NK Realtors Magazine

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ties TM

Kolkata’s only real estate magazine I Vol 9 I Issue 3 I October 2013

Interview with Harsh Patodia on inclusive growth in the real estate sector

“Kolkata was the first great modern city in Asia” Amit Chaudhuri

Success Story: South City Mall

MK Jalan on how Alipore IS becOMING Kolkata’s safest pin code!

T h e g r e at p ot e n t i a l o f

Sector V

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K o l k a t a’s o n l y r e a l e s t a t e m a g a z i n e

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Arihant Cavetto Jodhpur Park

Land area: 33 cottahs

Number of flats: 16

Completion time: April 2015

Number of blocks: Single tower

Unit size: 4,377 – 4,815 sq. ft

Location: Jodhpur Park

Number of floors: 17

Open space: 81 percent

Developer: Arihant

The developer speaks: “Cavetto was conceived in a rather unique way. After building the city’s various landmarks for years, perhaps, it was apt to ask ourselves, what was our dream abode? Cavetto is an expression of our shared vision. It offers more than a contemporary lifestyle. It’s a different way of life! Eye for minute construction and quality details, and unique planning, are the two hallmarks of this project which makes it so special.

Come, embrace the Cavetto life. We assure you, you will cherish the decision forever. A casual glance at the state-of-the-art elevation is sure to leave you spellbound. The well-researched and unique features spoil you for choices. There is a triple height sky deck with glass railing, yoga lawn, exclusive health club, air-conditioned banquet hall, executive lounge, beautiful landscaped gardens with jogging track, exquisitely decorated double height entrance lobby to name a few. The superior finishing and premium fittings leave nothing to be desired.”

Contact: 033 4040 1010/6620 1010 | Email: sales@nkrealtors.com

 Cover Story The great potential of

Sector V N. K. Realtors (P) Ltd.

9, Elgin Road (4th Floor), Kolkata – 700020, India Tel: 033 4040 1030/6620 1010 Web: www.nkrealtors.com For feedback, write to us at wecare@nkrealtors.com

Mudar Patherya explains how Sector V has emerged as a home for IT and nonIT companies in the last decade. With real estate becoming more expensive, he enquires whether the location has a future.  INSIDE

Editor: Biplab Kumar Co-ordinator: Sanjay Adhikary Proof reader: Sandip Das Distribution: Abhijit Kar and Bandhu Sundar Ghosh Database management: Sonti Nag Advertising: Anuraj Dhar (+91 9674107979) Creative: Cover photo: Roman Chakraborty

Q&A President CREDAI Bengal Harsh Patodia offers an inclusive idea on how to make the real estate’s growth sustainable........................................... 10

Interior Designer of the Quarter Designer Swarup Dutta dissects Jhaal Farezi, explaining how each corner celebrates a vibrant Indian culture................................................. 12

Riverside Kirti Patodia explains why Unimark Riviera is one of the most uniquely conceived projects in Kolkata .......... 14

DISCLAIMER The publisher, contributors and editor are not responsible in any way for the actions or results taken by any person or organisation on the basis of reading information, stories or contributions in this publication. The views expressed are their own.

For all real estate queries, please call the customer care at: 033 4040 1010/6620 1010 anytime between 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (IST), 7 days a week.

Content published in Real-Ties is an exclusive intellectual property of the Department of Public Relations and Corporate Communications – N. K. Realtors Pvt. Ltd.

A Transforming pin code: Tangra Raj Pasari explains how and why Tangra has emerged on the map for real estate developers......................... 32

N.B. For free circulation, not for sale.

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The great Bhubaneswar emergence What makes Bhubaneswar the second largest city in Eastern India?............. 36

80-year old turns green and young!

How the heritage CESC House turned the clock back ninety years through a landmark green energy initiative..... 42

 Editorial Dear reader, In Kolkata, there is always an ongoing struggle – between a heritage quietly asserting itself and a future that is strongly emerging.

This issue captures this reality faithfully.

There is Sector V that was once the exclusive preserve of IT companies that is now evolving into a multibusiness commercial hub with exciting potential as the region expects to get its first metro link over the next few years. The cover story of our issue not only addresses this evolving character but also positions Sector V as an economic driver of the future of the city.

There is a rich heritage presenting a case for heritage properties, which is helping make Kolkata a distinctive

Leena Kejriwal’s old Kolkata Ace photographer Leena Kejriwal delves into the past and emerged with beautiful images of a Calcutta long forgotten ............................................. 16

Transforming neighbourhoods Celebrated writer Amit Chaudhuri explains how Kolkata is fast losing its rich architectural heritage ................ 44

Indian city marrying diverse architectural influences.

Is there a room for these properties in a Kolkata that needs modernisation? Writer Amit Chaudhuri makes an impassioned case for their preservation; in fact, he goes to the extent to make a case for the preservation of complete neighbourhoods.

Besides, CREDAI Bengal Chairman Harsh Patodia presents an argument related to sectoral sustainability.

There is a growing focus on Tangra as an emerging residential pin code which has been captured in this issue. Do write in if you have observations or suggestions at wecare@nkrealtors.com.

Wish you all a prosperous Diwali. Happy reading!

Team NK

Fire safety in high rises How global building codes endure fire safety in high-rises ............................ 20

Success Story: South City Mall Man Mohan Bagree explains how South City mall became the single biggest Kolkata retail success story in the last five years ................................46

Celebration time

Community Responsibility

N K Realtors honours its corporate MK Jalan talks about how electronic family members who have been a part surveillance has made Alipore Kolkata’s of its organisation over the last decade... safest pin code.....................................28 ...............................................................22

Gossipwallah What’s the grapevine in Kolkata’s real estate sector? The proverbial fly on the wall picks up interesting stuff........... 50

Freewheeling Mudar Patherya offers an interesting choice for getting some excitement back to life – active participation in your building committee! ................. 54

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T h e g r e at p ot e n t i a l o f

Sector V

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In the last decade, Sector V in Kolkata has emerged as a home for IT and non-IT companies. With real estate becoming more expensive, does the pocket have a future, asks Mudar Patherya

W

hen a pebble drops in Sector V, the ripples are felt across Kolkata.

For years, real estate pundits have used this term to describe the inter-connectedness of Kolkata with its principal software exporting pocket.

With good reason: it is estimated that 60 percent of all real estate purchases in Kolkata are made by those directly or indirectly associated with information technology. Which means that as soon as a young techie finds a job in Sector V or has been promoted, the time has come to look for one’s own home. And sure enough, the techie finds a mortgage finance company to fund a large part of the purchase, a house (blueprint really) is identified, instalments addressed, construction progressively completed and soon the techie has a home.

Over the last decade, a majority of some 70,000 such professionals who have come to work in Sector V have found themselves homes within this 432-acre pocket on the Eastern fringe of Kolkata, creating a base for realty in and around Sector V as well as across the city.

Something interesting has begun to transpire in the last couple of years in Sector V. Realty prices have risen significantly. Will this mean the gradual decline of Sector V as a competitive export destination, gradually slowing the realty sector? Will this mean an influx of more promoters keen to develop larger properties to service the growing needs of the IT industry?

Read on.

Appreciation overdue

Sector V realty was priced at around ` 2,500 sq. ft for ownership and ` 25 a sq. ft for renting about a decade ago. By 2013, these rates had moved to ` 5,000 and ` 50 respectively.

Then came two triggers – the across-the-board increase in realty prices in Kolkata, which made Sector V look relatively cheap; the announcement that finally Sector V would be connected by the proposed East-West Metro.

Suddenly, all those companies who had stayed away from Sector V – on the grounds that the place was too far – now began to consider this as the best emerging place to work out of. “Sector V is already a mature techtown. In the next two years, the metro construction should be complete, then it will definitely be preferred by companies for offices and the youngsters working

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in Sector V for their residence,” says Sushil Mohta, Managing Director of Merlin Group of Companies.

In the last couple of years, there has been a convergence of social and physical infrastructure in Sector V, which has inevitably led to its reappraisal as a compelling commercial destination. “There is an increasing preference to work out of locations that provide places to eat, relax and socialise, which has begun to happen in Sector V of late,” says Ravindra Chamaria, Chairman & Managing Director, Infinity Infotech Parks Limited.

“There is a greater recognition today among intending corporates of the world-class assets that we established a decade ago. As a result, those who engaged in costbenefit analyses vis-a-vis working out of Kolkata’s central business district are more than willing to relocate to Sector V now than before.”

Moving in

the availability of realty for IT and ITeS businesses? Will the provision of 20 percent of realty space for non-IT businesses be exceeded and consequently erode the IT character of this Kolkata geography?

Two factors could protect the competitiveness of Sector V, according to Ravindra Chamaria, the man credited for having put Sector V on the map following his landmark Infinity Tower One which was built in the year 2000. “Even in a place like Topsia, the going rate for commercial property is ` 85 per sq. feet while it is ` 40-45 per sq. feet in Sector V for considerably better property, which indicates that the latter location still provides superior value. Besides, a comparable place in Bangalore is priced at ` 60-65 per sq. ft, which makes Sector V nationally competitive. In fact, I would go to the point of saying that Sector V provides one of the most competitive holistic software development costs in the country - transport cost per Sector V employee is not much more than ` 500 per month while the corresponding figure for a place like Bangalore is ` 1,500; besides, employee remuneration in Sector V is 15 percent more competitive than in Bangalore or Hyderabad. Plus our workspace quality in Sector V is much better than the national average. So there is a strong case for Sector V to a preferred ITBPO workplace over the foreseeable future.”

There are some compelling reasons that have swung the argument in favour of Sector V. One, the Kolkata IT pocket comprises at least eight buildings that have been acknowledged as among the best in the country.

Two, the floor-to-floor distance of 4 m in each of these buildings and floor-to-ceiling height of four metres compares favourably with 4 m in the rest of Kolkata. Three, these Mr Chamaria is putting his money where The Kolkata IT pocket buildings provide a general span of 10 m his mouth is. His company, Infinity Infotech Parks Limited, owns four commercial x 10 m which enhances space efficiency comprises at least eight buildings (3.5 mn sq. ft) in Sector V (two of compared with 6 to 8 m x 6 to 8 m in buildings that have been them are platinum rated green buildings).

Kolkata today. Four, these buildings acknowledged as among provide one parking lot for every 750 “Looking at the brighter side, Sector V has the best in the country. sq. ft of built-up space compared with become a big business hub with various Kolkata where most offices do not have IT and infrastructure companies stationed more than a handful of parking spaces. there,” explains Pradeep Sureka, Managing Director of the Sureka Group. “It is not Five, these buildings provide complete airconsidered far because people are considering moving conditioning, broadband, 100 percent power back-up to Rajarhat with the coming of the metro rail. The and cleaner air (on account of green building status for preference for Sector V is better than Dalhousie now. most). Six, these buildings provide a 12,000 sq. ft food Even if there is an IT slowdown, the location will do court, which serves the needs of the working population well as a working place.” compared with roadside eating in Kolkata’s CBD. So if Sector V is to do better even as a non-IT location, The result is that Sector V has now begun to draw the immediate demand is that the cap on non-IT a different kind of customer: the non-IT company. companies in Sector V be relaxed. There is a growing Bengal Shriram, the real estate company. Shyam Steel, school of thought that indicates that a 40-50 percent the growing steel and resources company. Lux Cozi, proportion of non-IT companies should be ideal. the innerwear company from Burrabazar. “There is a “Currently, it is only 20 percent which is amongst the greater need for these companies to provide a superior lowest in India,” explains Sushil Mohta, Managing working environment to their people and Sector V Director of Merlin Properties. “The ‘IT only’ tag should realty has been able to do just that,” explains Pawan be removed and it should be open to all as the IT and ITeS companies largely depend on non-IT companies. If Agarwal of NK Realtors. “There was a time when the both are there, the area will get a fillip.”

Kolkata companies could not think beyond BBD Bag. The transition has begun to happen.”

Losing character?

Which brings us to next important question: Will the growing influx of non-IT companies in Sector V reduce

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The blockers

Wherever there is opportunity, can problems be far behind? “Sector V is the new Dalhousie of Kolkata but the large problem are the roads,” says Professor Jayanta

Nath Mukhopadhyay, Dean, Globsyn Crystals. “The roads are like a para ka gali. The power, net and other basic facilities are good but the roads and encroachment are definitely an issue.”

