10 things Wrong with Wakad today

July 14, 2009 · Filed under Analysis · Tagged

Associated with every growing town or city are certain factors which hold back its growth or are simply an eyesore. Here are are my top 10 reasons which hold back this place from becoming a truly liveable global village.

  1. Lack of good public transport: From Gurgaon to Wakad, this is the single most problem faced by any growing city. We neither have a Bus system, nor  auto rickshaws or even cycle rickshaws in sufficient numbers to connect the most important parts of the village. Just for going 3-4 km one has to cough out Rs 50 or use one’s own vehicle. This is not good for environment and growth of town.
  2. Gardens,Public parks are non existent: There are only two public parks( It appears in this entire village) One at Dange Chowk and another Mhatoba park on banks of River Mula behind Rohan Tarang(Near Wakad Fly over) . The entrance to Shivaji Park  is not inviting in presence of numerous hawkers who infest the entry gates like ugly bees. The Mhatoba park though being developed as a tourist center is behind schedule by an year.Its spacious, green and there are plans of  developing boating facilities here.There doesnt appear to be any other place of public utility in what is being sold as the best inhabiting option for IT professionals working in Hinjwadi.
  3. Proper naming of roads and localities  : The road names are non descripts. What we only have is the format ” Source -Destination Link road “  like Wakad- Dange Chowk link road or Hinjevadi Aundh road etc . There are so many heores of soils and forgotten messiahs waiting to be immortalised. Lets give them their dues.  There is this place with so many towers coming up but the name will be Kaspate   Wasti  giving an impression that all denizens are living in a slum house.  Similarly ,there are Kalate Wasti  and other Bhangi padas as ear sores. This hardly gives it the individuality of a well thought town.
  4. Absence of sectors and planing there of : The village is fast attaining the the sobriquet of ‘ Chance erected -chance directed township with little vision on dividing it in proper sectors and earmarking roads between them.
  5. Lack of town planing and architecture: Though PCMC ( Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal corporation ) claims to develop it as the best township in India, the commisissioners and townplanners seem to be living in fool’s paradise. There exists little or no architectural coherence in the buildings planned and erected in this townships. The abundance in revenue from property registration and transfers is filling the coffers but there seems little that the administration is doing to make it have a unique look of a modern township.  
  6. Lack of aforestation : There seems little if at all any attempt to plant greens along the roads . Besides the farms and some trees planted by the builders there is nothing which the administration does in making this belt green.
  7. A non vigilant PCMC: The builders do a lot of deviation from the approaved plan for the buildings but there seems to be nothing done to demolish the illegal structures done. All’s not well with the builders as a commmunity who are universally known to build and sell more than authorised limits to mint huge money. Goes an adage – ” If there are no prosecutions under a given law ; the law already has lost its teeth “ In construction terms , if there are no deomlitions ,then the regulating authority is either sleeping, is bribed or is not vigilant enough.
  8. Lack of amusement facilities currently: Other than Cushman and Wakefield multiplex which is planned near Chinchwad there is not a single cinema theater in this area. There is another multiplex whose first floor slab has been completed. This one is near Hinjawadi chowk. This is grossly defficient considering a large population is going to inhabit this.
  9. Absence of traffic lights:  A large no .of vehicles are already traversing this village ,yet we find no traffic light except one at Kalevadi crossing .This leads to chaotic traffic . Hinjevidi flyover and Dange Chowk are specatcles of total traffic disorder during peak times.
  10. Lack of Quality Departmental stores: There is one India Bulls mart in Chinchwad and there is ‘More’ slightly away from it. Reliance fresh is yet to pen. Wakad , per se doesnt have any reputed store worth its name. This calls for immediate attention of town planners . They must acquire suitable land for this and auction it for these essential amenities. Omega paradise is planning to come up with a 4 storey mall on Wakad Thergaon Road. This however , because of recession will probably take 3 yrs to be functional.

In conclusion to above,  I can safely say that PCMC needs to do a lot more to this town than just collect lakhs of Rupees per dwelling unit registration and sit on it.  It needs to involve reputed professional town planners , get a plan developed and publish it on its web site for its denizens to know. In absence of this we have another urban disaster waiting to happen. The culprits again will be the Politicians and Babus who didnt do their job well

Leave a comment »

5 Best Eating options near Wakad

May 6, 2009 · Filed under Food

Having moved over from Delhi, the initial reponse to food on offer at Wakad and adjoining areas is – YUCK. Then you start discovering the good places and your eating prefernces come to harmony in this suburb . Here is my personal listing of fave restaurants and eating joints with Pros and cons .

