HOW THE GOVERNMENT HAS TRANSFORMED RABINDRA SAROBAR! 26 10 18 42 CHARLES ONLINE! CLEANING CORREA An increasing UP KOLKATA real- (1930-2015) number of KMC’s waste real- The man who buyers are compactor designed the clicking their machines. And Kolkata iconic City way to home how they are Centre in Salt ownership. transforming Lake is no Kolkata. more. tiesKolkata’s only dedicated real estate magazine I Vol 11 I Issue 2 I July-September 2015 THE EMERGING SEISMIC TALLEST HIGH RISE IN KOLKATA THREAT – THE 42! IS MY BUILDING GOING TO 32 BE SAFE FROM THE NEXT EARTHQUAKE? Land area: 10 acres Number of blocks: 29 MAJHERGAON Number of floors: G+5 Badu Road, Madhyamgram Number of apartments: 730 Completion: 2018 Location: Badu Road, Madhyamgram THE DEVELOPER SPEAKS: Unit sizes: 2-BHK ( 851-870 square feet)/ Finally an opprtunity for vibrant urban living amidst the 3-BHK (1,061-1,354 square feet) serenity of nature. Open space: 57.59% Opposite the NSG hub on Badu Road near Madhyamgram Choumatha, Majhergaon will be ensconced by 10 acres of greenery. Home to native birds, regional trees and a large Developer: Srijan, NPR Developers and natural water body, Majhergaon offers 2-BHK and 3-BHK apartments with all modern PS Group amenities. The perfect balance of peace and convenience that you have always desired. Contact: 033 4040 1010/6620 1010 Email: [email protected] COVER STORY INSIDE N. K. Realtors (P) Ltd. 18 9, Elgin Road (4th Floor), ONLINE! Kolkata 700020, India An increasing number of buyers Tel: 033 6638 1030 are clicking their way to home Web: www.nkrealtors.com ownership. Poushali Biswas For feedback, write to us at explores why. [email protected] Network Partner of 34 BARRACKPORE-BARASAT Home Loan Partner HAS GOT AN EXCITING FUTURE AHEAD Buyers are now seeking new-age homes in existing 4 neighbourhoods, representing the best of both worlds – the SEISMIC THREAT Editor: Biplab Kumar modern coupled with the familiar. The big question that every apartment buyer is now asking: Is my building A feature increasingly becoming Coordinator: Sanjay Adhikary going to be safe from the next earthquake? According to Pradip Sureka, MD, visible in the Barrackpore-Barasat Proof reader: Sandip Das Sureka Group, high-rises are safer than standalone bungalows when it comes to pocket of Kolkata. and Somyasree Ghosh earthquake resistance. Poushali Biswas reports. Distribution: Abhijit Kar and Bandhu Sundar Ghosh Database management: 38 Sonti Nag DO YOU KNOW THE REAL DR. R. S BHARTIA? Advertising: Anuraj Dhar (+91 9674107979) Meet the promoter behind Fortune City, Fortune Township and the Editorial support and design: newly launched Fortune Heights. Photographer: Roman Chakravorty DISCLAIMER 42 The publisher, contributors and editor are not responsible in any way CLEANING UP KOLKATA for the actions or results taken by KMC’s waste compactor machines. any person or organisation on the And how they are transforming basis of reading information, stories or contributions in this publication. Kolkata for the better and cleaner. 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 44 a.m. to 10 p.m. (IST), 7 days a week. 12 16 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Content published in real-ties is an KOLKATA GIVES IS PAINT KILLING YOU? MOVING BACK IN TIME exclusive intellectual property of the A unique movement focused on Department of Public Relations and Paint your walls. Inhale fumes. Kolkatans should get ready for a heady bringing donors and NGOs under Corporate Communications – Endanger your health. Newly-found dose of nostalgia as a number of real N. K. Realtors Pvt. Ltd. one roof. evidence suggests new (and alarming) estate projects are mushrooming N.B. For private circulation only, not writing on the wall. We explore the across the city mirroring the grandiose for sale. potential hazards and what you can do architecture of the past. to make your home safer. July-September 2015 /real-ties Kolkata /2 EDITORIAL Finally a cover story to shake you up! out toxic vapours which can aggravate asthma and cause a number