This apathy is everywhere. It starts from the moment you enter Sector V. A bus stops in the middle of the road, bringing all trailing traffic to a stop. Pavements are dominated by hovels masquerading as eateries. It is difficult to find parking space. The policeman is almost non-existent. Sometimes it takes 15 minutes to get across 100 m. “Sector V is Hong Kong inside the buildings and the ghats of Benaras on the outside. One MNC customer who came into Kolkata looking for IT property, saw the mess, asked the driver to make an about-turn to the airport and flew back,” says Ravindra Chamaria.

Sushil Mohta is more emphatic. “All you see are hawkers, hawkers and hawkers! When entrepreneurs and overseas companies come to see the office spaces in Sector V, it gives a bad impression,” says Sushil Mohta. “Any city or urban infrastructure is like a showcase for the state. If you go to a shop and see a good show window, you’ll enter but if the show window is messy, you will think twice before coming in. This is the image of Sector V. We need to make our urban fabric nice and clean. We need clean, well-maintained roads. Unless we take steps to correct the state of the infrastructure there, it’ll be difficult to attract the MNCs who will be reluctant coming into a town whose basic amenities are shoddy!”

However, there is hope. The Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority (NDITA) has decided to repair seven major roads in Sector V. “Repair work for seven roads will be taken up for high-grade mastic asphalt for which ` 15 crore will be spent. Tenders for the road repair work will be floated within the next couple of days and all the tenders will be e-tenders,” said NDITA chairman Alapan Bandyopadhayay, adding that repair work of other roads will also be taken up which amounts to around ` 1 crore. All the important stretches

Technopolis - Kolkata’s first green IT park

like the road leading to Rajarhat from Salt Lake Bypass via SDF building and the one leading to Webel Bhavan among others will be benefitted.

The take-off

Interestingly, Kolkata’s IT-BPO industry is now waiting for the clean-up to happen. It is proceeding to create infrastructure in anticipation. Even though Sector V has a 70 percent occupancy today with 70,000 engineers, it has the infrastructure to house 200,000 engineers in three years based on the reality that annual employment growth in Sector V is a steady 20-25 percent.

This means that in a few years from now if Sector V occupancy increases to 100 percent of the enhanced infrastructure capacity, then exports, which took more than a decade to get to nearly ` 7,000 crore, can potentially treble in half that time.

Creating an unprecedented demand for new homes and lifestyles catering to a new generation of knowledge workers.

Seven changes that can graduate Sector V into the next league

By Sushil Mohta Managing Director Merlin Group

1 Clean the roads: What is needed is regular road repair and maintenance.

5 Have some percentage of land dedicated to auto terminals, bus terminals and taxi terminals.

2 Make proper parking lots for taxi stands and buses.

6 Introduce signages indicating designated parking zones.

3 Provision for Bus Rapid Transit Systems (BRT) in and around the E. M. Bypass with dedicated bus tracks.

7 Provide food kiosks to vendors and educate them on health and hygiene. Create a hawkers’ corner like in Thailand and Singapore.

4 Forbid autos and taxis from parking on the road.

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Q&A For decades, the crème de la crème of Kolkata’s real estate industry marketed properties for the crème de la crème.

The high-end catering to the high-end.

However, refreshing winds of change are beginning to blow.

Harsh Patodia, Chairman and Managing Director, Unimark Group and President Credai Bengal has an inclusive idea to offer to make the sector’s growth sustainable. He explains the idea in an interview.

Q

What is the gist of your broad idea of industry growth?

In two words – inclusive growth. For decades, the largest real estate players in Bengal have marketed properties for the high-end of customers. We finally have a suggestion on how the largest can make properties also for the bottom rung of the market without that affecting their sustainability.

result is that the large low income housing projects are virtually non-existent in West Bengal. The time has come to correct this reality.

Q

Through what specific initiatives?

A really simple idea. Let us say that I intend to launch a project on a property that is larger than what is specified under the ULCRA. In this case, I should be required to go to The government should be willing the government for permission to build to provide me with permission How is this likely to be on it. The government should be willing provided I can set aside a certain possible? to provide me with permission provided percentage of the area for low Bengal is one of the few states in the I can set aside a certain percentage of income customers and for social country where the Urban Land Control the area for low-income customers and upliftment projects (vocational Regulation Act is still prevalent. Over the for social upliftment projects (vocational training, crèche, heath care etc.). decades, successive Bengal governments training, crèche, heathcare among others). have felt that the ULCRA has played This arrangement would ensure that the a responsible role in curbing speculative land interests of the high and low-income customers acquisition and pricing. The reality is that the Act would be jointly addressed within the same business makes it difficult to acquire large land tracts. The model.

Q

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Q

vocational training or employment. This would be a win-win proposition – for the government, consumer, builder and community.

Why is this an idea whose time has come?

For some good reasons. One, a large percent of the shortage of homes in India Permission could be granted only Hasn’t this been tried earlier is drawn from the lower income segment. if the builder promises to leave as part of the government Two, urban migration is increasing; the aside a certain percentage of the mixed-income residential proportion of India that lives in its urban area for low-income housing projects? centres has increased from 21 percent in where the selling price is already Yes, it has but there were some handicaps 2001 to 24 percent in 2011 (Source: IIHS set by the government and a in the earlier model – this could only be Analysis based on Census of India, 2011) certain percentage of the area attempted on land that the government and likely to rise further, which makes for a social infrastructure project owned, which was subsequently developed it imperative for the country to be able that enhances vocational training by private builders in a collaborative to provide homes to accommodate the or employment. model. The time has come for this new inflow. Three, it is increasingly evident alternative, which makes the private that one of the best ways to ensure builder responsible for procuring the local safety is by empowering people to buy their Advantages land without government intervention and reserves homes, so the moment one can solve this problem of the model the government’s role to that of a policy-making for the population’s majority, you inevitably create a Pioneering facilitator. model in India foundation based on social security.

Q

Q

Why is this particularly relevant for West Bengal today?

To answer this, one must be able to link opportunities related to ULCRA with the lowcost home problem. When you work without the ULCRA, one is immediately able to create large properties where it is possible to amortise focused costs more effectively and hence price properties more affordably. So the catch lies in being able to weave a solution that makes it possible for builders to offer low cost housing in the state without removing the ULCRA.

Q

Is it possible?

Absolutely! Just consider: I want to build on a 50 acre property, which would be much higher than what would be permitted by ULCRA. All I would now have to do is request the government for a relevant permission. The permission could be as follows: permission to be granted only if the builder promises to leave aside a certain percentage of the area for low income housing where the selling price is already set by the government and a certain percentage of the area for a social infrastructure project that enhances

Inclusive model Infrastructural growth Social upliftment of the locality Addresses the government’s priority of facilitating residential needs of lower income buyers Higher tax collection from such properties Strong community benefit

Q

Why do you think this model has a future?

Because it is sustainable. No builder will like to build properties and sell them for a fraction of the prevailing value if there is an option to market them at higher prices. But if there were an incentive – as one that has been proposed - there would be a greater builders’ interest in doing so. Besides, lowincome buyers would get good quality homes with amenities they otherwise could never have imagined!

Q

What are some of the other advantages likely to emerge from this?

The one point that most people would not even consider at first is that this is perhaps the most effective way of transferring a community from a non-gated environment to a gated environment.

When people shift from residential paras into standalone buildings, they lose a sense of community. This proposal makes it possible to retain the sense of community; just look at what happened in Sherwood Estate where you now have 1,300 families within one vibrant complex - that is the future for a state like West Bengal.

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Stainless Steel Commode. 1,700-Wine Bottle Chandelier. ‘Ay Babua’. And Food...

A conversation with designer and scenographer Swarup Dutta on the crazy 10,000 sq feet Jhaal Farezi restaurant, winner of ‘The Telegraph Award’ for the best debutante Kolkata restaurant.

The theme

Harsh Neotia bought this old bungalow near the sevenpoint Park Circus junction with the objective to create a dining experience with a visual novelty. Since the site for the restaurant was an 80-year-old colonial bungalow, I was briefed to preserve the original structure and recreate the interiors with different ambiences, blending with the exteriors being restored by architect Channa Daswatte. The research took two months coupled with six months for restoration and eight months for execution.

The unusual

Barmer complemented with posters of Bollywood songs and lyrics. Then we used neon lights reminiscent of old Kolkata. We developed an artwork of neon letters on multi-coloured wooden platter celebrating Ghalib’s “Hazaaron khwaaishey aisi ki har khwaaish pe dum nikle.”

We created a chandelier comprising 1,700 recyclable wine bottles. The exposed brickwork café décor was inspired by the city’s industrial past.

Five crazy corners

Table for two in the café hidden from the rest (intimate conversations!). Barber chairs and poofs for a casual adda. Sitting handin-hand in the music room. Fine dining in the ‘mela room’ under the 1,700 wine-bottle chandelier (objects from fairs, rustic tables, Murshidabad geometric kantha upholstery, ancestral portraits trivialised by quirky dolls). Drama queen room for kitty parties.

First, the theme. Seldom do spaces celebrate the country and its folk culture. If you go to an Italian restaurant in Kolkata, you’ll see Italian artwork. Why not celebrate “We developed an artwork of neon our culture for a change? Most people letters on multi-coloured wooden would have stuck with Bollywood but platter celebrating Ghalib’s India is more than just Bollywood. So we Hazaaron khwaishey aisi ki har Five whacky objects concentrated on folk music and cultural khwaish pe dum nikle.”

Salacious Bhojpuri posters. Turn-of-thenuances generally ignored. For example, century drafting tables used in fine dining.

– Swarup Dutta the café has a number of posters with We kept the old oxidised red flooring and Bhojpuri double-meaning songs; no better place than stained glass windows. Old bottle jar light chandelier Kolkata to celebrate this inspired by migrant labourers in the mocktail bar area. The 1,700 recycled wine bottle from Bihar and UP staying together in their ‘mess’ chandelier. The checker plate toilets with stainless steel (bachelors’ pad). So a lot of their songs and dances had commode! The bar lightings made from buckets and sexual overtones. We named the series ‘Rough songs funnels put on industries pulleys. of the mango people.’ We juxtaposed these images with images of Kalighat ‘patas’ from around the Kalighat Café, fine dining, music room and Temple of 150 years ago. We also developed a ‘signage alfresco terrace garden with a sit-out. on platters’ stating ‘Khao Piyo Jiyo’. In the music room, 42, Circus Avenue, Kolkata, Phone: 6502 0202 we used handcrafted appliqué work from Odisha and www.jhaalfarezi.in

People don’t go to Jhaal Farezi to eat; they go to stare at the walls. They don’t just walk and get a table; they need to book three days in advance at times. The ‘wow’ of a makeover of an old bungalow (one usually didn’t look at twice) into a retro showpiece by architect Channa Daswatte was stewarded to its logical conclusion by visualiser and interior designer Swarup Dutta.

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Riverside Unimark is one of Kolkata’s largest real estate development companies with projects across residential, commercial, industrial, retail and entertainment verticals.

An enterprise by the Heritage Realty Group, Unimark was founded by Mr. Harsh Vardhan Patodia (President CREDAI Bengal and Vice President CREDAI National). Unimark’s project portfolio of over ten million square feet comprises projects such as The Unimark Asian (Nominated for WAN Awards), The Unimark Grand, Ramsnehi Unimark Tower, Eternia, Sherwood Estate (CNBC Crisil Award for

Unimark Riviera ddress: 20 & 22 B Grand Trunk Road, A Uttarpara, West Bengal - 712253 Apartments: Approximately 500 T owers (5): Affinia, Regalia, Marina, Luxuria and Oceania Options for sky terraces and private gardens Promoter: Unimark Contact: 033 4040 1010/6620 1010 Email: sales@nkrealtors.com

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Kirti Patodia

Director, Unimark

Best Residential Complex in Eastern India), Trinity, Heritage Mayfair (Brick and Mortar Award for Best Property). We now would like to present Unimark Riviera, a premier residential development located on the banks of the Ganges River in Uttarpara designed to completely surpass all expectations and present the river to you unlike anything before.

What makes Unimark Riviera unique?

Unimark Riviera is a convergence of a number of unique realities.

The location in Uttarpara is close to upcoming infrastructure projects such as the Dakshineshwar Metro Station, well connected via the Bally Bridge and has a lovely view of the Dakshineshwar Temple.

This makes it one of the first instances of a full-fledged integrated high-rise riverside real estate offering in the area.

A distinctive value-for-money proposition comes with Unimark Riviera: 2-BHK and 3-BHK apartments across a variety of price categories and a residential club: River Island equipped with seven-star luxury facilities and amenities. These amenities comprise a high-tech gym, infinity-edge swimming pool, children’s splash pool, spa/steam and massage room, yoga-cum-meditation hall, indoor games area, sports area, club lounge, riverside cycling and jogging track, outdoor games area, riverside promenade, in-house cafeteria, mini-movie theatre and an air-conditioned banquet hall.

