I am expecting to be there in late February - so if you have any particular photo requests do let me know.
YOu got an SLR? :eek:

Anyway, here are my requests -

1 - EM Bypass (with the new towers etc.)

2 - Durgapur Expressway

3 - Vidyasagar Setu interchange

4 - AJC Bose flyover

:)

The Vidyasagar Setu interchange is the only true freeway-like interchange in Kolkata. It is fully access-controlled - pedestrians / cyclists are not permitted. It forms a crucial link between the national highway system and Kolkata apart from connecting Kolkata and Howrah. Unfortunately it is difficult to find good photos of this interchange on the net. (An ideal one would have to be from air). I have drawn a schematic map which shows how complex the interchange is -http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/sudipta/vsetu-interchange-schematic.jpg

sudipta_rch> hey !:)
you are going to Kolkata with your SLR? ..hey start a thread where people can post their request..that would be cool:)

That ramp diagram of Vidyasagar Setu seems correct to me.

If you are going there in Feb, then please do get lots of pictures. Kolkata deserves it. No stereotypes please.

[BTW I heard that Kolkata is the only Indian city which seems to have successfully gotten rid of the cows. Photographers are having a tough time hunting for them. Don't know if this is true or a joke.]

Great diagram! :)

[BTW I heard that Kolkata is the only Indian city which seems to have successfully gotten rid of the cows. Photographers are having a tough time hunting for them. Don't know if this is true or a joke.]

Dont say that to the Indiamike-hippies ;) :D :)

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1001481.cms

KOLKATA: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has mandated French company Aeroport de Paris to prepare a long-term proposal for modernisation of the international terminal at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata.

sudipta_rch> hey !:)
you are going to Kolkata with your SLR? ..hey start a thread where people can post their request..that would be cool:)

My trip got delayed a little..I will start a thread to take requests as soon as it is finalized.

[BTW I heard that Kolkata is the only Indian city which seems to have successfully gotten rid of the cows. Photographers are having a tough time hunting for them. Don't know if this is true or a joke.]

During my 8-month stay in Kolkata last year, I drove around a lot in town - never ever did I see a single cow on any of the city roads / even EM Bypass.

However, in the new 10-lane Rajarhat MAR (which is an alternative link to the airport from southern parts of the city as well as the IT hub in Salt Lake), cows are pretty abundant. Sometimes in certain spots you can see a whole herd occupying 2 lanes - you have to slow down and squeeze through a narrow spot. This is risky, because normally you can easily travel at 90 - 100 kmph on the road. Recently they put up some "Cattle ahead !" road signs warning motorists of the impending danger. This is very unfortunate. They should install proper crash barriers on either side of the road that would also prevent stray cattle from crossing the highway. But with gradual development of the new township on either side of the highway, as their grazing grounds will give way to buildings, the cows would move to greener pastures.

My trip got delayed a little..I will start a thread to take requests as soon as it is finalized.

Looking forward to your trip and pics!!

Shrachi Tower (G+9)

http://www.shrachi.com/images/content/real_estate/shrachi_towers/shrachi_towers.jpg

I had posted news about this project before when it was announced but there were no renderings available at that time.

Here's more info

Project: AKANKHA - three clusters - LIG (Nayantara), MIG (Radhahcura) and HIG (Krishnachura).

Developer: Bengal Shelter Housing Development (WB Housing + Bengal Shelter joint venture)

Architect: Hafeez Contractor


Location

http://img18.exs.cx/img18/4430/akankhalocationmap2fs.jpg


Site Layout

http://img172.exs.cx/img172/8827/akankhalocationpic6xw.jpg


The three towers of Krishnachura

http://img7.exs.cx/img7/9171/akanshabengalshelter1rl.jpg

Another view


http://img15.exs.cx/img15/6388/akansha2b4rv.jpg

^^^ Looks great...the location is also nice...near the 10-lane MAR. Currently you can only see vast open spaces in the region with some earthmovers / trucks moving around. Looks like we are going to have a towering skyline in Rajarhat NEW TOWN pretty soon !

^^^ Looks great...the location is also nice...near the 10-lane MAR. Currently you can only see vast open spaces in the region with some earthmovers / trucks moving around. Looks like we are going to have a towering skyline in Rajarhat NEW TOWN pretty soon !

I read the architect's name and felt good about this project. Then I read the project was along the lines of income categories, which basically implies that it's a government housing project for government babus. LIG, MIG and HIG Towers...can this be good? I am not so sure about it now!

I read the architect's name and felt good about this project. Then I read the project was along the lines of income categories, which basically implies that it's a government housing project for government babus. LIG, MIG and HIG Towers...can this be good? I am not so sure about it now!

No..it is not for the government babus..it is a joint sector project for the general public. And by joint sector it means the WB govt and a private entrepreneur. The role of the govt is very limited. HIG, MIG,LIG classifications are done as per requirements of the communist government of Bengal. Cheap (starting at approx 1.5 lakhs) LIG flats are being cross-subsidized by costly HIG flats (starting at approx 15 lakhs). For applying for LIG / MIG there are restrictions on eligibility based on income criteria. And the flats are alotted to elligible applicants through lottery. HIG flats are available for all, usually in a FCFS basis. In fact, a lot of the HIG flats in the Rajarhat area are being bought by people working in the IT industry in neighbouring Sector-V of Salt Lake.

No..it is not for the government babus..it is a joint sector project for the general public. And by joint sector it means the WB govt and a private entrepreneur. The role of the govt is very limited. HIG, MIG,LIG classifications are done as per requirements of the communist government of Bengal. Cheap (starting at approx 1.5 lakhs) LIG flats are being cross-subsidized by costly HIG flats (starting at approx 15 lakhs). For applying for LIG / MIG there are restrictions on eligibility based on income criteria. And the flats are alotted to elligible applicants through lottery. HIG flats are available for all, usually in a FCFS basis. In fact, a lot of the HIG flats in the Rajarhat area are being bought by people working in the IT industry in neighbouring Sector-V of Salt Lake.