 

5.Khyber : If you are moving from Wakad towards Aundh you can see this eatery on the left after reaching  Jagtap dairy. This is a pure vegetarian restaurant and part of a chain of restaurants in Pune

USP : The food is descent. The reclinable shades give you a sense of openness . There are some plants dotting the walk in. The restaurant appears well lit.

Downside : The furniture sucks and makes you feel claustrophobic. The decor and interiors are too gaudy and belie good taste. There appears a common gravy for all vegetables and they dont taste different.

Cost :The meal for 2 costs Rs 200- 250  

4 Lemon Tree : Located near Infosys circle in Phase 1 ,the dining hall of this hotel serves food for resident guests and outsiders. The food is in a typical 5 star set up.

USP : The hall has some really funny qotes on table ware and the paintings on wall are creative and hep. The over all ambience is good but sapce seems a little crowded in afternoons. The salads are good and so is the main fare and desserts. The air conditioning is good and staff pretty well dressed.

Downside : The fare doesnt differentiate itself.

Cost : A meal leaves you feeling heavy and purse lighter by Rs 850 if you visit with your partner 

3. Mezzanine  : Conveniently located on the main road leading to Phase II opposite KPIT Cummins building. The eat out has some really cool propositions :

USP : The open huts( Canopies and no walls) really givers the gathering of 8 to 10 people the privacy and togetherness. The food quality is good . There is a small disc which can be used as a dance floor for a group of 15 -20 people. The decor for indoor hall is made of bamboos, fire bricks and white stones. This gives it a classy feel. The air conditioning is good  and cleanliness of a good order. Good play area for children

Downside : The oil content in dishes is always on the higher side. A meal here makes you feel heavy later. The serving size is small/inadequate for most of the dishes.

Cost  :The prices are on the upper end .  A dinner for two costs 600 to 750. 

 
2.Saundarya Garden : The place can be easily noticed by the large array of cars which line up on Friday nights at this place. Situated between Hinjevadi Chowk and Wakad flyover, the restaurant serves amazing Chinese dishes .

USP :THe snacks are nearly perfect for most of the times. Gobhi Manchurian or Veg platter Chinese never disappoint.  They serve good liquor and those relishing Non Veg swear by its taste. A must try dish here is Baby corn tikka. It gives you good smoked aroma and distinct flavor

Downside : The flip side is not so good hygiene. The table cloth are dull, seldom clean . The garden lawn invites a lot of mosquitoes.The staff provides mosquito coils on request. The welcome bridge near entrance has some of the most repulsive fishes floating around. Inspite of this, it beckons you to Manchow soup , beer and some really good Punjabi dishes. Distance 2k m

Cost : A dinner for two can cost Rs 300 to 350

1 Portico : A restuarant on the ground floor of Sayaji Hotel located on Mumbai Bangalore Highway between Wakad Bridge and Wakad police station. This is a delight to be at

USP : The only restuarant in Pune which brings you the real authentic taste of North India. The chaats and Gol gappe are truly  mouthwatering . Typical of Indore, the spices and blending is flawless. The decor retains the loosely concentric theme on beaten sheet metal. They play really cool instrumental music and the high roof ensures that aroma of food is suitably dissipated. The chefs are all behind the Buffet counter and can customize each and every dish to your liking. You can ask for more/less/no onion, less oil or more spicy and every thing is cooked just in front of you. 

Downside : Nothing apparently.

Cost :  A bill of Rs850/= for meal of two is well deserved and not a bolt from blue.

Comments (2) »

Things todo near Wakad : Trekking Mhalunge Peak

March 25, 2009 · Filed under Trekking · Tagged , ,

Last Sunday at 0615 hours, we started for climbing the second highest peak in Hinjevadi. This hill is behind Cognizant and the drive to its base is awesome.. The road ends after you go around Blue ridge.. There after, you drive on beaten tracks in fileds for 20 minutes to reach a small bridge.. With little efforts one can get the bike on it. Taking the bike off it is slightly difficult.. ( Chances of falling in the river) The hill for the first half is very easy to climb.. The last 50m are a little scary. A little bit of guts and courage can take you to the peak and the view from top takes the breath away.. The view is much much better than Hinjevadi hill and difficulty level is lesser .. The country side is beautiful .. Mutha looks pretty near the bridge. If you are good at swimming , it might tempt you for a plunge. The pictures are here http://picasaweb.google.co.in/arunpurose/MhalungeHillTrek#

Explore the wild on this side of Pune. You may find this as the best 3 hrs spent on a Sunday Morning. The next trek : The hill higher to this one and further south of it J Everybody is invited

Leave a comment »

Petrol/Diesel Robbers- Watch out for attendants on petrol pumps

September 7, 2008 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , ,

Recently , I received a mail from one of my friends forewarning me not to go for refuelling in a particular petrol pump in Hinjewadi belonging to a famous PSU. He told me that his brand new i10 developed engine problem and when he took it to a service station he was told that the reason was poor quality petrol adulterated with water.