Unimark Riviera enjoys over 500 feet of riverside frontage, with over 90 percent of the apartments having direct river views. This gives our homeowners the opportunity to witness the sunrise every morning along the banks of the river.

The unique international architecture by Mr. Stephen Coates (of the award-winning Acta International based in Singapore) and Mr. Raj Agarwal as well as landscape design by Mr. Brendon Chamberlain (of WAHO Design) complements the magnificence of the river.

Unimark Riviera is also integrated with Unimark Unimark Riviera has Square, which offers over 70,000 sq. ft. of premium retail and commercial space with provisions for banks, over 500 feet pharmacies, restaurants, cafes, entertainment and retail of riverside outlets as well as general stores to provide a living experience with amazing access to a number of facilities frontage, with over 90 at one’s doorstep. percent of the What is the big message that you want to send apartments out? having direct That this is the first time that a world-class, high value proposition is being extended to suburban Kolkata. river views. That Unimark Riviera is a one-of-a-kind project with a brilliant and innovative design, a luxury lifestyle component and an amazing connection with nature.

Unimark Riviera has something for everyone - a great choice for homeowners.

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Leena Kejriwal’s old kolkata

The Sovabazar Rajbari.

Leena Kejriwal (b.1968) is one of Kolkata’s most prominent photographers and installation artists. Brand ambassador for Fuji India. Artist-in-residence in France. Her seminal work Calcutta: Repossessing the City was launched as Leena Kejriwal

a book in 2007. Her work was a part of Sotheby’s Spring Asian Art auction in March 2009. She also created a two-part photography installation called East City for Birla Academy of Art and Culture in February 2010. The show was displayed in New Delhi as Entropic Sites (January 2011), in Iran as I saw that which remained unseen (June 2011) and its latest version in Berlin as When violence became decadent.

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“I have put down a collection here which highlights Kolkata’s quirkiness to me, which I think is its main USP. I won’t exchange it for any glass and steel structure. To me, development is about cleaner and organised spaces within the basic character of a space. It’s not necessary to bulldoze down a existing structure, if not required, in the name of development.”

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Fire s Since super tall buildings have high facades, worldwide building codes require the distance between an emergency vehicular access and fire service access point to be not longer than 10-18 metres. The fire department of Pune Municipal Corporation inducted an imported fire tender (70 m hydraulic platform with capacity to douse fires at 100 m) at a cost of INR 110 million.

Fire safety in Hong Kong

occupants of a fire. Because the elevator was called to the fire floor by the fire, the elevator stopped at the 33rd floor. The two guards died.

The refuge floor concept was introduced in 1996. By using an intermediate refuge floor (1.5x1.5 m) within Lessons: Revolutionised the automatic elevator recall, a certain number of floors, occupants can reach a resistance of elevator call buttons to fire or temporary place of safety within 10 floors. smoke and facilitating elevators to the ‘home’ The China Fire Safety Code requires a In Hong Kong, owners of floor manually by a key-operated switch. refuge floor to be constructed in buildings fire service installations above 30 m.

The Guideline for Very Tall Buildings (SFPE 2012) and the China Fire Code state that a multiplication factor should be used to estimate the Required Safe Egress Time (RSET- the time required to escape to a safe place) of super tall buildings as occupants may require more time to escape.

are obliged to employ a registered FSI contractor to inspect the FSI of the building once every 12 months.

In Hong Kong, owners of fire service installations are obliged to employ a registered FSI contractor to inspect the FSI of the building once every 12 months.

50-storeyed One New York Plaza August 15, 1970. Two guards and an employee took an elevator from the 32nd floor to the 39th floor to notify

October 2013 /real-ties/20

21-storeyed MGM Grand Hotel

November 21, 1980. A fire resulted in 85 deaths and 600 injuries Lessons: Protection for seismic joints, combustibles for concealed spaces in fire resistive and non-combustible buildings, protection for vertical openings (including the stairways and elevator shafts) to limit smoke and fire between floors, protection for HVAC systems to curb fire distribution, pre-fire emergency plans for large assembly buildings and creation of stairway doors to facilitate re-entry at no more than five floor intervals.

afety

At 104 metres, the 27-storeyed Belair is not just the second highest structure in Kolkata housing some of the city’s most affluent individuals. It is also one of the safest, considering the safety-related investments that have gone into it. Amrit Banerjee, Facility Manager, explains why the building is technologically sound when it comes to fire safety.

Exit and entry: “Even as we have one entry and one exit point, these are 26 feet wide. However, for the basement, we have three entrance and exit points.”

and employees (light man, drivers, security guards etc.) possess a hands-on training and experience to put out fires.”

Redundancy: “To facilitate the evacuation and alarm

Experience: “There was a fire on the 15th floor a

system, we have two staircases as per the fire norms. We have fire refuse areas on the 6th, 11th and 16th floors. Besides, we invested in four types of fire extinguishers (water-based, carbon-dioxide, ABC and mechanical foam). We have two fire high hydrant points and one hose reel point.

Every lobby has a hose wheel (length 30 m) that is easy to use. We have a jockey pump (75 HP), stand by pump, sprinkler pump and main pump (110HP each) which is checked during the fire drill.”

“Our mantra at Belair: Stay calm!”

Alarm system: “Every lobby and every

service lift has an alarm system. When there is an incidence of smoke, the alarm is activated and shows which floor the smoke is coming from on my panel.

Every floor including the basement has sprinklers to address the fire immediately well before the hose or extinguishers can be activated.”

Fire training services: “Every month we have a fire drill conducted by an agency called Dexter & Consultants. Every four months we have fire drills involving the residents wherein we light an actual fire and ask them to counter it. The result? All our residents

couple of days ago. The staff put the fire out in about 15 minutes even before the fire brigade arrived. In another incident involving an electrical short circuit, the fire was put out in seconds. No panic.”

Brands: “All the extinguishers and firefighting equipment are of the renowned Ceasefire, Fire Shield and FirePro brands. We purchased Ceasefire equipment because it works wonders. On every floor, you will find a water-based (Fire Shield make) and an ABC Ceasefire extinguisher in addition to hoses reel and hydrants.”

Investments: “We invested around ` 400,000 in top-grade fire extinguishers (CO2, ABC and mechanical foam).”

Provisions: “We have three lifts and if

there is a fire anywhere in the building, the fire alarm goes off. We also have a high pressure fan which sucks the smoke and releases fresh air into the atmosphere so that no one suffocates.

We have six air fresheners in the basement and three blowers in the building that helps us keep the CO2 level at a normal level.”

October 2013 /real-ties/21

Celebration time On 27th September 2013, NK Realtors celebrated the achievements of its family members.

NK family members who completed 10 years with the organisation were honoured.

NK family members were awarded and appreciated for exceling in their respective spheres.

October 2013 /real-ties/22

Khardah

Land area: 1,000 cottahs

Number of flats: 2,000-plus units

Completion time: March 2018

Number of blocks: 30 (Phase I – 7 blocks)

Unit size: 855-1,225 sq. ft

Location: Old Calcutta Road, near Rahara Ram Krishna Mission School Developer: Siddha Group

Number of floors: G+11

Open space: 80 percent

Contact: 033 4040 1010/6620 1010 | Email: sales@nkrealtors.com The developer speaks: “The biggest USP of the project is a big water body within the premises. This will be preserved, beautified and maintained. A pedestrian track maybe added around the water body for walkers and joggers. The size of the project is also a differentiator: no such mass housing projects are being undertaken within 3 kms. The project encapsulates highly attractive group housing for home seekers in these suburbs. Situated in a densely inhabited area with a proper market place in the vicinity, it offers a rear entry from Kalyani Expressway, as well.”

Current market trends KOLKATA residential - Central Kolkata

`

5,100 – 8,700

Price (`)

Location

Price (`)

Garia

4,500 – 5,000

Boral

3,000 – 3,500

Uttarpara Howrah

2,600 - 4,500 5,000 - 6,500

4,700 – 8,700

Narendrapur

3,000 – 3,500

Sonarpur

2,500 – 3,000

Jagaddal

2,200 – 2,450

Baruipur

1,800 – 2,000

Area: Topsia

`

residential - howrah & hooghly

Areas

Area: Tangra

`

residential - South Kolkata

9,000 – 11,000 Area: Park Circus

land – kolkata (Rate/COTTAH)

`

45 – 60 lac Area: VIP Road

`

50 – 55 lac Area: Salt Lake

`

80 – 100 lac Area: Jodhpur Park

`

50 – 80 lac Area: Jadavpur

`

35 – 50 lac Area: Tollygunge

HI-END RESIDENTIAL

Category A+ `

4 crore above

Areas: Gurusaday Road, B.C.Road, Mayfair Road, Ballygunge Park Road, Ballygunge Park, Queens Park, Sunny Park, Ironside, Alipore, Theatre Road, Southern Avenue.

Category A

`

1.5-4 crore

Areas: Ballygunge Place, Palm Avenue, Palm Place, Ballygunge Phari, Gariahat, Mandeville Gardens, Bhowanipore, New Alipore, EM Bypass, Kankurgachi, Tollygunge, Prince Anwar Shah Road, Jodhpur Park, Topsia.

October 2013 /real-ties/24

Kamalgazi

3,400 - 3,900

EM Bypass, Kumrakhali

4,000 – 5,000

Bansdroni

5,500 – 6,200

Kudghat

5,500 – 7,000

Naktala

3,500 – 5,000

Kasba

4,500 – 6,000

Picnic Garden

4,200 – 5,700

Behala

2,350 – 4,500

DH Road

3,700 – 4,000

Thakurpukur

2,300 – 3,800

Joka

2,800 – 3,200

Maheshtala

2,500 – 3,000

Retail – Kolkata

Rental rates in malls Location

Lease rate/sq. ft (`)

South Kolkata East Kolkata New Town, Rajarhat Central Kolkata Barasat Narendrapur Garia Howrah

Retail – Kolkata

Rental rates in high street Location

residential - North Kolkata Areas

Price (`)

Hatibagan

6,400 – 7,000

Laketown

6,000 – 6,500

VIP (Near Haldiram)

5,500 – 6,500

Sealdah

6,500 – 7,000

Barasat

2,000 – 2,800

Keshtopur

3,000 – 3,600

Madhyamgram

2,400 – 3,200

Kaikhali

3,000 – 4,500

BT Road, Dunlop

3,000 – 4,200

Birati

2,300 – 3,500

Dumdum Nagerbazar

4,200 – 5,800

Baguiati

3,000 – 5,000

Khardah

2,200 – 2,500

residential - Rajarhat & New Town Areas

Price (`)

Chinar Park

4,000 – 4,250

91 Bus route

2,600 – 3,750

Rajarhat Chowmatha

2,400 – 3,200

211 Bus Route

3,500 – 4,250

Kochpukur

3,900 – 4,100

New Town Action Area II

3,800 – 4,200

New Town Action Area I

4,800 – 5,700

New Town Action Area III

3,700 – 3,900

250 – 450 200 – 450 175 – 250 350 – 450 125 – 150 50 – 80 90 – 100 150 – 250

Lease rate/sq. ft (`)

Park Street Camac Street Elgin Road Theatre Road AJC Bose Road Rajdanga Road Rasbehari Avenue Sonarpur Narendrapur Howrah

300 – 450 250 – 450 250 – 320 180 – 250 170 – 220 150 – 170 180 – 250 50 – 70 50 – 70 100 – 150

LAND - other areas Location Behala Garia Narendrapur Rajpur/Harinavi Sonarpur Thakurpukur Joka Pailan DH Road after IIM Kona Jessore Road BT Road Madhyamgram Baruipur Boral

Rate/cottah (`) 25 – 55 lac 20 – 30 lac 12 – 20 lac 7 – 12 lac 3 – 15 lac 20 – 30 lac 12 – 18 lac 5 – 8 lac 5 – 18 lac 10 – 15 lac 15 – 30 lac 20 – 30 lac 12 – 20 lac 3 – 12 lac 5 – 8 lac

Burdwan Commercial – Kolkata

Category CBD

80-150

`

Lease rate/sq. ft

Areas: Dalhousie, Park Street, Camac Street, Elgin Road, Minto Park, Chowringhee, AJC Bose Road

bhubaneswar

Zone-wise Residential Rates Location

Rate/sq. ft (`)

Location

Rate/sq. ft (`)

Ullhas More – East Zone

2,800-2,900

NH-5 near Iskcon Temple

5,000 – 5,500

Tikorhat – Central Zone

2,300-2,500

Patia

2,800 – 3,500

Radhanagar – Central Zone

2,800-2,900

1,600 – 2,200

Policeline More – East Zone

2,500-2,800

Ranga Bazar (Nearer to NH-203i by pass)