You contradict yourself by first saying that the "role of the govt. is very limited" and then "HIG, MIG,LIG classifications are done as per requirements of the communist government of Bengal. Cheap (starting at approx 1.5 lakhs) LIG flats are being cross-subsidized by costly HIG flats (starting at approx 15 lakhs). " Since we're talking subsidies, the role of the govt. cannot be limited. :) Besides, I have yet to encounter private housing schemes advertising themselves on LIG, MIG and HIG patterns. This way of classification is anathema to them because by using it, the market value of the project gets effected. Because simply put, no private investor who buys an apartment and is deemed as "HIG" sort of client, would like his apartment to be in the proximity of an "LIG" occupant. His property's market value will be severly dented! These are intrinsic worth issues, which every property developer and buyer are aware of. Besides, my interest in this project got aroused because of the three towers in the rendering. They seem to be quite tall, decent looking, and are designed by India's premier commercial architect. The point that boggles me is: how can a tower which is stacked up with 1,5 lakh rupee apartments, be architecturally seeworthy? Heck, even 15 lakh rupee apartments in skyscrapers are not upto scratch. In Kolkata itself, the starting price of Apartments in South City and Hiland Park, is upwards of 30 lakhs or so. It's clear that quality wise this project is not going to be worth anytalk. Probably end up like the Kaushambi project in Gaziabad, which came up in the early nineties.

The joint sector projects of WBHB with private companies have been highy successful. Bengal Ambuja was one of the first such ventures and every one of its projects have been a smashing hit. There has been no hesitation amongst people to buy HIG apartments in a complex that also has MIG or LIG apartments. And even after a couple of years of completion, the project looks great and prices are rising.

DCL Bengal and Peerless Bengal have also sold out their projects. Bengal Shrachi, Bengal Shelter and Bengal Park Homes are also reporting excellent response to their mixed income development project.

The idea of mixed income development is nothing new. All state government housing boards cross subsidize irrespective of being communists or nationalist or centrist.

But the idea of roping in the private sector to bear the costs and take a percentage of total profits is new for WBHB. The private sector in Bengal seems to be happy with the profit margins and is not complaining.

The "Bengal" brand gives people the assurance that the builders have had their backgrounds checked and all plans have proper sanctions. Also the quality of the buildings by the joint sector has gone up exponentially compared to what the WBHB was building on its own. So buyers are happy too.

Not all joint sector projects are mixed income.

Belanis have developed Hilandpark in a joint venture with Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. Hilandwoods on the other hand is with WBHB. Silverspring is a joint sector of Sanjeevas and Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

More developers want to be part of these successful (and profitable) ventures. Some of them are complaining that the WB Govt is now trying to rope in bigger names from Delhi and Mumbai "ignoring" the smaller local companies.

As of now the concept looks successful.

For people who do not want to live in mixed income complexes, they are free to buy in private sector projects.


***************

The joint sector model is attracting attention.

Here's what Mr Yogendra Kr Modi, Sr Vice President, FICCI said in an address in Aug 2003.

"We all know that housing has been chosen as one of the thrust areas by Prime Minister Shri Vajpayee ji and we are pleased that the government has given a lot of focus to this sector which has undergone radical changes recently. The demand for housing coupled with entry of new players in the field has created tremendous growth prospects for the industry. A few years ago the market was rather dull. The scenario started changing with the entry of professionals in this sector. Their presence has lent the much required credibility and stability to the industry, with professional services from these groups a buyer can be sure about his purchase.

However, despite many initiatives by the Government the agenda in housing remains daunting as the shelter gap has continued to increase.

In view of the need to bridge the growing housing gap, the central and state governments are increasingly involving the private sector as a key stakeholder in the development of organised housing through various initiatives.

While the role of the government is expected to be primarily as a facilitator to the development process, the private sector participation is aimed at bringing technical and managerial expertise in formulating and delivering good quality mass housing projects. Government of West Bengal took a bold decision to join hands with private entrepreneurs in resolving the acute housing problem in urban areas. West Bengal model of development through joint-sector companies, where the government is an equal shareholder in the joint-sector company, has evoked considerable interest. The success of the projects developed in West Bengal in terms of providing housing to various income groups has encouraged other states to consider this for providing affordable mass housing."

I dont know why Calcutta always flies under the radar. Its got so much highrise development going on. Those 3 towers at krishnachura looks great.

They seem to be quite tall, decent looking, and are designed by India's premier commercial architect. The point that boggles me is: how can a tower which is stacked up with 1,5 lakh rupee apartments, be architecturally seeworthy? Heck, even 15 lakh rupee apartments in skyscrapers are not upto scratch.

The three towers are the HIG towers and have their own upgraded amenities and maintenance societies. They don't have MIG or LIG apartments.

MIG and LIG buildings are in separate clusters in such projects.

30 acres set aside in Rajarhat for IT units (http://www.business-standard.com/bsonline/storypage.php?&autono=179711)

The West Bengal Information Technology Department has decided to offer around 30 acres of land at New Town in Rajarhat to IT entrepreneurs for developing their building and infrastructure.

Christened Knowledge Corridor, plots measuring one acre, half acre and quarter acre would be allotted to entrepreneurs for setting up their own building in these plots.

New town lies within 10 kilometers of Kolkata’s central business district and a few KM from the international airport.

Some of the biggest names in business space solution have already been allocated plots of land like the Unitech Group. Around 50 acres of land has been allocated to them and another 20 acres of land has been earmarked for another company in the adjacent areas of the Knowledge Corridor.

The three towers are the HIG towers and have their own upgraded amenities and maintenance societies. They don't have MIG or LIG apartments.

MIG and LIG buildings are in separate clusters in such projects.

From the top view, it seems that the smaller buildings with red roofs in the top right corner of the picture are MIG and those with orange roofs just below them are LIG.

You contradict yourself by first saying that the "role of the govt. is very limited" and then "HIG, MIG,LIG classifications are done as per requirements of the communist government of Bengal. Cheap (starting at approx 1.5 lakhs) LIG flats are being cross-subsidized by costly HIG flats (starting at approx 15 lakhs). " Since we're talking subsidies, the role of the govt. cannot be limited. :) .

When I said limited I actually meant that the housing projects are being entirely designed and executed by the private partner. So we do not get the stereotype "govt flat" design - which as per my opinion look very ugly in the city skyline. These joint sector complexes have quite an aesthetic appeal about them.


the market value of the project gets effected. Because simply put, no private investor who buys an apartment and is deemed as "HIG" sort of client, would like his apartment to be in the proximity of an "LIG" occupant. His property's market value will be severly dented! These are intrinsic worth issues, which every property developer and buyer are aware of.

The HIG,MIG & LIG apartments are segregated in seperate clusters within a complex - so an HIG occupant would not get an LIG occupant as a neighbour. But yes, they would live in the same neighbourhood. Yet, the HIG apartments sell like hot cakes. That is because in the Rajarhat NEW TOWN, which is destined to be a planned township with state-of-the-art ameneties and close proximity to the city's IT hub, joint sector projects are the only option to by an apartment.

