Home buyers prefer areas that have multiple-level connectivity and social amenities within close reach

Infrastructure sets foundation for realty growth

Home buyers prefer areas that have multiple-level connectivity and social amenities within close reach

When the Mumbai monsoon threw local train services out of gear and torrential rains led to flooded roads in certain areas earlier this week, a substantial number of commuters managing the crisis faced fewer problems as compared to similar situations during previous years. This change did not occur to most of them until they reached home and began to analyse the various factors contributing to the reduced aggravation. Double impact There were two main reasons for this. First of all, with secondary business districts coming up in different areas including Bandra-Kurla, Kalina, Andheri-Kurla, Goregaon, Kandivali, Thane, etc, returning home from work entailed covering a shorter distance as compared to a journey from the central business districts at Fort or Nariman Point. Also, while the infrastructure that has come up so far may have gone largely unnoticed during regular days, it made life visibly easier. New projects Among these ‘new releases’ was the LBS flyover, which begins at CST Road and concludes at Kurla Depot Chowk. The 565-meter long and 17-meter wide LBS Marg flyover provides two lanes each for up and down traffic. The flyover was conceptualised to help more than 50 thousand commuters avoid the time consuming LBS junction and reach Kurla Station saving invaluable time and fuel daily. During the inauguration, Prithviraj Chavan, Chief Minister, Maharashtra, said, “The city of Mumbai will witness an infrastructure revolution if people decide to cooperate and support the efforts on the part of the state government and MMRDA.” “The project is a part of the very crucial Santacruz-Chembur Link Road and we have succeeded in completing the flyover as the local residents decided to support us. The city is bursting, progressing and is being attended to by infrastructure projects. Wholehearted support from Mumbaikars will pave way to speedy change over. It has been our policy to resettle the project affected before endeavouring development,” the CM had pointed out. Similarly, light was recently seen at the end of India’s first urban tunnel. The left hand side tunnel on the Anik-Panjarpol Link Road is now looking at January 2013 completion. “The Eastern Freeway is one of the more significant projects which is divided in three parts - the corridor from the Orange Gate to the beginning of Anik-Panjarpol Link Road; the corridor from Anik to the beginning of Panjarpol-Ghatkopar Link Road and Panjarpol to Ghatkopar. The twin tunnels are the highlight of this project and will help ease vehicular movement towards Navi Mumbai, Pune, Thane and Nasik”, Dilip Kawathkar, joint project director (PR), MMRDA, had emphasised. Great expectations While the Bandra Worli Sea Link - the first step in the Western Freeway Sea Project - has been greatly appreciated, commuters are eagerly awaiting action on the larger proposal to upgrade the road transportation network of Greater Mumbai. Bandra Worli Sea Link provided an ideal alternative to the Mahim Causeway route that was previously the only connection between the south Mumbai and the western and central suburbs. When the Causeway was flooded due to heavy rains, it was the Sea Link that provided a practical alternative. Looking forward Now, commuter expectations are set on completion of the Metro Rail criss-crossing the city and Mono Rail taking passengers to the suburban train station, translating into a much more comfortable and speedy travel to office and back home. The Metro Rail network of 150 kilometres with three corridors being constructed; Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar, Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd and Colaba-Bandra would greatly reduce hardship for people returning home during a deluge. The mono rail, which will act as a feeder to high capacity Mass Rapid Transit Systems like suburban and metro services will run from Chembur to Wadala and from Wadala to Jacob Circle. It takes around one hour for a commuter to travel from Chembur to Wadala through any mode of transport at present,. Just think how much quicker the journey could be once this project is opened to the public. Decision drivers Over the past seven years, ever since the 26/7 floods in 2005, home buyers have been preferring areas that have multiple-level connectivity and social amenities within close reach. These are two of their primary parameters while conducting a home search and tend to influence their decisions considerably. The fact that there is a school nearby so children can get home safely, proximity to shopping outlets so that provisions can be accessed without travelling a long distance, fitness facilities within reach so that one can work out even if roads are flooded, all combine to make home purchase decisions much more holistic and helpful during emergency scenarios. Alternate plans Earlier this week when train services could not be relied upon, many people residing in the peripheral areas commuted part of the journey home by road with colleagues residing nearby and then switched over to the local train for the remaining part. What facilitated the process to a greater extent was the fact that backup routes had been worked out well in advance. For instance, Dombivli residents who were offered a ride by their colleagues residing at Thane, had a much faster road trip due to the flyovers that have come up. However, they opted to get off at Mulund as the station is closer and easier to access as compared to the distance to the station from a township on the outskirts of Thane. So infrastructure augmentation has become a key decision driver for Mumbaikars and also serves as a crisis management tool during emergency situations. The only wish being expressed is that the process of developing these projects moves as fast as the rising waters during Mumbai monsoons!