Renaissance – North Zone

2,150-2,350

Jatni Road close to Lingaraj (Sunderpada)

1,600 – 2,100

Rasulgarh (Bhubaneswar Cuttack NH-5)

2,100 – 3,500

Dumduma

2,900 – 4,000

Tankapani Road

3,200 – 3,600

Ghatikhia (Khandagiri adjacent area-II)

2,700 – 4,100

Pipili (NH-203)

1,600 – 2,200

Andharua

1,600 – 2,400

Category CBD

`

65-85

Retail: Rental Rates in Malls

Lease rate/sq. ft

Rate/sq. ft

Category CBD

65-75

Lease rate/sq. ft

Areas: Burdwan Town Retail: Rental Rates in high street

Areas: Mallick Bazar

Rate/sq. ft

90-100

Lease rate/sq. ft

Areas: Theatre Road

Commercial – Burdwan

75-85

Lease rate/sq. ft

85-100

Location

Lease rate/sq. ft

Beside NH 2 Medical College

Areas: Gariahat

Station Area

80-100

Lease rate/sq. ft

Areas: Harish Mukherjee Road

Category Business Park

`

42-50

Lease rate/sq. ft

Lease rate/sq. ft (`)

Janpath

130 – 150

Pearl Heights at Jaidev Vihar

80 – 100

`

Land – Burdwan

Category SBD

Category SBD

Location

Retail: Rental Rates in high street

Areas: Burdwan Road

Areas: Topsia, Ruby & Kasba

`

26 – 28

`

Lease rate/sq. ft

`

Retail – Rental Rates in Malls

Areas: Burdwan Town

Category SBD

`

40 – 45

`

Category CBD

`

45 – 50

`

Areas: Park Circus

`

Zone-wise Residential Rates

225 – 275 Lease rate/sq. ft Areas: Janpath

Rate/cottah (`) 5 lac 7 – 8 lac

Kanchannagar

3 lac

siliguri Land – Siliguri

`

7 – 10 Rate/cottah

Areas: NH 31 - North Bengal University

Commercial – Bhubaneswar Location

Lease rate/sq. ft (`)

Shahid Nagar

35-40

VIP Colony

25-30

Khandagiri

20-25

Nayapalli

30-40

Barmunda

35-60

Kharvel Nagar

40-45

Jaidev Vihar

40-50

Janpath

60-85

Areas: Saltlake Sector 5

Category Business Park

`

30-45

Lease rate/sq. ft

Areas: New Town, Rajarhat

The end-user’s search for the perfect home is driving the current real estate scenario. People are primarily driven by the infrastructural facilities. Previously, the middle class population had fewer options of commuting from the suburbs to the central business district, but not any longer. The improvement in transportation and communication in Kolkata has paved way for the real estate developers to think of building homes in areas beyond the city limits.

Consequently, affordable projects have come up in various suburban areas.

October 2013 /real-ties/25

guwahati

bhubaneswar

Retail: Rental Rates in Malls

150 – 250

`

Rate/sq. ft/month Areas: G.S. Road

durgapur

Land – Bhubaneswar Location

Rate/sq. ft (`)

NH-5 Near Iskcon Temple

150 – 200 Rate/sq. ft/month Areas: G.S. Road

`

`

80 – 100

Patia

12 – 14 lac (on main road) 5 – 7 lac (areas 500m inside)

Ranga Bazar (Near NH-203i bypass)

3.5 – 5 lac

Jatni Road close to Lingaraj (Sunderpada) Rasulgarh (Bhubaneswar Cuttack NH-5)

6.5 lac

Dumduma

3,100-3,300

Bidhan Nagar

2,400-2,650

Durgapur Station

1,900-2,000

Bamunara

1,650-2,000

Link road

2,200-2,450

Sobhapur

2,700

Muchipara

2,245

Retail: Rental Rates in malls

8 lac

Tankapani Road

3.5 – 5 lac

Areas: Zoo Road

Ghatikhia (Khandagiri adjacent area- Infosys II)

6.5 – 13 lac

Pipili (NH-203)

60 – 120

`

Rate/sq. ft/month

Areas: City Centre

3 – 5 lac

Andharua

5 lac

50 – 70

`

Rate/sq. ft/month

Areas: Paltan Bazar

Rate/sq. ft (`)

City Centre

2.5 – 3.5 lac

Rate/sq. ft/month

80 – 100

Location

25 lac

Retail: Rental Rates in high street

`

Zone-wise Residential Rates

Rate/sq. ft/month Areas: Benachity

ASANSOL Zone-wise Residential Rates

Commercial – Guwahati

`

200 – 250

(Ground Floor) Lease rate/sq. ft/month Areas: G.S. Road

Location

Rate/sq. ft (`)

Dhadka Road

1,830-1,860

G.T. Road, Kumarpur

2,000-2,150

Senraleigh Road

2,250-2,350

Apcar Garden

2,200-2,300

Garai Road

2,050-2,150

Retail: Rental Rates in high street

`

50 – 70 Lease rate/sq. ft

Areas: City Centre

Retail – MONTHLY Rental Rates in Malls

`

180 – 200

(Ground Floor) Lease rate/sq. ft/month

Location

Rate/sq. ft (`)

Centrum Mall

50 – 80

Galaxy Mall

70 – 80

Commercial

`

Areas: Zoo Road

Lease rate/sq. ft

Areas: City Centre

Retail: Rental Rates in high street

`

50 – 70

Land – Guwahati

Rate/sq. ft/month

7 – 8 lac

Areas: G.T. Road

`

Land – Durgapur Location

Rate/cottah

Areas: Zoo Road

`

1 – 2 Crore

32 – 45

Commercial – Asansol Location

Lease rate/sq. ft (`)

Suburb of Bidhan Nagar

Rate/Cottah (`) 3 - 6 lac

Bidhan Nagar

10 - 12 lac

City Centre (near Big Bazar)

15 - 20 lac

GT Road Near Gopalpur

16

Rate/cottah

GT Road, Murgasol

30

15 - 20 lac

Areas: G.S. Road

City Centre (near Junction Mall)

Rambandhu Talab

90

Andal, Airport City

4 lac

Source: NK Realtors, Survey period: September 2013.

October 2013 /real-ties/26

October 2013 /real-ties/27

COMMUNITY responsibility

Alipore: Kolkata’s safest pin code!

Alipore. Where the Viceroy once lived. Where the wealthiest of Eastern India now reside. The Alipore Citizen’s Forum along with the Kolkata police and Reliance Security Solutions Limited installed 119 outdoor CCTV to make it one of the safest pin codes in India. We engaged in a conversation with M K Jalan who talks about how Alipore’s electronic surveillance plan is showing the country the way…

Q: Why is this electronic surveillance of Alipore at all necessary?

3.84 sq km. Nearly 70 percent of Alipore has been covered by this footprint.

A: There is a simple answer to this. Following the Q: How many hours does the system work? abduction of a senior business personality and the A: The system works 24x7. There is no downtime pursuit of one of the city’s leading industrialists, a Q: What ‘memory’ does the system possess? certain scare descended on Alipore. Every prominent A: The system retains a week’s recordings on its system; businessman or industrialist living in Alipore began excerpts can be extracted and saved on to feel insecure. The result is that most the hard disk for an interminable period of their homes became fortresses. The These cameras have been thereafter. message became increasingly clear: either placed with the objective that all those who live in Alipore recruited where one camera’s footprint Q: How effective (or powerful) is the dedicated security agencies to guard their system? ends, the other camera’s homes or invested in collective surveillance A: One can answer this from various with minimal security. Either all those who footprint begins. The result perspectives. The system is powerful live in Alipore did so in collective fear or is an extensive coverage of enough to locate residents sitting inside invested in a security provision that made a vehicle, ‘capture’ car numbers, identify Alipore. it possible for them to breathe easier. petty criminals and provide citizens with a recourse that is as close to all-seeing on Q: What is the nature of this the roads as one can find. There is another perspective security provision? as well. Now that the miscreants know that there is A: This security provision comprises 116 electronic surveillance, it acts as deterrence, which is a powerful surveillance cameras in strategic Alipore locations. antidote.

Q: What is the footprint of this surveillance system?

A: The footprint extends from the Police Training School at the start of AJC Bose Road at the Northern end to Majerhat Bridge at the Southern end covering

October 2013 /real-ties/28

Q: A number of residents might consider this to be an intrusion on their privacy?

A: The system does not enter people’s homes, so it does not intrude on their privacy. Whatever images

are ‘captured’ on the streets are retained for a week, the relevant images saved and the rest discarded. The system is not directed to capture images relating to the vehicles or movements of specific individuals.

Q: Can you explain some of the points mentioned above?

of traffic violators and the creation of a vibrant community. It might sound ironical but the upside of impersonal technology will be leveraged to create a personalised community; it might sound amazing but a singular system can potentially achieve wide-ranging benefits.

Q: What is the overall objective of the Alipore Citizens’ Forum?

A: Let us assume that you want to drive through Alipore and are short on time. Today, there is no way of knowing whether the roads will be congested or not.

Q: Are the cameras pilfer-proof?

We expect to create a portal that will make it possible A: They are not. However, the deterrents are that they for people to log in and view which roads would be are placed at a height of 30 feet above street-level and most navigable, making it possible for them to select the would be able to ‘capture’ images of thieves moving right road and save time. Or take another instance; you up the poles by which time the police would be in a need to file an FIR and the usual response would be to position to reach the spot and apprehend them. So go to a police station and file one. What if technology while the system is not entirely pilfer-proof, there are made it possible for you to file it online? So the broad reasonable safeguards in place. aspect is how one can potentially leverage technology Q: What kind of cameras are these? to get the benefit of public services quickly A: The cameras that have been used are of and conveniently. That is the vision with If we can mobilise a mere two kinds - one with a reasonable range of which this technology surveillance has been ` 50 from each – average of vision and one with a 360 degree range of commissioned. vision. These digital French cameras are top` 4 per month per person Q: How will it be possible to pay for of-the-line. The five-year warranty protects – then it would be possible this expensive system? users from operational failures as well as A: Let us consider that Alipore has 80,000 for this subscription-based technology upgrades. residents. If we can mobilise a mere ` 50 system to pay for this. from each – average of ` 4 per month per Q: Is the solution in Alipore only for person – then it would be possible for this security purposes? subscription-based system to pay for this.

A: On the contrary, the technology-led This is a model that can be applied in Alipore and every surveillance will start out with a security orientation but other pin code of Kolkata. Therefore, the responsibility gradually extend to a holistic rejuvenation of Alipore is to ‘market’ the Alipore model, generate a public covering culture, dependable public service delivery, buy-in, draw the broad population into the subscription responsible citizenship, delivery of responsible civic model and treat every resident as a customer. services, identification of water-logging, apprehension

A: To create a ‘Happiness Index’ across transparent parameters that makes it possible for every Kolkata pin code to calculate where they stand and then to establish Alipore consistently at the head of that list.

The OC, New Alipore, Mr. NA Khan in the control room monitoring the CCTV cameras

October 2013 /real-ties/29

October 2013 /real-ties/30

October 2013 /real-ties/31

For long, Tangra served as Calcutta’s Chinatown. Most of the standing structures were built by the industrious Hakka Chinese upon marshy and reclaimed low-lying land. As a result, the area was not on the map of real estate developers.

Until now. Over the last five years, a number of real estate projects have emerged in that pin code making Tangra a compelling residential destination. Raj Pasari, CMD of Rajat Group, answers questions related to Tangra’s potential.

Q

What makes Tangra an attractive residential destination?

A: Let me start with Tangra’s fundamentals:

Tangra is a large 14 sq km pocket of Kolkata Tangra possesses an estimated population of 70,000 people By the virtue of being an old residential-cumindustrial locality, Tangra attracted a number of institutions (corporate and social) that provide a rich cultural depth Tangra is attractively positioned as a median between Park Circus on one side and an emerging Kolkata on its left

Q: How is this legacy pin code expected to transform?

A: The implications of the word ‘transformation’ are exciting. For decades, Tangra was an industrial suburb of Kolkata. Because the tanneries generated chemical effluents, Tangra was generally forgotten on the map of Kolkata’s residential expansion. People saw it as an industrial cluster, period.

However, two dramatic developments have transpired over the last decade. One, the city has grown beyond Tangra (Salt Lake, Rajarhat and EM Bypass) without the development touching Tangra at all, which was still facing a flux in the transition from industrial to non-industrial use. Two, the West Bengal Government directed the tanneries to cease their operations and shift outwards to Bantala, which is really an inflection point in the modern history of Tangra, opening the way to a complete makeover.