Besides, my interest in this project got aroused because of the three towers in the rendering. They seem to be quite tall, decent looking, and are designed by India's premier commercial architect. The point that boggles me is: how can a tower which is stacked up with 1,5 lakh rupee apartments, be architecturally seeworthy? Heck, even 15 lakh rupee apartments in skyscrapers are not upto scratch. In Kolkata itself, the starting price of Apartments in South City and Hiland Park, is upwards of 30 lakhs or so.

As Suncity has already said, the highrises are for HIG only. Apartments in south city are so expensive (upwards of Rs 2000 / sq ft) because of its location - in the heart of South Kolkata - next to the Royal Calcutta Golf Club.

Hiland park on the EM Bypass is much cheaper - there are apartments available at even Rs 17 lakhs ! Rates range from Rs 1273 / sq ft (1st floor) to Rs 1411 / sq ft (26 floor).

Compare that to joint sector project "Hiland Oak" in Rajarhat new town by the same group -

HIG apartments rates range from Rs 1344 / sq ft (1st floor) to Rs 1546 / sq ft (22nd floor). Unit prices start at Rs 22.5 lakhs. There are also some duplex townhouses ranging from Rs 42-46 lakhs.

Also, there are 770 sq ft MIG apartments at Rs 8.5 lakhs (Rs 1103 / sq ft) and 495 sq ft LIG apartments at Rs 2.5 lakhs (Rs 505 / sq ft).

In the ratio of apartments, the HIG & MIG combine far outnumbers the LIG apartments.

210 HIG ( 158 apts + 52 duplex)
218 MIG
54 LIG

Income criteria (based on monthly gross income) is as follows -

For MIG - not exceeding Rs 15,000 pm
For LIG - not exceeding Rs 6,000 pm

I got all this info from the official Hiland Group Website (http://www.hilandparkcal.com)

Calcutta West International City update

Beni Santoso, the executive director of the Indonesia-based conglomerate - the Salim Group - met Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at Writers’ Buildings this evening and appraised him of work on the Calcutta West International City, for which the company — along with the Ciputra group — is pumping in $350 million.

Prasun Mukherjee, the Indonesia-based industrialist who is partnering the Salim Group and is the director of the international city project said work on the township has started. “At today’s meeting, Beni told the chief minister work has started and thanked the government for its assistance.”

He added: “We intend to have six model bungalows ready by September 1.” The township will have about 5,800 bungalows, which will comprise 92.5 per cent of the total construction in the township.

The new city at the intersection of Howrah-Amta Road and National Highway 6 will have, schools, hospitals, shopping malls and multiplexes.

Four agencies from Singapore and Jakarta are working on the engineering and architectural aspects of the township and its master plan.

Mukherjee also said: “The Salim Group is seeking bigger plots — of about 5,000-10,000 acres — elsewhere in Bengal, and the chief minister was very excited about it. Buddhababu said the government would do its best to identify land for us.”

Beni Santoso, the executive director of the Indonesia-based conglomerate, today also responded positively to the government’s request for its involvement in building and developing about 1,000 km of roads in and around the city.

Calcutta port awaits report on cargo unit

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050205/asp/business/story_4338882.asp

The Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) is likely to conduct a feasibility study in April to set up cargo-handling facilities at Sagar near Sandheads.

A decision will be taken on the proposed project after the feasibility report comes through, Calcutta Port Trust chairman A. K. Chanda said at a seminar on ‘shipping’s role in the resurgence of the east’ organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).

He said with 46 million tonnes of cargo handled in 2004-05, which is a 13 per cent increase over the previous year, the Calcutta port has moved into the second position after Vishakhapatnam.

Kolkata's largest private residence - sold

A consortium of real estate developers has bought most of the famous Jain House, till recently the largest private residence in Kolkata.

The landmark property, which is the ancestral house of the Jains of Bennett, Coleman & Co (BCCL) [Owners of TOI], was sold by Amit Judge, husband of late Nandita Judge, the late sister of Samir and Vineet Jain of BCCL.

The plot, which is located in the upmarket Alipore locality, covers 120 cottahs, and the project cost is estimated to be more than Rs 80 crore.

Details at http://www.business-standard.com/housingrealestate/storypage.php?chklogin=Y&autono=179068&leftnm=lmnu12&leftindx=12&lselect=1

Kolkata's largest private residence - sold

A consortium of real estate developers has bought most of the famous Jain House, till recently the largest private residence in Kolkata.

The landmark property, which is the ancestral house of the Jains of Bennett, Coleman & Co (BCCL) [Owners of TOI], was sold by Amit Judge, husband of late Nandita Judge, the late sister of Samir and Vineet Jain of BCCL.

The plot, which is located in the upmarket Alipore locality, covers 120 cottahs, and the project cost is estimated to be more than Rs 80 crore.

Details at http://www.business-standard.com/housingrealestate/storypage.php?chklogin=Y&autono=179068&leftnm=lmnu12&leftindx=12&lselect=1

Can anyone appraise me how much 120 cottahs is in acres or square meters?

Calcutta West International City update

Beni Santoso, the executive director of the Indonesia-based conglomerate - the Salim Group - met Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at Writers’ Buildings this evening and appraised him of work on the Calcutta West International City, for which the company — along with the Ciputra group — is pumping in $350 million.

Prasun Mukherjee, the Indonesia-based industrialist who is partnering the Salim Group and is the director of the international city project said work on the township has started. “At today’s meeting, Beni told the chief minister work has started and thanked the government for its assistance.”

He added: “We intend to have six model bungalows ready by September 1.” The township will have about 5,800 bungalows, which will comprise 92.5 per cent of the total construction in the township.

The new city at the intersection of Howrah-Amta Road and National Highway 6 will have, schools, hospitals, shopping malls and multiplexes.

Four agencies from Singapore and Jakarta are working on the engineering and architectural aspects of the township and its master plan.

Mukherjee also said: “The Salim Group is seeking bigger plots — of about 5,000-10,000 acres — elsewhere in Bengal, and the chief minister was very excited about it. Buddhababu said the government would do its best to identify land for us.”

Beni Santoso, the executive director of the Indonesia-based conglomerate, today also responded positively to the government’s request for its involvement in building and developing about 1,000 km of roads in and around the city.

I think in this day'n'age they should concentrate on constructing fine quality multistoreyed condos, rather than town houses. If I understand correctly the trends of Delhi and Mumbai; then it makes sense to invest in apartments. I know this because in Gurgaon I have three plots, and likewise many others', my plots are empty too. Not much construction has been going on, whereas the apartment projects are being snapped up like hot cakes. Frankly speaking, apartments are safer than town houses, and that's why people prefer them nowadays.