A cartoon from cartoonstock.com  explains the situation

                My wife had sometime back narrated me an incident when she had gone for refuelling in the same petrol pump and the attendant started filling her scooter from reading 2.5l.. She argued why zero was not done.. he said it was zero..After a lot of argument he offered to forego Rs 50.

3 days back , my bike was on reserve and  I went to the same petrol pump and asked him to give me full tank on my Yamaha.  The other guy standing close to him asked me some question and I truned to answer him .. This was all the moment , the other guy wanted to start.. My wife screamed ..why did you not reset the counter to zero before filling . He said when we put the filling gun on cradle , it automatically sets to zero. This was not true.. I had seen the counter to 2.5 l in a second.  The guy was a chor (Thief).. on say a 10 occasions if he is able to start filling with start at 2l in a day, he is able to give 20 litres less ..  I think he submits cash equivalent to meter reading of the pump  owner and walks away with spare cash.

We need to be aware of this and focus on seeing zero before filling .

Also ask them to allow us to do quality check of petrol using the apparatus provided on all pumps for the purpose once in while. 

Some time back , there was a news of cancellation of Petrol pump license of an army widow. She after getting petrol pump allottment had sublet it to a third person in return of Rs20,000 per month. When the third person started doing these ,malpractices and complaints started pouring in, Petroleum ministry cancelled her allottment . The widow then tried self immolation during one of the minister’s meeting.

Some months back, one of my team members who belonged to erstwhile Royal family acquired a petrol pump. I asked him if he was making a lot of money. He said he was not even close to break even because of deep rooted family culture and principles they were neither able to adulterate nor able to cheat by giving less fuel. The business, he said was not honestly viable.

The other day , my neighbour who owns a huge SUV Tata Safari came to me loaded with frustration. He said he had to stand 1.5 hrs on a refuelling station to get his car refuelled with diesel. He had been avoiding standing in long queues but on this day there was not enough fuel to move even 100m beyond the filling station. I tried to analyze this. With large amount of power cuts, many offices, malls, societies,factories are running on generators. This has caused a huge spurt in demand of diesel. The scenes of  a truck tempo having 20- 30 drums loaded on it coming for diesel refuelling is becoming commonplace with the boards ‘ Diesel Samplay Aahe( Diesel stocks are over) on all refuelling. May be pump owners are getting a premium by selling them to Commercial enterprises.

What brings to our notice then is the fact that petrol pumps are under a squeeze because of international events and not so principled owners are resorting to adulteration, improper dispending techniques..

I wish some readers can share how we can be more vigilant in ensuring the quantity and quality of fuel.

Comments (2) »

Hinjewadi Choking- 7 thoughts to keep the IT village from dying

September 1, 2008 · Filed under Traffic Woes · Tagged , , , , , ,

The IT sub urb of Pune is now getting strangulated because of the lack of foresight on part of Pune’s town planners( If at all they exist). In the last few months the traffic sitaution has gone from bad to worse. The hours 0815-1130 and 1730-2030 are  like nightmare on road. The cars wriggle @  < 10km/hr and there seems little done by administration to improve things. They have only added more copson this route and they have little capacity to match the growing vehicular beelines on this route.

 

 It takes more than 35 minutes to cover the 3 km stretch from Wakad flyover to IT park and frustrates the hell out of people working in this Area . There  are some steps which can be done immediately to imrove the situation. These steps if not effected immediately will lead to disastrous traffic snarls when about a lakh or more professionals( TCS- 30,000Developers, Tech Mahindra 20,000, IBM around 10,000, Infy 30,000more, 10,000 Siemens, Wipro and some biotech companies) join offices in this IT park in an year or Nano hits the road . The time to act is NOW.