Q: What kind of a makeover?

A: When entire pin codes are statutorily required to change their character, as in this case, there are

October 2013 /real-ties/32

“Tangra

is thecusp cuspof ofaa isatthe

dramatic transformation�

October 2013 /real-ties/33

emerging opportunities. Let me put it this way: Tangra evolved into its existing character across more than six decades. Until a decade ago, the ‘Tangra’ brand stood for an industrial cluster and home to a specific ethnic community. When the government stipulated that the existing tanneries would need to relocate, it created the ground for the industrial units to be sold and residential property developers to move in. Interestingly, the transformation did not happen overnight. I would go to the point of saying that its makeover has only just begun and will continue for the next few decades.

Q: What could be the reason for this delayed transformation?

A: There are a number of factors that accounted for the stagger. One, real estate prices did not improve immediately following the government order, as a result of which there was no incentive for the old residents to vacate. Two, the infrastructure required to connect and sustain this transformation was still some years away.

Three, the recession of 2008 staggered the transformation.

Four, infrastructure projects are generally long-term in their gestation and commissioning, so even though some infrastructure projects began to be implemented a few years ago, they are still work-in-progress and the benefits of these are yet to pass through for people to consider moving into Tangra.

Q: What gives you the optimism that the transformation is a reality and presently underway?

Rajat Boulevard (54 units)

even decades), I foresee that the transformation will extend wider and deeper. As real estate prices rise, the weaker holders will be tempted to cash in their holdings and move elsewhere; the When infrastructure is aggregation of properties will result in created, it serves to attract larger and more modern properties to be people, buildings and commissioned and when this happens, the companies. In our experience, transformation of Tangra will accelerate.

A: There are some good reasons to believe so. Over the last three years, some the most powerful driver Q: What is going to be the driver of attractive and defining real estate projects this transformation? of residential growth is have been initiated in and around Tangra. transportation infrastructure. A: In one word: infrastructure. When One is Silver Spring, which was among infrastructure is created, it serves to attract the first residential projects to be offered people, buildings and companies. In our on the EM Bypass around Tangra, setting experience, the most powerful driver of residential the standard for prospective pricing and positioning. growth is transportation infrastructure. In this instance, The other is Atmosphere by Forum Projects, which two of the most attractive infrastructure investments is possibly the most expensively upmarket real estate are coming up within the vicinity: one, the flyover from project attempted in Kolkata, coming up just behind the EM Bypass to the AJC Bose Road flyover through Science City. Then there are a number of other projects the Topsia Road will shrink the distance between the like the 16.38 acre Active Acres (1,000 apartments), the two terminal points from an estimated 20 minutes to 5 acre Ekta Floral (452 apartments) and the upmarket just 5 minutes.

Besides, the metro rail from Garia to the Aqua Beaumont. It is not just that these projects are Kolkata Airport passing through the EM Bypass will bigger and better than the erstwhile standard; it is create the basis for robust growth along the hinterland that these projects have been promoted by various through which the train route will pass. The one area prominent builders, which is a safe index of the fact that that is common to both – flyover and metro rail – is more realtors are buying into the Tangra transformation Tangra. story.

Q: Do you see this transformation continuing?

A: I think we are only at the beginning of the transformation. Until now, the transformation of Tangra has only touched stray pockets where landmark properties have been built. Over the years (and

October 2013 /real-ties/34

Q: Why is there an optimism that this rerating will indeed happen?

A: Simply because these two significant infrastructure investments have already commenced with a growing visibility on when they are likely to be completed.

Take the flyover for instance. The last blocker for this

Rajat Boulevard campus with a play area and gym

foil as it is directly across the wetlands. In our opinion, the wetlands will prove to be a sizable carbon sink.

Besides, the Ramsar convention now protects the resource from commercial exploitation, which means that this ecological balance will be sustained over the decades, benefiting hinterland pockets like Tangra. As a result, Tangra stands to benefit for economic Rajat Boulevard (54 units), and environment reasons over the foreseeable Rajat Group future.

important arterial network was the peaceful removal of squatters from the Park Circus number four bridge, which will accelerate construction to a point where the flyover will be completed in a year and a half.

Besides, the construction of the metro rail has already commenced and there is optimism that this will be completed in the next four years.

Q: Is Tangra alone going to be re-rated?

A: We feel that the entire area starting from Topsia Road on the Southern fringe and the Tangra Road at the Northern fringe will emerge as one of the pockets in Kolkata for some good reasons: JW Marriott is commissioning a hotel project in the area, ITC Sonar Hotel is expanding, The Park is commissioning a hotel, Avani Group is floating an upmarket residential property, Atmosphere is already constructing Kolkata’s most opulent resident property and Ideal Group is commissioning a prominent commercial property. As a result, Rajat Boulevard is being located in a space with one of the most attractive investments that will significantly transform its character over the next couple of years.

Arihant Viento (45 units), Arihant Group Ideal Niketan (133 units), Ideal Group

Q: This brings us to an important concluding point. How attractively priced is Tangra?

A: One needs to compare the prevailing price of residential real estate in Tangra Altius (101 Units), Space Group with the prices prevailing in the adjoining Aqua Beaumont (40 units), vicinity. For instance, the price of residential real estate in Tangra is less than Space Group half that prevailing rate for Silver Spring Luxuria Heights (66 units), and adjoining vicinity. In our opinion, Salarpuria Group this differential is vast. So hypothetically, Ekta Floral (452 units), two things can happen: the rates around Ekta Group Silver Spring can decline or the rates within Tangra could rise. In our opinion, the latter Alcove Regency (76 units), is more likely, given that real estate prices in Alcove Group Kolkata have tended to be cautiously bullish for the last number of years. As a result, it is only a matter of time before prospective buyers find Tangra prices attractively low with a correction Q: There is a fear of congestion following the process being set into action.

sizable investment.

A: This is precisely the point that needs to be made. We feel that the pin code possesses an attractive ecological

October 2013 /real-ties/35

focus on bhubaneswar

Watch out!

Here comes Eastern India’s second largest city

Bhubaneswar is the second largest city in Eastern India. Positioned for allround growth across various indicators - economic, cultural, educational campuses, software exports, real estate valuations and governance.

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here are 33 big cities in India today with each zone having a multiple number of cities - North (Chandigarh, Jaipur, Delhi and Gurgaon), West (Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat and Baroda), South (Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Hyderabad) and Central India (Gwalior, Raipur, and Bhopal). Except for Eastern India where the only really large city is Kolkata.

Until now. Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, has emerged as the second largest city of Eastern India.

Marketing, Space Group.

A recent World Bank survey (‘Doing Business 2013’) underlines this reality. Bhubaneswar was identified as the third most business-friendly location in India out of a list of 17. This survey was conducted across factors as diverse as the ease in starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering the property, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business. What is surprising was that Bhubaneswar performed better than even India’s capital (number six) or India’s financial capital Mumbai (number ten).

There is a specific reason why Bhubaneswar What drives Bhubaneswar is not just growing its recall among planners So what has made Bhubaneswar a muchand developers; Odisha is attracting the Sand art festival in Bhubaneswar considered city when it comes to investments? largest industrial investment in India today The success of the information technology initiative constituting 3.19 percent of the total investment of is definitely high on the list, say a number of ` 219,628 crore translating into a need for corporate observers. For instance, when Infosys commissioned offices in the city and this, in turn, translating into a Eastern India’s first software development centre in higher residential traction. “Today, the simple message Bhubaneswar in 1997, brows arched. Bhubaneswar? passing through developers is that if you want to grow The Company will not be able to attract and retain in Eastern India, then Bhubaneswar is the only option talent, they said. The city will have connectivity issues beyond Kolkata.” says Mayank Singh, Head Sales and

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Bhubaneswer boasts of low population, short commuting time, organised traffic flow and infrastructure development faster than population growth...

with other Infosys centres across the country. The state will not be able to generate an adequate throughput of professionals to sustain Infosys’ interest.

widened, the government would immediately invest towards such projects, expanding roads before any traffic problems actually occurred. Problems related to infrastructure development or electricity connectivity would merely require a call in the morning to have the problem solved by the very same evening. Government sanctions were hassle-free and granted without any unnecessary delays. Bhubaneswar set an example for the rest of the country with proactive government initiatives!”

It is more than a decade and a half since Infosys put down its roots in Odisha’s capital. And the verdict is out: Infosys is so happy with its experience in the state that it has embarked on an expansion in space and seats.

Clearly, Odisha’s largest IT company intends to take its leadership ahead – for the benefit of the company, employees, state and country.

Infosys’ success did something Infosys’ decision to expand its software Infosys’ success did something else for else for Bhubaneswar. It development facility in Bhubaneswar, Bhubaneswar. It created a new economic inspired more engineering according to insiders, is based on some layer – the young engineering graduate who credible nitty-gritty: Low pollution, could afford a car and an apartment. This aspirants, resulting in some short commuting time, organised traffic inspired more engineering aspirants, in turn 40 engineering colleges flow, infrastructure development faster triggering a demand for engineering colleges, being commissioned in than population growth and a positive resulting in some 40 engineering colleges Bhubaneswar in only the governmental stance on industry. Within being commissioned in Bhubaneswar in only a decade, Infosys emerged as the largest the last seven years, more than the number last seven years, more than IT employer in Odisha with a campus created in the preceding 50 years! the number created in the size of 50 acres (50 percent green), the The educational boom preceding 50 years! largest facility in Bhubaneswar. Employee In the last few years, Bhubaneswar has strength grew from a modest 90 in 1997 to emerged as one of India’s fastest growing 700 in 2002. technical education centres, prompting comparisons with Pune, says Jay Panda, Member of Parliament from “Throughout Infosys’ presence in Bhubaneswar, the Kendrapara, Odisha. The education centres are likely to Odisha government supported our company in every enhance value to the local population and additionally possible way,” says Abhijit Sen, who heads the Infosys draw students from other states, many of whom are outfit in the city. “Whenever major roads needed to be

October 2013 /real-ties/38

West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Bihar. People thought it would be wise to make new houses and give it on rent, which led to an increase in real estate demand.”

On the realty map

Bhubaneswar is emerging on the country’s real estate map. In March 2013, Tata Housing Development Company announced the launch of Ariana, the city’s first integrated residential complex at Shankarpur.

“Over the last few years, real estate as an industry has gained momentum across Odisha with improvements in infrastructure like the new international airport here,” said Managing Director and CEO of Tata Housing, Brotin Banerjee. “Given its proximity and connectivity to metro cities such as Kolkata, Bhubaneswar is showcasing a great appetite for high-end living,” says Pawan Agarwal of N K Realtors, Eastern India’s largest realty marketing agency. Ariana, which would be a luxury residential gated community with 12 towers ranging from 14 to 19 stories, is expected to be one of the land mark projects of international standards, Banerjee said.

“Bhubaneswar as a city also offers a much better infrastructure and connectivity,” says Singh.

“Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are the most developing expected to seek employment within and stay back. twin cities.” Covent Garden, an English-themed luxury “Bhubaneswar is on its way to emerge as a villa housing project was launched by knowledge hub,” says Dr. Dhanada Kanta “We launched a residential Space Group, is nearing completion. “We Mishra, Chairman, Human Development launched a residential villa housing project,” villa housing project,” Foundation. “The city is home to several says Mayank Singh. “This luxury project says Mayank Singh. national-level institutions like IIT (Indian was launched three years ago and was sold “This luxury project was Institute of Technology), IIIT (Indian out within two days! Thereafter, supply has Institute of Information Technology), increased and prices have remained sluggish,” launched three years ago NISER (National Institute of Science he indicates. Besides, revenues from mines and was sold out within Education and Research), NIFT (National and allied industries that was being invested two days!”

Institute of Fashion Technology), AIIMS earlier in the real estate sector has declined, (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), staggering the real estate boom.”