I think in this day'n'age they should concentrate on constructing fine quality multistoreyed condos, rather than town houses. If I understand correctly the trends of Delhi and Mumbai; then it makes sense to invest in apartments. I know this because in Gurgaon I have three plots, and likewise many others', my plots are empty too. Not much construction has been going on, whereas the apartment projects are being snapped up like hot cakes. Frankly speaking, apartments are safer than town houses, and that's why people prefer them nowadays.

There must be some reason why this is being planned as a low rise area in general. The other new town in Rajarhat will have plenty of co-op apartments[not necessarily highrise]. If Rajarhat is an example, both bunglow plots and apartment lots were sold out within days.

We will have to wait and see the response to Calcutta West. The location is good - just 15 mins to Park Street/Chowringhee but Howrah is not considered a hip place. Howrah with a population of million is completely unplanned and a nightmare for road travel. A former major industrial town, many Calcuttans referred it to as "Coolie Town" and the snobbishness remains. The "City of Joy" slum - Ananda Nagari is supposedly based on the slums in Howrah (http://www.meteorbooks.com/chap8.html).

There must be some reason why this is being planned as a low rise area in general. The other new town in Rajarhat will have plenty of co-op apartments[not necessarily highrise]. If Rajarhat is an example, both bunglow plots and apartment lots were sold out within days.

We will have to wait and see the response to Calcutta West. The location is good - just 15 mins to Park Street/Chowringhee but Howrah is not considered a hip place. Howrah with a population of million is completely unplanned and a nightmare for road travel. A former major industrial town, many Calcuttans referred it to as "Coolie Town" and the snobbishness remains. The "City of Joy" slum - Ananda Nagari is supposedly based on the slums in Howrah (http://www.meteorbooks.com/chap8.html).

Is this scheme some sort of slum-rehab type, similar to one that's going on in Mumbai?

Is this scheme some sort of slum-rehab type, similar to one that's going on in Mumbai?

No.

More info about Sunrise Point: Unfortunately the website (http://www.surekaproperties.com) is not working right. They are probably redesigning it still. Here's some info from what's working.


******************
Sunrise Point
Action Area IIC of New Town

Developed by Bengal Park Chambers Housing Development Ltd, a joint sector company of West Bengal Housing Board and Sureka Group's Park Chambers Housing.

http://img150.exs.cx/img150/5391/sunrisepointkolkata3zs.jpg

Saffron (HIG) - 3 Towers of 2 wings each; 20 storeys; 264 apartments
Crimson (MIG) - 2 Towers of 2 wings each; 18 storeys; 204 apartments
Orange (LIG) - 62 apartments

Layout

http://img18.exs.cx/img18/2822/siteplansunrise6kp.jpg

Axis

Developer: Bengal Peerless

Action Area I, New Town

http://www.bengalpeerless.com/images/axisp1.jpg

Spread over 4.75 Acres of land, with built up area over 500,000 sqft. and having estimated cost of Rs. 250 Crores, AXIS comprise of 3 blocks :

Block A - 2 storied buildings having area of 25000 Sft. per floor.

Block B - 5 storied buildings having area of 50000 Sft. per floor.

Block C - 12 storied buildings having area of 9000 Stf. per floor will house Sports Complex on ground floor and first floor and Residential Apartments on 2nd to 12th floor.

Check out my previous post too!

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=3240828&postcount=200

Here's the render for Sunrise Towers

http://img11.exs.cx/img11/816/sunrisetowers8pc.jpg

Sunrise Towers
134B Beleghata Road

Developer: Sureka Group

2 blocks of 13 and 23 storeys
To be launched soon

Not sure, but is the height restriction relaxation having and effect on Kolkata's skyline? While 10 storey apartment buildings were pretty common, it seems 15-20 storey highrise projects are being announced pretty frequently now a days.

Merlin Residency Phase II, Prince Anwar Shah Road

http://www.merlinprojects.com/images/mer_resi_2.jpg

^ By golly I see a bit of glass facade peeking out of there ;)

Oops! Maybe the flyover thread would be a better place to post this one. But guys (and gals), Kolkata is getting 2 more flyovers, at least on papers if not in reality, from the Municipal Corporation (run by the Trinamul Congress). And the Govt (Left Front) is on the process to finalize thoughts on one more long flyover spanning from Park Circus to somewhere near the new Chingrihata flyover. Are we moving forward driven by policital (healthy?) competetion? Also, what happened to the flyover proposed at Moulali crossing, if anyone has some clue?

Its okay to post here. What are the 2 flyovers from KMC ? (location)

Both are north-south. One is in Esplanade, spanning from the front of Grand Hotel to Bentink Street/Central Avenue (will end forking up into two, one arm landing on Bentink Street and the other on Central Avenue). The other one is a 2-km flyover, from Ballygunje Phari to Gurusaday Road crossing (somewhere around the Ice Staking Rink). But as usual, I wonder how much time these guys are going to take to get the plan approved from Govt and then implement them... With the municipal elections round the corner, the gaps between promises and reality always can be a big question, and this is still at the level of a promise!!!

Ya..remember the much talked about tolled flyover that they were supposed to build from Manicktala to Howrah bridge passing over the congested posta area ? The last time I read about it the project got mired in a tussle between the State govt and the KMC on who had right to the land below the flyover - to be used for shops / parking.
Any idea if it died a natural death or is still in the anvil ?

Heard nothing about that one for a long time...
To summarize, this is probably what we can expect in 2005 in roadsapace development area:
1. Dumdum underpass: Inaugurated already in January.
2. Park Street flyover: To be inaugurated on 19th Feb.
3. Taratala flyover: Expected date shifted from 28th Feb to 28th May.
4. Airport railway link connectivity: Read it would be complete and ready for inauguration by March.

Also, work is either going on or stalled in the following (not sure about the status: going on vs. stalled):
1. Bondel gate flyover (stalled?).
2. Birati railway flyover.
3. Maddhyamgram railway flyover.
4. Barasat railway flyover.
5. Prince Anwar Shah Road to EM Bypass connectivity (stalled?).
6. Widening and extension (extension stalled?) of EM Bypass.
7. The proposed/promised/talked-about flyovers on Gariahat Road and Esplanade.

Any idea about the half-complete flyover debated for destruction versus makeover at the crossing enter Khidirpore from say Behala or Esplanade? And is Kolkata thinking in terms of a north-south flyover at Rashbehari More (near Kalighat metro station)? I firmly believe that a Delhi/Mumbai would think of this and implement this in 6 months had they had one such crossing. I feel Kolkata needs at least 15 more flyovers as a bare minimum requirement.

The last time I was in Kolkata an engineer whose firm was working on the Bondel gate flyover told me that the project is on. But as Dey's medicals would not give up their land, the flyover had to take a weird S-curve and land on a parallel road in the Ballygunge place side. He feels that it is dangerous for traffic to take the curve at speeds like 60kmph !