  1. Commercial Fuel filling at HP terminal. Stop it : The HP terminal has 10 or 15 buses lined up for filling diesel . Also there are trucks with cannisters for filling diesel( Probably for malls, commercial establishments). This leads to 5-7 LCVs waiting on road to refuel. This creates a bottle neck and throttles the traffic. Refuelling of commercial vehicles on this pump during peak hours need to be stopped immediately .
  2. Making the area near KPIT a no parking/hawking zone : Currently the 7 seater autos line up in front of KPIT and ply from there to phase III. Their parking needs to be moved to some sub lane close to  Mezzanine or by creating a sub lane at the start of Wakad flyover . This would entail more driving space to passenger vehicles. Also the hawkers selling fish/ vegetables occupy half the road thereby causing a vehicular bottleneck.
  3. Creating a Auto / Bus route between Wakad flyover to All phases : This will ensure that people have steady public transport from bridge to all important phases of Hinjewadi. This will ease off no. of  personal vehicles in to the IT park.
  4. Creating a parking space close to Wakad flyover  : People should be able to park their private vehicles for a fee and take public transport from there to the office. This will encourage people to use public transport and save fuel
  5. Demolish Illegal construction on road side : There are a lot of illegal commercial ventures started on both sides of the road. They need to be demolished to widen the road . This is needed to be done right now. Else the park will not be able to meet the demands of expanding industry.
  6. Open 2 more exit routes from Hinjewadi : One exit route to open near Balewadi sports complex ( To cater for people commuting from Kothrud, Bavdhan, Pashan etc to Hinjewadi. The second route opening near  Wakad Police station to cater for people coming from Pimple Saudagar, Pimpri, Chinchwad etc.  Currently there is only one entry/exit route . This is grossly inadequate for more than 2 lakh vehicles which ferry in this IT hub.  
  7. Develop good cycling tracks to office : A large population of IT professionals  working  in Hinjevadi live in adjoining areas ( <10km from Office). A large majority of them are turning obese because od the nature of their work ( Desk work for the whole day ). Currently , the roads are not safe for cyclists and thus they have to drive their fuel guzzling cars. This is bad for economy and also for environment and personal health. 

Comments (6) »

Chinchwad Ad lab Mall

May 26, 2008 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged

After 8 months of stay @ Wakad , I discoverd Adlabs Mall. This place you can reach by turning left from Chapekar Chowk and driving approx 3km towards Old Mumbai Pune Highway. After reaching the highway one has to drrive half a km and then take a U turn to comeback.

The Mall is worth the drive of approx 6km from Dange Chowk. Reaching here the following things catch your attention :

  1. MacDonalds : The crowd all around this joint immediately puts you at ease. You say, THank God its here and I am not at some god forsaken small town. You dont miss having relocated from Delhi or Noida
  2. The Levi’s store : This is adequately stored and staffed has good mannequins You can shope for your Jean and Tees. A good store over all
  3. The Big Bajaar : The mother of all stores is avaialble here in probably one of its biggest avatars . A cool place to shop for monthly groceries and  household items. It also has a good variety of fast food stalls at its exit doors for Pani puri, Chaat, Corn etc
  4. The Cross words : A wide spacious Cross word can take care of almost almost all books of non academic interests.
  5. Yo China : THis is for all the people with craving for azino moto. This serves dimsums for Rs 55 a plate. This is disappointing considering that in Delih Momos are avaialble for Rs 10 -20 /plate.
  6. Parking : It has hude covered underground parking and the best part is : its FREE till date.
  7. Loot mart : THis is a cool casuals shope where you get stufff at good bargain.
  8. Electronics : ho,e appliances are galore @ Krome and Dass. THey give good bargains on durables.
  9. South Indian : Authentic chain ” Sankalp ” has a shop here. THey are Guiness holders for biggest dosa ever.    
  10. Adlabs Multiplex : Last but not the least This has probably 5 screens and hosts latest Bolly/Holly wood pot boilers along with the current Marathi hotties.

This discovery has added a lot of Zing to life in Wakad,  No more do I have to run to Aundh for Shopping needs. This is a cool hangout and can be made hotter by  :

  • Putting some really hot street food.
  • Some street shops selling good casual clothes.
  • Some street side magazine shops.
  • Some handicraft selling vendors.
  • A performing LIVE  band

 

Comments (2) »

Wakad, 10 reasons Why the Village is set for high growth …

May 9, 2008 · Filed under Residentail areas in Pune · Tagged , , , ,

The Location  : Located on the North west of Pune, Maharashtra ,India this was a small village few year ago. It is sorrounded on West by Hinjewadi the Biggest IT hub of Western India North by the twin industrial towns of Chinchwad and Pimpri and on the Southern side by Baner.