XIMB (Xavier Institute of Management – The future Bhubaneswar), KIIT (Kalinga Institute of The future holds promise for Bhubaneswar, Industrial Technology) and Silicon Institute following the implementation of an IIT of Technology and Institute of Physics, KGP plan, whereby the city will assimilate among others.” neighbouring clusters like Khurda, Peepli and The impact on real estate Cuttack, thereby transforming what is referred The trickle-down has been reflected in the to as a Tier-II city into a unique cohesive Covent Garden - a luxury villa project city’s real estate sector’s growth. “There are structure. Meanwhile, the big news is that a number of reasons why the real estate Infosys Bhubaneswar is preparing for the next sector has grown attractively,” says Priya, correspondent, league. Says Sen: “We are looking to expand facility space The Telegraph. “I have been here for eight years. I came in anticipation of growing our manpower from 3,000 here for my studies and did my course in journalism to 4,000.” Sustaining prospects of growth- for Eastern from KIIT (Patia). At that point this city was not India’s fastest growing city. that developed. The university grew and became a successful venture as a result of which many people set up engineering institutes and private universities, which accelerated student migration from Andhra Pradesh,

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Elita Garden Vista

New Town Action Area III

Land area: 25 acres

Number of flats: 1,278

Number of blocks: 15

Unit size: 1,350 sq. ft to 1,956 sq. ft

Number of floors: Tower size ranging from G+ 14; G+ 17; G+ 24; and G+ 29

Open space: 60 percent (approximately)

Completion time: Phase 1 expected

to be completed by 2013 Location: Action Area 3, Rajarhat Developer: Keppel Magus Development Private Limited

Contact: 033 4040 1010/6620 1010 | Email: sales@nkrealtors.com The developer speaks: “The landmark Elita Garden Vista comprises high-end residences, offering an international lifestyle like no other in Rajarhat. With 15 towers (15-30 storeys) and options between 2/3-BHK apartments, Elita Garden Vista is a perfect blend of futuristic design within a luxurious setting. Set in an oasis of foliage and flora replete with water bodies, boulevards, relax zones and a host of amenities located on a one-of-a-kind podium at the first floor level, this development is designed for the elite. The project replicates a modern, functional layout, sleek designs, elegant finishing and space optimisation - hallmarks of any international home interior created by Keppel Land.�

80-year-old turns green and young again!

How the heritage building of CESC House turned the clock back through a landmark green energy initiative.

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t is an irony – a positive one - that a company created to encourage the greater consumption of electricity should actually have embarked on the exercise to reduce it.

And that is one of the most positive corporate electricity consumption stories to be coming out of Kolkata in recent years, especially among heritage buildings, most of which appear to have convinced themselves that there is no way they can rationalise their electricity bill.

So what makes this story different? “We are an 80-year old building,” explains BL Chandak, Executive Director “with brick on the outside and steel on the inside. There are more than 500 heritage buildings in Kolkata, but CESC House (once Victoria House) intends to emerge

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as the first to become a LEED - certified Green Building by 2014.”

Idea whose time has come

Why was the exercise at all necessary? “From a number of perspectives, it is an idea whose time has come,” says Chandak. “One, in a resource-starved nation, CESC stands for the responsible use of resources and there was no better way of showcasing what we believe than through demonstrating this ourselves. As a result, it was not just important to rationalise the use of electricity to save costs for the company; it was also important to prove to every other heritage property in Kolkata that what they invest in energy consumption reduction can be paid back within four years. As a result, at CESC we

are not just interested in reducing our carbon footprint but are interested in inspiring others to reduce their carbon footprint as well - the most effective way for us to make the world a cleaner place.”

And then there was the issue of rising consumption.

The bean counters at CESC discovered that even as their office space was not growing, the flagship building was consuming more electricity every single year. A building that consumed 29 lac kWh in 2006 now consumed 33 lac kWh in 2012. The annual incremental consumption was a visible 2 percent; besides, the increasing cost of electricity resulted in a higher notional electricity cost being incurred by the company.

Objective

That’s when the brains trust at CESC sat down to work the math. If the company could modernise its energy management systems at a cost of ` 1.8 crore, the annual savings would translate into an

measures,” explains Mr Chandak. “We replaced a legacy 357 TR chiller with a modern 340 TR high efficiency chiller, which enhanced chiller efficiency by 50 percent.

This was just one of the improvements, which translated into a saving of ` 25 lac per annum.” (For other initiatives, see box)

In the numbers

Eventually, God lies in the details.

After six years of successive increase in electricity consumption, CESC House had interesting numbers to present for FY13: a decline from 32.46 lac kWh CESC House had in FY12 to 30.16 lac kWh in FY13.

interesting numbers to present for FY13: a decline from 32.46 lac kWh in FY12 to 30.16 lac kWh in FY13

estimated ` 52 lac – a payback of less than four years translating into an IRR of 25 percent.

CESC’s brief to its vendor Johnson Controls (India) could have been just this…achieve a reduction in costs and thank you very much. However it went beyond that: transform CESC House into a ‘Green Building’ with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) under the Green Building rating systems based on the five major categories (sustainable site, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environment quality). And secondly, achieve a concurrent 25-30 percent savings in energy consumption.

This obviously required the heart, lungs and kidneys of the building’s energy operating system to be replaced or retrofitted. “We carried out nine facility improvement

And during the first two months of FY14, energy consumption declined 25 percent over the corresponding period of the previous year as against a projected increase of 2 percent.

“Now that we know what is possible, we are going for the jugular,” says a delighted Chandak.

“I expect CESC House to consume 26 lac kWh in FY14 against what could have been a consumption of 34 lac kWh without the green energy initiatives, taking our energy consumption to levels we had seen in 2005.”

The big surprise

So what’s the big message? “That you don’t need a new building to be green,” says Mr Chandak. “When we embarked on this exercise, there were a number of people who said that nothing perceptible would emerge since the building and its equipment were old. However, what we amply demonstrated that you can rewire a building, however old it may be. The rewiring is not a cost but an investment and that even something as passive as electricity cost can actually be turned into a competitive advantage.”

Touche.

initiatives that made the big difference Replacement of an archaic 357 TR

consuming 51W (including ballast)

chiller with a modern 340 TR high

with 1,200 energy-efficient 28W T-5

efficiency chiller. Installation of an

tube lights consuming 30W (including

energy-efficient 500 TR cooling tower to

ballast). Result: direct energy savings of

replace the existing 300 TR cooling tower.

117,000 kWh and indirect savings in A/C

Result: enhanced efficiency by 50 percent.

load amounting to 21,623 kWh

Replacement of three inefficient

52 occupancy sensors. Result: cabin

pumps with new primary and condenser

lights switched off within 20 minutes of

pumps. Result: increase in pump efficien-

the occupant leaving the cabin.

cy by 40 percent

State-of-the-art building automation

Installation of twelve new variable

system which monitors the operation.

frequency drives. Result: optimised air

Result: 20 kW energy savings potential

handling unit (AHU) fan power

available. With BAS control and monitor-

Replacement of 36W tube lights

ing, 15 kW excess load is reduced.

October 2013 /real-ties/43

“Kolkata was the first great modern city in Asia.”

You have a lovely baari in a quiet neighbourhood and then one day, people start hammering it down to make way for a modern showpiece. Writer Amit Chaudhuri explains why Kolkata could soon become another Pune if we don’t wake up to the fact that we are gradually stripping away our architectural heritage.

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ou seem to be very passionate about the issue of ‘Neighbourhood preservation in Kolkata’. Why so?

regulations could not be destroyed. She also told me how citizen groups and laws were strong enough in Buenos Aires and Montevideo to see to it that distinctive old buildings and neighbourhoods were untouched. There is no inkling of this concern in Calcutta.

The neighbourhoods in Kolkata have architecturally rich buildings in which people are still living and, ironically, without a care about the fact that Why is this conservation now a passion for they are being destroyed. There will come you? a time when this unawareness will lead to Hindustan Park is an The two things that I continue to emphasise a Kolkata bereft of its cultural inheritance. is that not every city is fortunate to possess architecturally rich area but We will progressively destroy what we are, an inheritance as rich as Kolkata; this today at least one out of five as a result of our greed and ignorance and destruction is something that should be then spending our precious fortunes to go houses are being destroyed countered. Interestingly, this distinctive to some of the western cities of the world every month! architectural ethos not only constitutes to gaze in wonder at their architectural colonial Kolkata buildings or the rajbaadis of richness. What an irony!

North Kolkata but also middle-class homes of Thirties, While I was travelling from Dubai to London, an airvintage houses in Bhowanipore and art-deco Hindustan hostess told me she was from Montevideo and how her Park homes of the Forties and Fifties. Hindustan Park mother lived in a 90-year old house which according to is architecturally rich but at least one of five homes are

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being destroyed every month. I must emphasise that I am not interested in these buildings for reasons of ‘heritage’ or ‘nostalgia’, but because they are a part of Calcutta’s lived fabric and memory.

Is this internationally relevant?

Oh, absolutely. During my travels to Asian cities like Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong, I have seen how little has been done to preserve their architectural heritage, a model we are now mindlessly following. These international cities in Asia have completely destroyed their architectural past. Or for that matter look at how one of our most distinctive small towns, Pune (which I used to visit once a year as a child), has completely destroyed its architecture. It is now a Mumbai-style suburb like Versova. So when you hear someone like Dr Manmohan Singh say that ‘We must turn Mumbai into Shanghai’ he probably has no awareness of what the Chinese have done to Shanghai. If we were to do the same to Mumbai it would be a failure of vision on our part.

Coming to a basic question. Why is Kolkata unique?

It was the first great modern city in Asia. What Kolkata was in the 19th century was an extraordinary cosmopolitan centre; there were very few places in the world like it. Kolkata’s amazing history makes it a world centre of modernity and to have no understanding of this fact is a tragedy.

If I were to compare it to other world class cities, I’d say New York used to be a really interesting city when it was performing badly economically in the Seventies.

The Berlin Wall collapsed and America became the sole super power in the world. Rudy Giuliani cleaned it up in the Nineties which led to its reinvention as a global financial centre for the free market. Earlier, it was a city with a shady reputation, but that’s also when its culture was very alive. It made us understand that great cities can also be quite unsavoury on some level. The same is true for Berlin, which had an ambivalent status because after the Second World War it occupied a place between the East and the West. There was no investment in Berlin, and it was for historical reasons a So how are some of the prominent bankrupt city, as it still is. But culturally it In Mumbai they introduced global cities preserving their was the capital of Germany which wouldn’t architectural heritage? a law two years ago which have been possible without its artists and I also began to become aware, as I travelled intellectuals confronting, rather than protects old buildings through Europe, that European cities like denying, Berlin’s neighbourhoods. Kolkata from being destroyed, the London and Paris and American cities is more akin to Berlin as its history is like New York, have laws preventing the powerful real estate property imprinted on its architecture. People are destruction of old buildings. You can sell aware of this legacy and make the most of it lobby notwithstanding. the buildings but you can’t destroy them. over there. My question: do only European Of course new buildings come up in areas cities have the right to address their spatial, which can accommodate them. New architectural, and cultural legacies? What about the buildings came up in Europe in place of old buildings people living here? The only way to re-imagine Kolkata which were destroyed during the Second World War. is not in the way of destroying old buildings and But post the War, laws ensured that the destruction building new shopping malls. That is not the reinvention did not take place and their architectural inheritance we need. was preserved. The older buildings are much coveted Which parts of Kolkata are unique? as properties there; their price is higher than new The tragedy is that Kolkata is still synonymous with properties. The difference is that these properties are the South. With developments proliferating in Rajarhat being bought to live in and not destroy them. and the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, no one is

Are reforms in this area taking place anywhere in India?

In Mumbai, they introduced a law two years ago which protects old buildings from being destroyed, the powerful real estate property lobby notwithstanding.

Then there is this model of Transfer Development Rights (TDR) in, which when a person who owns an old building, can be given a TDR to sell it to a promoter commensurate with the property value of the building.

The result is that the old building finds resources to sustain its growth and doesn’t have to be destroyed. It has been used with some success in Mumbai. This is something we should be trying to easily do in Kolkata as well. It could be a good solution.

concerned about the North Kolkata today. But all of North Kolkata is unique. Some other areas include Khidderpore which is steadily being destroyed, as are Bhowanipore, Paddapukur, Hindustan Park and Bakul Bagan and gradually losing their character. For instance, I am sitting in Sunny Park which is considered to be a ‘privileged area’ but this entire lane has lost most of its distinctive buildings to new developments.

How are you taking this subject ahead?

What I am looking for is a solution where these properties will be recognised as an important part of our cultural inheritance. I am working with the Heritage Commission to gradually bring about a law that will stop the destruction of the buildings that form the visible ethos of Calcutta.

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SOUTH

CITY

M A LL

SUCCESS STORY S outh City Mall’s average monthly footfall of two million is estimated to equal the footfall of the next two malls combined in Kolkata.

Starting from the previous decade, an interesting churn began to transpire in Kolkata: even as an increasing number of the affluent Kolkatans were moving

Southwards, most mall shopping options were still located in Central and Eastern Kolkata.