I have also noticed the half complete flyover at Khidirpore more - do you know the history - why it was stalled and where it was supposed to start from ? Looks like it was for traffic flowing straight towards Garden Reach from Esplanade side.

There were also some talks of building a flyover with multiple ramps at Ultadanga-VIP more (headed towards the airport).

We need more flyovers like the AJC Bose Rd one - one that "flies" over a lot of busy junctions. I believe they have enough land on Central Avenue to build a 4-lane flyover from Esplanade to Shyambazar 5-point crossing - with say exit and entry ramps at MG-road, Girish Park and Shova Bazar.

Talks are on to beautify the city's riverfront. Here is an article from the Telegraph - River dream flows on reality tide (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050215/asp/calcutta/story_4377969.asp)

Picture from the article -
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050215/images/15river.jpg

I am not aware of much of the history of Khidderpore More flyover, but I had heard that there was some engineering flaw, and there were 2 options: to give up or to demolish and reconstruct. The easier one, i.e., abandoning it, was done for then. And it is a sleeping project now, blocking up half the road.
Esplanade to Shyambazar would be around 5 km (corrrect me if I am wrong). Building such a huge flyover might not help a lot of people. However, splitting it up into 3 flyovers might be a big help (and of course, making it act as a 2-storeyed road). A wayward though in this context, are we engineering-wise capable in India to build double-decker flyovers? A 4-5 km long flyover on the "second floor" and around 3 smaller ones on the "first floor" added to the "ground floor" road would be somewhat more of an ideal solution to many Kolkata roads including this one!

An interesting point someone mentioned to me. She claimed that there were a lot of problems while constructing the metro rail under Central Avenue, and then onwards the avenue is no longer capable of supporting structures as heavy as flyovers. The person has also mentioned to me that she had simply repeated what she had "heard" and didn't claim authentic knowledge btw... Any idea?

The problems with metro construction must have been due to the rickety age-old buildings on either side of the road. Although the metro tunnel was dug from the surface on Central Ave, digging again for flyover support pillars should not be a problem because the metro tunnel runs deep down (4 storeys below maybe ?).

Park Street Flyover to open Saturday

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050219/asp/calcutta/story_4396666.asp

A mini pic:

http://img124.exs.cx/img124/1943/parkstreetflyover0hy.jpg

After being delayed for a year, the Park Street flyover will be opened to traffic on Saturday.

The Rs 57-crore, the 795-m-long flyover will be inaugurated by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at a function on the Maidan in the evening. The flyover, built by a Senbo-Skanska joint venture.

Yes, opening Park Street flyover is great, and it definitely is supposed to do a lot of good to the Park Street - Chowrangee crossing, BUT:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1026604.cms
So, the bottomline is, end of 2005 urgently needs to see the end of Esplanade flyover! Given all the parameters, is the aim realistic?

Yes, opening Park Street flyover is great, and it definitely is supposed to do a lot of good to the Park Street - Chowrangee crossing, BUT:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1026604.cms
So, the bottomline is, end of 2005 urgently needs to see the end of Esplanade flyover! Given all the parameters, is the aim realistic?

Wonder why all the "experts" open their mouths only after a project is built. And if the media is so concerned, why wasn't it giving this shortcoming enough coverage before?

The same story happened for the Gariahat flyover with the Hazra Road crossing issue.

The Brabourne Road flyover [the oldest one] had similar problems because buses would just block off the exit point picking up and dropping off people on their will. Same story with Sealdah flyover with buses jamming the entry and exit points despite making separate lanes for them along NRS.

What one has to realize is that flyovers are only part of the solution. The real problem lies in incompetent traffic management by Kolkata police, failure to enforce laws (out of politcal pressure and populist ideas), and failure by people to obey laws (no civic sense).

Fort Knox, a niche jewellry mall similar to the Gold Souk in Gurgaon, coming up in downtown Kolkata.

Render:
http://img115.exs.cx/img115/3792/k35ip.jpg

Location:
http://img236.exs.cx/img236/237/k24qd.jpg

For more details, check out their website:
http://www.thefortknox.com

Wonder why all the "experts" open their mouths only after a project is built. And if the media is so concerned, why wasn't it giving this shortcoming enough coverage before?

The same story happened for the Gariahat flyover with the Hazra Road crossing issue.

The Brabourne Road flyover [the oldest one] had similar problems because buses would just block off the exit point picking up and dropping off people on their will. Same story with Sealdah flyover with buses jamming the entry and exit points despite making separate lanes for them along NRS.

What one has to realize is that flyovers are only part of the solution. The real problem lies in incompetent traffic management by Kolkata police, failure to enforce laws (out of politcal pressure and populist ideas), and failure by people to obey laws (no civic sense). The 2 esplanade intersections are busier than park street intersection .. I wonder why they did not think of building the esplanade flyover first. Today I saw a picture in the telegraph showing the bottleneck on the park st flyover.

The 2 esplanade intersections are busier than park street intersection .. I wonder why they did not think of building the esplanade flyover first. Today I saw a picture in the telegraph showing the bottleneck on the park st flyover.

I saw that pic too.

I don't have much faith in Indian newspapers like the Telegraph. They want to "prove" a point so they will make sure to take a picture that suits their point. Say for example the jam lasts only for an hour during the rush hour, they will take a photo of it during that time. But maybe the flyover does solve some problems during the rest of the day.

Assuming that they built flyovers at all the intersections there still would be bottlenecks because the traffic has to finally get off somewhere! So if they built one over Lenin Sarani and N Bannerjee, then the jam would be at Bentick and Central.

They have to ensure proper traffic rules and management.

But one thing I have seen (and also heard from most people who visit Kolkata) is that the endless day long jams of yesteryears have become much smoother now a days.

Flyovers are good, but why not elevated highways? If even places like Cairo can have 20+ km long such roads (not to go into USA or other richer nations), what's wrong with us? How much does such an elevated road with multiple ramps (as applicable) cost per km, estimating 2 ramps per km? How does that compare with the current Japan loans + megacity road development budgets + other sources of income? I presonally am not in favor of high tolls... Elevated expressways might involve today's investment, but it would also imply tomorrow's gain.
In this context, in some recent newspaper report I read that for New Town Kolkata they have bought / are going to buy (don't remember whether already bought or not) some road-laying machine from Germany that would make 2 km roads (almost) per day and the road surface would last around 20 years without any / minimal maintenance. Where can we place such machines keeping elevated highways in vision (if they at all can be deployed to make such elevated roads, and if so, to what extent and with what efficiancy etc)?