The Buzz : Wakad is a hot destination for Real estate developers and resettlers in Pune primarily because of the following reasons :

  1. Proximity to Hinjewadi : The IT park of Hinjwadi hosts the Whos Who of Indian if not the Global IT Industry.  Infy, TCS, Wipro are either already operating or are set to have their largest development center here. Siemens, Tech Mahindra, Tata Technologies, Cognizant, Zensar are laready operating in this IT park. With a work force exceeding more than 200,000 this probably is set to give Banagalore IT parks a run for their money in terms of software and Biotech parks. Wakad adjoins this huge IT and biotech park and is hardly 2 km from it. With lot of migratory IT professionals coming , this currently is the nearest residential village which can cater to their housing needs. 
  2. Small farm lands  : Most part of Wakad village was farm land owned by small to medium farmers. They did not part with their land in one go. Thus the  Realty developers have acquired small pieces of land here and there and come up with medium to good residential societies. The investments of real estate players have paid off as the rate of housing in per sq feet in Rupee terms has almost trebled up in this area in last 3 years ( From 800-1200 in 2005 to 2400 to 3800 as on 09May 2008)  . Rapid booking of new dwellings coupled with plans of IT companies’ plan to increase capacity is attractive realty developers in hordes to this locality. There are high rises and bungalows erupting on any pice of land which can be acquired by developers. This seems like another miniature Gurgaon in making for all its farmers.
  3. Proximity to Mumbai- Pune -Bangalore High/Express ways  : The villages is bound on its west by Mumbai -Bangalore Highway. A 10 minutes drive puts you on the Mumbai Pune express way and this gives the unique advantage to this locality. As in Delhi , the inhabitation has grown all along  NH8, huge malls, societies, multiplexes have on the highway, this also seems to be going that way. With good eating joints, petrol pumps, Schools, Hospitals coming on Highway it has very fast access to these sought after facilities.
  4. World class Hospital  : Aditya Birla hospital has  really great world class doctors. I have visited this place twice. Once for my 3 yr daughter who was very professionally attended by Dr Nisha Deshpande , MD. The second time was for a skin ailment I ‘ve had for almost 6 yrs. The doctors in Army and Max New york said they could do nothing about large dark patches which were spreading on my leg. Here Dr Pradyumna was able to quickly able to diagnose it without biopsy . His treatment for 15 days has improved the ailment by atleast 45-50 %  
  5. International Sports Complex at Balewadi  : Common wealth Youth games are to be held @ Balewadi sports complex which is hardly 2.5 km from Wakad. This will open up huge world class sports facilities nearby.
  6. Multiplexes and Shopping malls : There are 3 major townships coming in Hinjewadi which are The Blue Ridge by Paranjpes, The Megapolis by Kumar Builders and one by Goel Ganga group. These will be replete with multiplexes, shopping malls and Schools. Cushman and wakelfield’s a multiplex @ Chinchwad ,near Chapekar Chowk  is already under progress.
  7. Schools  : Mercedez Benz international school is in Hinjewadi with bus coming to Wakad .Indira groups school is just on the highway , Orchid of Baner is almost 5 km from this place.
  8. Reasonable pricing : Where as established reseidential localities near to IT parks have a price of Rs 4000/ to 6500/= psf in Pune this place still has reasonable valuations which are half as compared to Aundh or Baner.  The buildings in Aundh are architectural nightmares with just towers having parking places in stilt. Amenitites are a concept unheard in Aundh. A reasonable market and proximity to Hinjwadi propelled its prices and there are few good show rooms and eating joints. The restaurants coming near Wakad are of much better design and themes. Check Mezzanine, Lemon Tree , Tamanna and Saundarya. The restaurant in Aundh , Baner are like poor cousins to these joints. 
  9. The Pimpri market : The house hold items at near by Pimpri are almost 30 -40 % cheaper than Aundh / Baner market. I had found that Plywood, Fevicol, hardware items sell @ a huge discounts in Wholesale shops in Pimpri.
  10. Traffic avoidance : Being just 3 kms from Hinjevadi, its not more than 10 minutes drive from work place. Considering that on peak times the pune traffic wriggles @ most 8kmph , any tenement taken 10- 15 km away will take you atleast 1-2 hrs. If time saved is money earned then this village makes a lot of sense for those working in Hinjewadi.

Comments (1) »