The promoters of South City Mall perceived an opportunity to not merely plug the gap that existed but also commission a facility that would catalyse the city’s consumption appetite. It is with this perspective that South City Mall was created at 375 Prince

Anwar Shah Road in 2008 - to address new age South Kolkata consumers with rising disposable incomes, modern mindset and aspirational lifestyle. Besides, the mall was built as part of an integrated mixed use development comprising five residential towers (1,675 apartments), an international curriculum school (2,000 children capacity) and a club; hence, some of the consumption

South City Mall was the..

First mall to install CCTV surveillance with around 200 cameras all over the mall in 2008, covering every corner including the car parking area.

First mall in India spread over a million sq. ft.

First mall in India with a scientific zoning system.

First mall in India with a multi-level roof top car park facilities with a capacity of 1,500 car parks and 700 parking space for two-wheelers.

First mall in India with a collection of four anchor stores (largest in their own field) – Shoppers Stop (84,000 sq. ft), Pantaloons (74,000 sq. ft) INOX Cinemas (58,000 sq. ft), Spencer’s (72,000 sq. ft) and 3 mini-anchors – Time Zone (18,000 sq. ft), Starmark (20,000 sq. ft) and Urbano (17,000 sq. ft).

First mall in India (when launched) with six movie screens (INOX Cinemas).

First Mall in India with the largest food court spread over 40,000 sq. ft with a 850-person seating capacity.

October 2013 /real-ties/46

would be driven from within.

benchmark. The result is that all retailers get the same kind of footfalls and South City Mall is possibly the only mall in the country with uniform rentals on all three floors; where our retail stores on the upper floors deliver equal returns as those on the ground floor whereas it is the opposite everywhere else.”

Over the last five years, South City Mall has lived up to its promise. “It is not in the numbers but in the overall impact on Eastern India that South City Mall’s biggest influence lies,” explains Man Mohan Bagree, VP, South City Projects (Kolkata) Limited. “Before South City And then there is attention to detail. Bentel Associates Mall, no large global retailer was interested in coming International of Johannesburg redesigned what the to Eastern India. But our management persuaded promoters had initially designed: the common passage respected global brands like Marks & Spencers, Next, inside the Mall is six metres wide in comparison to Guess, The Body Shop, Lacoste, Lladro, among others the standard practice of three metres, by malls across to enter Eastern India and the trend still followed with the country, the driveway in the parking area gives the Timberland and Forever New opening their earliest customer a seven metres wide passage on a single lane Indian retail outlets - Forever New’s third outlet and as opposed to the usual five metres.

Timberland’s second outlet in India - in South City Mall.

The success that they encountered prompted an array of The results: nearly 98 percent retailers at the time of renowned international brands like FCUK, Jack & Jones, the mall’s launch in 2008 continue to be active tenants; Vero Moda, Nautica, Sisley, Tommy Hilfiger, Chicco, US South City Mall has been rated as the number one in Polo, among others, to take the plunge. The Eastern India and among the top five Best result is that South City Mall has enhanced South City Mall in numbers Performing Malls in the country. South City respect for Eastern India as an important Mall was the sixth largest mall till a year Working staff 3,000 retail destination, benefiting not just itself back. The prosperity is coming down to One million sq. ft area but the entire retail community.” its tenants. In a single day, Pantaloons and So the big question: what is the reason behind the unusual success of South City Mall?

A number of reasons. “Principally, South City Mall is a one-stop shop. You can get everything under one roof - from a needle to an airline ticket, from salon/spa to gym equipment” says Bagree. “Besides, it has something for everyone in the family – while the wife shops, the husband can spend time at the bookstore and the children can spend time at Timezone and after they have finished, they can have a meal followed by a film – without stepping out. South City Mall represents a balance of scale and sophistication...just right.”

Seven specialty fine dining options 40,000 sq. ft. food court 20 escalators and eight elevators

200 closed circuit cameras, 200 security guards and three sniffer dogs Average monthly footfalls: two million-plus

Shoppers Stop reported sales of ` 1crore-plus in its August 2013 end-ofseason sale, setting Indian records for the highest offtake in a single day from a departmental destination inside a shopping mall. Both Pantaloons and Shoppers Stop outlets at South City Mall still figure in their top three outlets all over India. Even six years following launch, South City Mall attracts around two million visitors a month, peaking at a staggering 2,75,000 on Christmas Day 2012.

Mall occupancy: 100 percent

There are a number of other reasons why South City Mall is a destination of first recall. The mall caters to all budgets – from the premium to the aspiring to the affordable across products. Then the zoning which makes access convenient. “We zoned our mall like a departmental store - different zones for different products complemented by proper placement of brands (premium to medium range),” says Bagree.

“For example, when you talk about formal brands, there is Raymonds, Giovani, Louis Phillippe, Zodiac, Blackberry followed by Turtle, Hoffmen, Success, Peter England and Siyarams... from premium to aspiring. All fashion footwear is zoned together. Sports wear on one side, with leather next to it. It was the first mall in the country with 97 percent successful zoning, which set a

The result is that South City Mall has evolved in a sub-economy driver. “We have six anchors and 134 vanilla retailer establishments within, which provide employment to more than 3,000 individuals directly and other thousands indirectly, having an annual business turnover in excess of ` 900 crores with an annual exchequer contribution of a few hundred crores,” says Bagree. “We are not just an economic island; we are contributing to the city, state and country.”

So what of the future? “It has just been five years since South City Mall was commissioned,” says Mr. Jugal Khetawat, Director, “but we are planning to offer a new experience to our patrons - not out of necessity but out of passion - which no mall in the country has attempted, to beat the boredom and sameness yet.

October 2013 /real-ties/47

Goodbye beams, welcome slabs!

For decades, buildings were designed using beams and columns and the result was inevitably pillars in the middle of living apartments or beams jutting out of ceilings. The surprise is that people lived with these additional members of the family without complaint, convinced that there was no alternative.

B

ut now there is an alternative to ugly beams and slabs.

The time has come for this construction system, marked by inefficiency and disproportion, to be replaced. The solution lies in beam-less ‘flat slabs’ where one doesn’t need to worry about ugly beams (12-18 inches thick) protruding from the ceilings and walls (5-10 inches thick).

For long, construction companies inflicted this pain on their customers because customers themselves were tolerant. But over the last decade, some interesting developments have emerged: commercial floor plates have got larger and clearer with no intervening pillars; as an extension, residential spaces have got larger and there has been an increased need for pillar-less halls.

“This futuristic trend is already a reality in our Hiland Sapphire project in Ballygunge Park Road” says Sumit Dabriwala, Director, Riverside Developers Pvt. Ltd. “We’ve used flat slabs and designed the interiors in such a way that one gets a We’ve used flat slabs and sweeping seamless sense of 1,000 or 2,000 designed the interiors in sq. ft space, emerging as the first in Kolkata’s such a way that one gets a residential segment to use this cutting-edge sweeping seamless sense of technology in line with the global practice where conventional beam column frames 1,000 or 2,000 sq. ft space. have become obsolete.”

- Sumit Dabriwala

Since necessity is the mother of invention, the result is a modern construction development that does away with both. In this technique, flat slabs and shear walls eliminate the need for ungainly columns and profiles.

The benefit is more than aesthetic; this improves the construction quality and makes the structural design

Readers speak

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simpler. Besides, in a three-year construction cycle, one can potentially save up to nine months through this cutting-edge construction development, which is often a huge difference in the economic viability of the proposed development.

Dabriwala feels this an idea ready to be embraced. “I have absolutely no doubt that one will find such a difference striking when one enters such a place; there is an even bigger conviction that this construction practice has huge positive implications for the psychological well-being of those who live within.”

A small difference but it goes a long way…

he ‘freewheeling’ on house thefts in the last issue struck a chord deep inside. This is what I have to say: we are responsible for our actions. We are anarchic, provide luxuries to our children, show our wealth off and ignore those who do not have enough. My prescriptions: keep our valuables in a safe place, refrain from showbaazi, care for the ‘extended family’, value everyone’s work and remunerate appropriately. Only then can we expect to be paid back in kind.

Rajesh Kumar Bagri

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he write-up on domestic theft in the last issue was like someone had articulated what I have always felt. The best way forward is to be as practical as possible. Our interaction with the domestic helps should be open; we need to address their grievances to the maximum extent. This man-management issue needs to be tackled with vigilance and humanity.

Praveen Baid

October 2013 /real-ties/48

Su Casa Twins Charaktala, Dakshin Jagatdal, Rajpur

Land area: 55 cottahs (Approximately) Number of blocks: 2 Number of floors: G+4, Proposed G+5 Number of flats: 110 (Approximately)

Unit size: 2 BHK (791-1,039 sq. ft); 3 BHK (945-1,188 sq. ft)

Location: Charaktala, Dakshin Jagatdal, Rajpur

Open space: 54 percent (Approximately)

Developer: Rupayan Construction Pvt. Ltd.

Completion time: March 2016

Contact: 033 4040 1010/6620 1010 | Email: sales@nkrealtors.com The developer speaks: “Su Casa Twins is located at Dakshin Jagaddal, Rajpur, Kolkata. The project is barely a minute away from the upcoming E.M. Bypass Extension and 10 minutes from Garia Metro, thus one can reach any part of the city in a convenient manner. ‘The most affordable’ project offers a nice and cozy feel at home, in a community of well-designed 110 flats. It also offers modern amenities like AC multi-gym, swimming pool, AC community hall, indoor games amongst others. Welcome to Su Casa Twins and experience a life of convenience and comfort!”

Gossipwallah O for a butterfly!

Are butterflies disappearing from our lives? Looks like. Findings from the Environmental Survey 2013

by The Energy and Resources Institute indicates that around 55 percent of interviewees in its survey felt that they now encountered fewer sparrows and butterflies. Some 37 percent felt that water in lakes and ponds has deteriorated, affecting biodiversity. So my question is: it is easy to crib, but how many will venture to fund an NGO (Nature Mates, for instance) that is actually seeding butterfly habitats across the city? Eco Space did. The

result: the Rajarhat location has begun to attract butterflies from within kms. Or for that matter even Raichak, which has seen an increase in butterflies ‘by thousands’. So while it is easy to crib that the world is going from bad to worse, is anyone willing to spend some simple money in greening neighbourhoods?

Finally!

When it rains, it pours.

Slowdown or not, Kolkata has got two new malls in the space of four months. Lake Mall on Rashbehari Avenue. When launched in 2004, Lake Mall was positioned as a test case of how one can modernise a

traditional market without affecting the interests of its tenants. Some said that the old tenants would be affected.

Others said that one needed to do things to take the legacy into the modern. This is the result: a number of old tenants rehabilitated into the new property, six storeys, 100 retail spaces, four-screen multiplex and a 40,000 sq.ft. Big Bazaar hyper market. You may be haggling on the side of the street shopping for groceries while avoiding a speeding car and all the related sights and smells in the name of nostalgia, but there is always an excuse to move on…

Red floors

Why doesn’t someone talk about the lost art of making lovely polished red mosaic, so typical of Calcutta? Where have the artisans gone? Why have we given up our heritage for modern glitzy tiles? And often monotonously inelegant marble or mosaic? Can someone write in to this magazine on how we can bring this art back into circulation? Can someone write in on which homes of the city still have lovely polished red floors so that we may take pictures before these buildings are torn down to make way for some glass-cum-stainless steel high-rises?

What the media reported Delhi leads world in real estate price rise!

202 storeys in four months!

“India has witnessed the sharpest appreciation in real estate prices in the last couple of years, according to data from the Global Property Guide, an organisation which collates real estate data from across the world. Property prices in Delhi witnessed the steepest appreciation of roughly 60 percent, when compared to cities from 43 other countries. Delhi’s 60 percent rise in property prices over the past two years is nearly 20 percentage points higher than Brazil’s Sao Paulo, which is the second fastest rising international property market.”

“China is home to 60 of the world’s 100 tallest buildings now under construction!

Broad Group, a manufacturer based here in Changsha, has been planning to erect the world’s tallest building (202 storeys) in winter 2013 - in only four months using factory-built modules of steel and concrete.”

(Source: The Times of India, 05.08.2013)

October 2013 /real-ties/50

(Source: The Economic Times, 29.08.2013)

Buying homes in US “Indian buyers accounted for nearly $3.5 billion of the $68.5 billion that foreigners spent on purchasing homes

in the United States during the 12 months ending March 31, 2013. The Chinese accounted for 18 percent of all realty sold to foreigners in 2012-13. At a median price of $425,000, the Chinese also bought more expensive homes than other foreign buyers, who spent a median of nearly $276,000 on US homes.”