That's exactly my feeling. Instead of going for short flyover spans ending in traffic bottlenecks, why not build a continuous elevated highway with entrance and exit ramps along major thoroughfares like Central Ave, JLNeheru Rd, MG Rd, APC Roy Rd etc. The AJC Bose Rd flyover is somewhat like a short expressway, but if they had taken it over the busy Park circus 7-point intersection to join no.4 bridge towards EM bypass (of course with entrance an exit ramps at Park circus) - wouldn't it be so much better ?

I think besides the cost factor, land acquisition is a major problem. One of the little talked about, yet tremendous achievement of the govt is they were able to build an exit ramp from the bridge no. 4 towards Biresh Guha Rd. A building had to be torn down to do that. But it goes a long way in preventing / lessening a traffic bottleneck there.

Bengal keen on new Kolkata transport system

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu2&leftindx=2&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=181368

The AJC Bose Rd flyover is somewhat like a short expressway, but if they had taken it over the busy Park circus 7-point intersection to join no.4 bridge towards EM bypass (of course with entrance an exit ramps at Park circus) - wouldn't it be so much better ?


What I feel is that somehow the notion of a longer flyover <utilizing the benefits of ramp> is somehow missing from the concepts of city planners. While the Second Bridge ramps are good, I don't seem to recall any ramp at all in any other flyover or rail-bridge in Kolkata... And I have serious doubts (would love to be proved wrong) whether any more of the 6 flyovers/bridges currently under "construction" will be complete at all this year, barring Taratala (which makes it 5 uncompleted roadspace structures). This count is, of course, leaving the Khidderpore More bridge out.

....This count is, of course, leaving the Khidderpore More bridge out.

Talking of which, there is a news article today in The Telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050226/asp/calcutta/story_4426498.asp) which talks about plans for its revival -

Rs 34.30 crore to extend and complete abandoned flyover (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050226/asp/calcutta/story_4426498.asp)

A related article from April 2004 -

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040421/asp/frontpage/story_3153574.asp

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050224/asp/calcutta/story_4416834.asp

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050224/images/24box.jpg

Sudipta, finding out the 2004 April news item was excellent research. About your post mentioning the "SaltLec facelift" (quoted from The Telegraph), I feel a fraction of doubt, for a "facelift", if not well-defined, is more prone to remain in the state of a promise than reality (and of course, the Kolkata municipal election is round the corner)... I didn't know that Kona to Bakkhali is a National Highway now. When in the world are they really going to complete the Taratala flyover? I had gone there in November, and work was going on, but the traffic was in a horrible state, and the dust was unbearable. Also, I must say that I didn't grasp the structure of the new Khidderpore flyover, for it didn't appear to have any plan of having an exit ramp at the Behala direction when I last saw it (in its abandoned state of course)!

Sudipta, finding out the 2004 April news item was excellent research. About your post mentioning the "SaltLec facelift" (quoted from The Telegraph), I feel a fraction of doubt, for a "facelift", if not well-defined, is more prone to remain in the state of a promise than reality (and of course, the Kolkata municipal election is round the corner)... I didn't know that Kona to Bakkhali is a National Highway now. When in the world are they really going to complete the Taratala flyover? I had gone there in November, and work was going on, but the traffic was in a horrible state, and the dust was unbearable. Also, I must say that I didn't grasp the structure of the new Khidderpore flyover, for it didn't appear to have any plan of having an exit ramp at the Behala direction when I last saw it (in its abandoned state of course)!
Flyovers in westbengal are built at snail's pace. Delhi builds an average 15 flyvoers each year where as we struggle to open 4 - 5. How on earth they find out the flaw in the khidderpore flyover design after they have done nearly half way? It just gives a pic of where kolkata is heading. Garia metro construction seems to be going on forever and right now they are wondering whether to proceed with the east west metro project or drop it. In either way, I dont know when they will finish that 22km of east west metro where as bangalore metro should be finished by another 4 yrs.. Lack of professionalism, which appears everywhere in bengal. All they do is convert the state highways into NHs and let the outsiders like Bangladeshis laugh at us. Kolkata - bongaon highway is a nightmare, so is lots of stretches in Nh34 as well as the diamond harbour road with no such plans of widening those roads...

Tintin, I have never ben to Delhi. But from your statement that Delhi is building 15 flyovers per year, do you mean that they have achieved the feat for say the last 8 years continuously, and thus have 120 flyovers or so in place? I would rather think they have been doing it at most for the last couple of years. One major point is the commonwealth games, they are preparing for that. Of course, it is a good way to prepare, for the impact lies far beyond simply commonwealth games. But then, I would say, Delhi probably needed these flyovers far more than Kolkata and a long time back. From what I know, Delhi is supposed to have about the same number or more number of cars than Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai put together. Then, in fact, if they have been building these flyovers @ 15 / year for the last 10 yeras, its good, and if they have been building this for say the last couple of years only, then to be honest, the development rate there earlier sucked.
Next, the design flaw for Khidderpore flyover, absurd and ridiculous as it definitely is, was found in 2000, the "great" Jyoti-babu era. It is not where we are heading in Kolkata now, but it was where we were heading in Kolkata THEN. Things have really changed in the Buddhadeb era. And yes, allocating funds for a half-finished (half-finished for whatever reason) flyover could well have been done by the NHAI on a national highway. The fact that the state government is having to do so is unbelievable, and only possible in India. I am sure that you are aware, your income taxes grossly go to the central govt and NOT the state govt. And since you have compared with Delhi, I am forced to also continue with the comparison and say that, Delhi being the political capital, can you ever imagine Delhi not receiving central govt funds? But that happens often in cities like Kolkata and even Mumbai. Mumbai is _GREAT_ for it has grown itself corporate enough (read, rich enough) to not care that much about all these (if it happens), and not bother about the central govt's funds.
About the metro, mind, it is the CENTRAL GOVT (Indian Railways) that the Kolkata metro belong to, whereas Delhi metro has its different authority. Fund crunch always stays. This budget, for example, has allocated less than 1/6th of the total remaining requirement needed to complete the metro. And it is being made to look like the Kolkata/WB govt is a scapegoat. How do you feel about that? And for your information, the East-West metro construction was planned to begin in 2008 and end in 2012. I agree that they ought to have calculated their funds before anything else, but the "fact" that in 4 years from now Bangalore may have its metro ready doess not mean that Kolkata not having its east-west corridor in 2009 is "no work-culture", it is simply outside the scope of development plan...
And many more things are also there, if you really look inside deeply.

Sudipta, finding out the 2004 April news item was excellent research. About your post mentioning the "SaltLec facelift" (quoted from The Telegraph), I feel a fraction of doubt, for a "facelift", if not well-defined, is more prone to remain in the state of a promise than reality (and of course, the Kolkata municipal election is round the corner)... I didn't know that Kona to Bakkhali is a National Highway now. When in the world are they really going to complete the Taratala flyover? I had gone there in November, and work was going on, but the traffic was in a horrible state, and the dust was unbearable. Also, I must say that I didn't grasp the structure of the new Khidderpore flyover, for it didn't appear to have any plan of having an exit ramp at the Behala direction when I last saw it (in its abandoned state of course)! It seems they want to build the 2-lane flyover parallel to the existing bridge over the Adi Ganga for south bound traffic. A ramp might turn left towards Behala at Khidirpur more, but the main flyover would continue straight towards garden reach, landing near where the unfinished structure is.

It is unfortunate that the Taratolla flyover will not be complete this year.

[QUOTE=fred_the_cute_guy]Sudipta, finding out the 2004 April news item was excellent research. About your post mentioning the "SaltLec facelift" (quoted from The Telegraph), I feel a fraction of doubt, for a "facelift", if not well-defined.

This is interesting. It has been in the works for quite some time..and if this turns out to be successful, maybe more such schemes will be take shape.

IT firms to run Kolkata township

Kolkata, Feb 26 : A small neighbourhood on the city's eastern fringe, the nerve centre of West Bengal's information technology success story, is slated for an administrative upgrade into a township to be run by IT firms.

A first-time venture, the idea behind granting Sector-V in Salt Lake a township status is to separate the neighbourhood from the local civic body and hand over its administrative responsibility to a committee that will include representatives of IT companies.

Sector-V houses some 200 IT companies, including global names like Wipro, IBM and TCS, and the state government doesn't want to compromise in any way with the civic and industrial facilities available in the area.

http://www.newkerala.com/news-daily/news/features.php?action=fullnews&id=77925

Tintin, I have never ben to Delhi. But from your statement that Delhi is building 15 flyovers per year, do you mean that they have achieved the feat for say the last 8 years continuously, and thus have 120 flyovers or so in place? I would rather think they have been doing it at most for the last couple of years. One major point is the commonwealth games, they are preparing for that. Of course, it is a good way to prepare, for the impact lies far beyond simply commonwealth games. But then, I would say, Delhi probably needed these flyovers far more than Kolkata and a long time back. From what I know, Delhi is supposed to have about the same number or more number of cars than Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai put together. Then, in fact, if they have been building these flyovers @ 15 / year for the last 10 yeras, its good, and if they have been building this for say the last couple of years only, then to be honest, the development rate there earlier sucked.
Next, the design flaw for Khidderpore flyover, absurd and ridiculous as it definitely is, was found in 2000, the "great" Jyoti-babu era. It is not where we are heading in Kolkata now, but it was where we were heading in Kolkata THEN. Things have really changed in the Buddhadeb era. And yes, allocating funds for a half-finished (half-finished for whatever reason) flyover could well have been done by the NHAI on a national highway. The fact that the state government is having to do so is unbelievable, and only possible in India. I am sure that you are aware, your income taxes grossly go to the central govt and NOT the state govt. And since you have compared with Delhi, I am forced to also continue with the comparison and say that, Delhi being the political capital, can you ever imagine Delhi not receiving central govt funds? But that happens often in cities like Kolkata and even Mumbai. Mumbai is _GREAT_ for it has grown itself corporate enough (read, rich enough) to not care that much about all these (if it happens), and not bother about the central govt's funds.
About the metro, mind, it is the CENTRAL GOVT (Indian Railways) that the Kolkata metro belong to, whereas Delhi metro has its different authority. Fund crunch always stays. This budget, for example, has allocated less than 1/6th of the total remaining requirement needed to complete the metro. And it is being made to look like the Kolkata/WB govt is a scapegoat. How do you feel about that? And for your information, the East-West metro construction was planned to begin in 2008 and end in 2012. I agree that they ought to have calculated their funds before anything else, but the "fact" that in 4 years from now Bangalore may have its metro ready doess not mean that Kolkata not having its east-west corridor in 2009 is "no work-culture", it is simply outside the scope of development plan...
And many more things are also there, if you really look inside deeply.

Fred, I completely agree with you regarding how WB has been changing a lot lately. Like you said about E/w project suppsed to be finished by 2012, do we just think about that project till then? Calcutta being such a huge city can have much more routes all of which can be financially viable. There was supposed to be a light rail project which the govt kept tossing between, whether it should be joka - barasat or Naihati - namkhana.. Similarly with flyover projects. Only after building one, they realise the flaw of the flyover and decide to make a new one (like esplanade flyover) or add flanks to the flyover (like the AJc bose road flyvoer where they have now only planned to add two ramps for sealdah bound and Sarat bose road).
Regarding delhi, well, its an automobile city with vehilcle pop much more than cal, bom, mad combined... They do build flyovers at fast pace (I think each usually takes around 17 months).. Wat is interesting is the traffic flow they make around the flyover in terms of ppl making right turns to join the other road etc... Calcutta doesnt have that sort of proper.. While traffic flows smoothly over the flyover, the road underneath are always jammed.. The funny thing is, couple of months back Wb was advertised somewhere regarding its recent growth , where it talked about the fast moving kolkata traffic and compared wth other asian cities (giving the avg speed of gariahat flyover at 45kph and comparing that with other asian cities , trying to prove itself one of the fastest city in terms of traffic movements).. Now thats pathetic and totally unprofessional..

Can someone plz tell me how is the Proposed Chitpur terminus progressing? I couldnt find much details on the web. Will part of it be open this year? or is it delayed?

The last time I had been there in the last week of January, work was going on even in the evening (while I passed the place in circular rail around an hours after darkness came in). I guess, that indicates work is going on with focus. But I don't know the schedule when its supposed to come up (any part of it too). I couldn't make out in much detail how the work had progressed, for it was dark out there.

Is the Chitpur terminal site located near the Tala station on circular rail ? Or is it more towards the river ? Any idea what will be the approach road to this terminal ?

Is the Chitpur terminal site located near the Tala station on circular rail ? Or is it more towards the river ? Any idea what will be the approach road to this terminal ?
I believe it is the one right near to Tala station. And the work that I saw going on was there, which seemed to include laying new tracks and constructing platforms.

The approach road would probably consist of links to the ends of the new lockgate flyover or somewhere nearby. As an initial part of the project, the state govt had proposed to isolate some part from the Rs ~40 crore leftover of the Japan bank loan. I believe, if any part of this money is to be used on the terminal approach road project, then the deadline of the work would be somewhere near Nov 2005, for the loan period would expire at around that time. But, I had also heard rumors that the leftover moeny might be used to widen roads in the Chitpore area. I don't know (not aware of) whether the road widening project would link to the terminal approach road construction in any way.