(Source: Times of India, 09.07.2013)

Digitisation, finally “A big chunk of the stress associated with buying a piece of property could be eliminated if a government proposal to amend the registration Act goes through.

Under the amendments proposed by the rural development ministry and due to be taken up by the cabinet soon, all records of future property transactions will be digitised and made easily available for any potential buyer to access. This means that ownership would be clearly established, as also prices at which the property changed hands, making it easier to value in years to come. The changes, which could be the most significant in the 105-year history of the Act, will benefit buyers in both rural and urban areas.”

(Source: The Hindustan Times, 16.05.2013)

Unitised Substation Pow erf ul. C ompact. Value -for-money.

RTS Power Corporation Ltd has been the flagship company of the Bhutoria Group, providing power conversion and power quality solutions for 38 years.

The Company is one of the leading manufacturers of power, distribution, extra high voltage and dry type transformers.

RTS has always believed in optimising its product portfolio with the evolving user demands. In a bid to cater to the burgeoning real estate residents in and around the city, RTS has come up with a state-of-theart Unitised Substation (USS)/Compact Substation.

Unitised Substation or Compact Substation is a transformer with all substation switchgear components attached in a single modular structure. Its outward appearance is similar to a silent generator; it is easy to install, saves time and is portable.

At this juncture, a few pertinent questions pop into one’s mind, namely the ‘where’, ‘what’ and ‘why’ of it all:

Where can this product be used?

The product finds multiple applications in oil and gas installations worldwide as well as factories, airports, railways and metro stations. All this vindicates the

The product comprises of three compartmentsHT side panel, LT side panel and transformer.

HT side protection comprises a RMU, with SF6 VCB which makes the sub station compact.

Transformer can both be oil-cooled as well as dry type.

LT panel comprises all LT side protection equipment including MCCB, the same can be customised as per requirement.

safety proposition that the product brings to the table.

It suits the residential set up because of its adaptability, which ensures that it can be installed outdoors, indoors, on rooftops as well as in basements.

What are the USPs of this product?

What this product brings to the fore is superior power generation capabilities and it does that by occupying a fraction of the space that the other run-of-the-mill transformers do. This unique offering from the RTS pipeline utilises state-of-the-art equipment with SF6 gas technology and is a testament of the cutting-edge R&D capabilities at our disposal. And RTS is the onestop-shop for any access or maintenance-related issues.

Why choose this product above others?

The Unitised Substation combines the transformer with a control panel and that too at an affordable price compared to the products of its kind manufactured by multinational conglomerates like Schneider Electric.

The Unitised Substation is thus all set to turn the power distribution and transmission landscape on its head from the perspective of the booming real estate scene in the city.

Mudar Patherya

One coat of paint...

Finally a puja where the aesthetics extended from the pandal to the community. The Badamtala Ashar Sangha puja organisers painted neighbourhood doors and windows so that they gelled with the pandal aesthetics. So long after the pandal has been dismantled, the fragrance of this puja will linger – and enrich the neighbourhood.

One coat of paint made architectural features come alive. If only all pujas had a similar element of sustainable improvement…

October 2013 /real-ties/51

FUN ZONE Places and monuments of India Find places and monuments of India hidden in this grid (Horizontal, vertical, downward and reverse) A D C

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1. Erstwhile state that currently forms the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

2. State that joined the Indian Union in 1975.

3. Judiciary capital of Kerala.

4. Darga of the Sufi Saint Khwaja Moin-Ud-Din Chisti 5. Prayag of ancient times.

6. Town in Gujarat associated with milk production.

7. Aurangzeb’s tribute to his wife Begum Rabia Durani.

8. The ‘City of Dawn’ designed by French architect Roger Arger.

9. Site of the famous Gol Gumbaz, the second largest dome in the world.

10. Siddhartha Gautama became ‘The Buddha’ here.

October 2013 /real-ties/52

Q M N P

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11. City founded by Job Charnock in 1690.

12. Vasco-Da-Gama landed near this city in 1498.

13. Busy market in old Delhi built

by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan’s daughter Jahan Ara. 14. ‘Manchester of South India.’

15. Place in New Delhi that was renamed as Rajiv Chowk in 1995.

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capital.

21. Winter capital of Maharashtra.

22. Ancient name of Odisha.

23. National Park in Assam famous for the great one-horned rhinoceros.

24. Small town in Bihar known for its famous folk paintings.

25. The ‘City of Joy’ associated with Rani Roopmati.

16. Important tea growing region of South India.

17. City where the Falaknuma Palace is located.

18. Place in Assam considered sacred

by Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists.

Send in your answer at biplab@nkrealtors.com

19. Humayun’s tomb built by Bega Begum in 1565 A.D. served as a model for this later day monument.

Please keep sending your answers and we might just feature you in the next Real-Ties.

20. Famous war memorial of India’s

Numbers

C K Prahalad

700

Million sq. ft, the inventory of unsold housing stock in the major cities (Source: Mint, August).

40

Escalation in urban Indian land costs prices in the last two years (Source: 10 August 2013).

20

Decline (in percentage terms) in commercial/residential property demand in the last two years (Source: 10 August 2013).

570

Number of operational malls in India (as of May 2013) with a total area of 180 million sq. ft compared to just 225 malls five years ago (Source: TOI, August).

10,500

The annual apartment demand (in terms of units) in Kolkata

1,000 Total area (acres) developed for residential purposes on either side of Kona Expressway and National Highways 6 and 3.

3.5

$bn worth realty bought by Indians in US in 2012-13 (Source:

Times of India, 9 July 2013).

83

Number of units launched in the mid-end segment in 2012 priced between Rs 36 lac and Rs 60 lac.

92

Percentage decline in the supply of luxury homes in 2012 - from 280 (2011) to just 23 in 2012 (Source: HBL, January 2013).

60

what they said...

Management guru “Every minute during the next 20 years, 30 Indians will leave rural India for settling in urban areas. There is an imperative need for India to create 500 new cities to accommodate and provide a better quality life to its migrating people. Otherwise every existing city will become a slum when India becomes 75 in 2022.”

Donald Trump Real estate tycoon “The growing demand for luxury products in India is a well-known fact and India has always been an important growth market for Trump. We believe that India holds great potential on many levels and are excited about the many opportunities here. We have set the standard and will continue to exceed expectations with all of our developments, including Trump Towers Pune.”

Sabyasachi Mukherjee Fashion designer “Professionally, Kolkata has helped balance my ambitions; it keeps me culturally inclined and slows me down so I do not burn out. If you lose your way in the city and ask somebody for directions, he or she will drop you all the way to your place. In return, the person will make sure you don’t leave his or her home without a cup of tea. That’s how warm people in Kolkata are.”

Lal Thanhawla

Mizoram Chief Minister “Out of 221,077 households, 65.8 percent live in their own houses and 31.8 percent have rented accommodation, while the rest live in staff quarters, which makes Mizoram a state with virtually no homeless people.”

Winston Churchill Former Late Prime Minister, UK “Land monopoly is not only monopoly, but it is by far the greatest of monopolies; it is a perpetual monopoly, and it is the mother of all other forms of monopoly.”

Robert Kiyosaki Number of malls that opened in India in the last year (Source: TOI, August 2013).

Businessman, author and financial commentator “If you do not like real estate, all you have to do is make hamburgers, build a business around that hamburger, and franchise it.”

October 2013 /real-ties/53

Mudar Patherya, mudar@trisyscom.com

freewheeling Want some excitement in life?

Become the secretary of the residents’ committee of your building.

My wife did.

She became the secretary in a challenging year. The building repairs and repainting were warranted after eight years.

In most high-rise buildings, this would have been simple.

Convene a meeting. Share costs.

Propose a vote of thanks. Go home.

Not so in ours. Even though we are a high-rise building with a Rabindra Sarobar frontage, we have a fairly middle-class residents’ profile (blessing).The challenge: try marketing a

` 25,000 per apartment renovation outlay to a diverse, multi-ethnic, multi-age and multi-income neighbour profile without smelling salts.

Point: “We don’t need repairs or repainting.”

Counter-point: “But if some block falls and someone is seriously injured, there could be a police complaint and each of us would be held responsible.”

Point: “I don’t want any labourers to walk through my room. What if one of them comes back to murder me a few months later?”

Counter-point: “We have

October 2013 /real-ties/54

reinforced security so this would be pretty impossible.”

to crack the subject. Here is the ‘manual’ she dictated to me:

money for three to six months after the work has ended.”

Point: “I refuse to pay until the ceiling leakage problem is first addressed.”

“Write that no building repairs can ever be effectively concluded without a three-way agreement between the paints company, the contractor and the building committee. If the contractor plays hookey, complain to the paints company and he could be delisted.”

“Write that the building must photograph each labourer; if any labourer is changed, the contractor must inform the manager immediately.”

Counter-point: “We must get her neighbour to sweet-talk her to relent.”

Point: “I want to pay across 24 months at the rate of ` 1,000 per month.”

Counter-point: “We will introduce you to a bank to finance you with a loan.”

Point: “We will be away in America. We don’t want anyone to be working near our verandah while we are away for three months.”

Counter-point: “We will skip your part of the verandah which can get painted at your expense when you return.”

The upshot is that my wife spent precious hours convening meetings, screening contractors, chasing paint companies, maatha-maaroing with the building’s manager and intellectually seducing each resident before the collective verdict could be a ‘yes’.

The wife now carries herself with an authoritative air on how

“Write that people must speak to the other buildings for which the contractor has earlier worked.”

“Write that they must negotiate paint costs directly with the Asian Paints or the Bergers of the world – for genuine material without the contractor’s markup.”

“Write that the contractor must provide a weekly scheduling of what he will achieve. Then share this with the building residents.”

“Write that if they can cross-check the workflow with someone who understands construction. The moment you have a counter-opinion, the contractor will know that you cannot be fooled.”

“Write that it is imperative to keep about 10 percent of the contractor’s payment as retention

“Let the repairs cure for 15 days before the paint can finally be applied. Don’t rush this.”

“Communicate, communicate and communicate with the residents. Otherwise, the building’s secretary will be treated as a vendor with residents trooping in with various private demands (‘Khetey-khetey rojgaar korechi. Jaana uchit na?’).

The latest is that work has commenced. The money is trickling in. Some residents have extended bridge loans. Life goes on.

PS. The wife wants to convince residents to start a computer training programme for the underprivileged in the manager’s ground floor room in the evening (after he has left). There she goes to speak to ‘seduce’ residents once again…

(You are most welcome to dissent... send mail!)

Sai Plaza A. J. C. Bose Road

Land area: 12 cottahs

Unit size: 888 sq. ft onwards

Number of floors: B+G+ 7

Floor size: 4,433 sq. ft

Number of offices: 28

Completion time: February 2014

Location: 89, A. J. C. Bose Road

opposite Entally Market Developer: Sri Sai Group

Contact: 033 4040 1010/6620 1010 | Email: sales@nkrealtors.com The developer speaks: “Shree Sai Plaza is an inspiring workplace in the heart of Kolkata. It is situated at a glorious location on the AJC Bose road providing an extraordinary location advantage!�

UNITISED SUBSTATION.

l Ideal transformer for modern industrial, commercial and residential buildings l RTS Power Corporation Ltd. (flagship of the Bhutoria Group) has been providing power conversion and power quality solutions for 42 years l The Company is one of the leading Indian manufacturers of power, distribution, extra high voltage and dry type transformers, cables and conductors l RTS’s latest product is a state-of-the-art Unitised Substation (Compact Substation) l This transformer has all substation switchgear components within a single modular structure with outward appearance similar to a silent generator.

WHERE THE UNITISED SUBSTATION CAN BE USED l Enjoys applications in oil and gas installations as well as factories, airports, railways and metro stations l Recommended for residential applications (outdoors, indoors, rooftops and basements)

USPs l Compactness l State-of-the-art with latest SF6 gas technology l Quick and easy to install l Plug and Play Device l Space efficient l Portable l Easy-tomaintain l Safe and secure

Tranformers l Conductors l Cables l Unitised Substations Website: www.rtspower.com, Email: kolkata@rtspower.com, Phone: 9836005444/ 033-22426025/ 22426054 Address: Bhutoria house, 56 N.S. Road, 2nd floor, Kolkata - 700001

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Kolkata’s only real estate magazine I Vol 9 I Issue 3 I October 2013

Interview with Harsh Patodia on inclusive growth in the real estate sector

“Kolkata was the first great modern city in Asia” Amit Chaudhuri

Success Story: South City Mall

MK Jalan on how Alipore IS becOMING Kolkata’s safest pin code!

T h e g r e at p ot e n t i a l o f

Sector V