Looks like Kolkata is getting into a highrise boom

Greenfield Heights, New Town Kolkata

http://www.greenfieldrealestates.com/

Four towers G + 17 - Shrobona, Sandhyatara, Suktara and Saptarshi.

Rendering

http://img75.exs.cx/img75/4171/greenfieldheights4np.jpg

Shopping Plaza

http://www.greenfieldrealestates.com/web/images/ifb_sma.jpg

I hate the use of pink and other wacko colours in these projects. But yeah Kolkata is getting a good no. of high rises. :)

Please see the following for the same:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050305/asp/calcutta/story_4454611.asp

So the Japan Bank money in this project that I had thought of earlier is not toally off the mark!

More than 12,000,000 sq ft of housing stock is being readied for launch over the next 12 months in Kolkata.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050306/images/06DSC0615.jpg

Rajarhat alone will see the flag-off of around 7,000,000 sq ft of residential stock in the coming year. In addition to Rajarhat, city developers will roll out more than 5,000,000 sq ft of residential stock in large-format complexes in other areas like Garia, VIP Road, the EM Bypass and residential corridors like New Alipore, Hazra and Gurusaday Road. This is over and above the small, non-branded G+4/G+5 structures, which will add at least another 5,00,000 sq ft to the mortar matrix.

But will this create a glut or is there a demand?

Read more at http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050306/asp/calcutta/story_4460546.asp

nice article

now,emporis has to update its source:)

A micro photo of a the EM Bypass connector via Nicco Park and the flyover linking New Town, Rajarhat (pic: July 2004)

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040705/images/6142.jpg

Oh Kolkata! No 1 choice for real estate investment?


http://www.business-standard.com/smartinvestor/storypage.php?chklogin=N&autono=182606&lselect=10&leftnm=lmnu6&leftindx=6

Surprise surprise, this is the number one choice of location where consultants feel one may derive maximum appreciation. The primary reason for this, they say, is that the demand is led by actual home seekers unlike other locations where the demand is built up by investors who buy properties and sell them at higher rates, which only jack up prices unreasonably. The ensuing bubble is not sustainable at all, they say.

“Kolkata is a completely rocking city,” says Anuj Puri, chief executive officer of Chesterton Meghraj Consultants. He gives full marks to the state government which has been actively inviting private and foreign developers to transform the city.

Rajarhat may not be well known now but consultants say a few years down the line, this 10,000 hectare location is going to be the next hot destination for IT and ITES (information technology-enabled service) professionals. An abundance of power and water supply is the other advantage Kolkata offers.

Kolkata real estate is really growing like anything. I have an extremely interesting personal experience to share, but I can't say whether what I heard is a rumor or reality. The last time I had gone to Kolkata (January 2005), I had found a really huge "ground" behind my uncle's house (a house where I had permanently rsided for 4 years). I was taken by a massive shock, for I had never known the existence of such a huge land just there. A small dilapidated building had been blocking my vision earlier is what I found, and now that they have demolished it (uncle's apartment is on the ground floor, which explains why I couldn't see beyond that old building, and I never used to go to terrace, for I am more of an indoor nature). My uncle reported me that there were going to be 6 buildings on it, each around 20 floors (this is the rumor versus reality part). Imagine this! The place itself is such a weird one (as per my perception) that I had never bothered to find out what lay there! I now tried to investigate its entrance, for apparently there was none. And then came the second blow to me: the land had been made open for about the next 300 meters that was blocked from my vision from within my uncle's home due to structures. And the open land was contiguous...
Simply unbelievable!

Kolkata has a severe shortage of quality housing - due to lack of planned development for decades that has led to mushrooming of the G+4 flats built by small promoters or worse still - one storeyed houses on small plots of land - connected by narrow alleys. In Kolkata, if you are shopping around for a decent flat the best bet is you have to invest in a project as soon as it is launched. You will hardly find any apartment of your choice that is available ready to move in. Almost all the new projects are sold out within a few months of their launch.

Even people living in their own houses want to move to a better place with better facilities. I know someone who could not avail of a company car because he had no place to park it in. He moved to his new apartment and now got the car. A lot of people like him in Kolkata can afford to improve their living conditions given the chance.

In fact the reason the govt of WB is pushing housing development in such a big way is to ensure that the middle class is not priced out of the city due to housing shortage. Of course market factors like IT boom and cheap loans add fuel to this demand for housing. I am sure there is demand for more...

Please see the following for the same:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050305/asp/calcutta/story_4454611.asp

So the Japan Bank money in this project that I had thought of earlier is not toally off the mark!
"Once widened, the road connecting BT Road with the EM Bypass can be used by traffic from Gariahat and AJC Bose flyovers to proceed towards Lake Town and Dum Dum. " - this part is confusing - it says the road will be upto Manicktala main road - how does it connect the bypass then ? Will it join the EMBypass by following the canal to the the junction of EMBypass and VIP rd ?

Anyway, one thing is for sure - it will give congested North kolkata a breather. The canal roads are in a complete mess right now - usable only by trucks. But they have the potential to become a six-lane expressway in future ! This is surely a nice start.

Kolkata's most expensive apartment project?

Consider this: 40 per cent of the flats at a 25-flat complex in Kolkata, a bastion of the Left Front, with price tags varying from Rs 1.6 crore to Rs 3 crore (Rs 16 million to Rs 30 million), were booked even before the project was officially launched. [and that's white money! :) ]

The project, Highland Sapphire, is now the most expensive property in the city.

The builder, Sumit Dabriwala of United Credit Belani Properties Ltd, is not exactly nervous about developing such expensive property in a city that has the reputation of being price conscious. "If I get land, I will make 1,000 such dwelling units," he declares confidently.

http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2005/mar/09kol.htm


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"They believe there is genuine buyer interest in expensive and expansive property -- flats priced at above Rs 40 lakh (Rs 4 million) are selling like hot cakes and those buying these flats are not doing so for investment purposes but people indulging in a new profligate lifestyle."

This is the most encouraging part within the report. Is there any way that the same trend of lifestyle and not investment can be somehow made more popular in the all the cities of the country (unless it is already so)? The idea of going for good lifestyle and not skirmish over 'house buy-sell business' somehow sounds positive to me with a bright end...

Wow thats great news for Kolkata. It has the potential to be a great city. It already has some amazing historicalarchitecture, and to combine that with some flash highrises will put the city back on the map.