of health When you buy into a new home, you problems. probably ask about ‘loading’, price, location, and instalments. Do you bother to ask about And then we come to one of the most the kind of earthquake proofing the building interesting developments in Kolkata’s has? After the April tremors in Kolkata, an real estate space – a 60-floor high-rise on increasing number of buyers are asking Chowringee – the tallest in the city and one this precise question, especially when of the tallest in the country. The project, selecting to buy into residential high-rises. overlooking the maidan, will not just provide This issue of real-ties explores the subject one of the best views of the city – the rolling while speaking with architects and realty greens, the river and the skyline – but promoters. also be one of the city’s most plush and exclusive. The issue also takes the subject of safety ahead through a discussion of the potential There is also an insightful story on how an hazards of wet paint on painters and increasing number of people are buying residents. We have always been used to the apartments online! initial unusual smell of paint, associating Enjoy! it with freshness. What modern research indicates is alarming; this wet paint sends TEAM NK CHARLES CORREA (1930-2015) WHEN DID THE GARIA- HOME OF THE FUTURE RABINDRA SAROBAR TOLLYGUNGE STRETCH WAKE UP? TRANSFORMED! The man who designed the iconic City Rishi Jain, Executive Director, Jain One of the most pleasing developments Centre in Salt Lake is no more. ........ 10 The 7.8-kilometre-long Garia- Group, speaks about Kolkata’s ‘smart in Kolkata over the last year has been Tollygunge stretch has emerged as one home’ coming up at New Town, the transformation of this 192-acre of the busiest retail destinations of Rajarhat. ..............................................24 Kolkata ................................................20 national park ......................................26 TALLEST HIGH-RISE IN KOLKATA PHOTO ESSAY WHAT MAKES LAKE DISTRICT FREEWHEELING – THE 42 ONE OF KOLKATA’S BEST Suvomoy Mitra reveals what MAINTAINED PROPERTIES? Mudar Patherya explains how the A conversation with Sudarshana remains quintessentially French in manner in which we use a shared Gangulee, Head of Marketing, Mani The property is respected not only Chandannagar....................................46 resource in our residential building for the view but also its impeccable Group about the building that is about to tells us actually who we are. .............56 transform the Kolkata skyline ................32 maintenance standards ......................52 July-September 2015 /real-ties Kolkata /3 COVER STORY Seismic threat Uniworld City, New Town Rajarhat THE BIG QUESTION THAT EVERY APARTMENT BUYER IS NOW ASKING: IS MY BUILDING GOING TO BE SAFE FROM THE NEXT EARTHQUAKE? ACCORDING TO PRADIP SUREKA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SUREKA GROUP, HIGH-RISES ARE SAFER THAN STANDALONE BUNGALOWS WHEN IT COMES TO EARTHQUAKE RESISTANCE. POUSHALI BISWAS REPORTS T There used to be a time when most buyers would ask real estate promoters ‘Would you provide a club with the apartment?’ In the last few months, the question that most buyers are asking first is, ‘Is the building earthquake-proof?’ This question is relevant for more reasons than just the recent earthquake in Nepal and tremors in Kolkata. Taller buildings are being built in Kolkata than ever before, raising fears that perhaps an earthquake could cause serious issues. Buildings are getting in- creasingly expensive, compelling buyers to ask whether the higher outlays are justified on the grounds of enhanced safety. Buildings are being designed around heavier loads; a recent landmark con- struction in Kolkata provided for a 500 feet-tall structure sitting on the terrace of two adjacent high-rises. There is a growing fear that Kolkata’s high water table is not conducive to high-rises, endanger- ing their safety during an earthquake. Urbana, Anandapur “There are big questions be- structures resist external to 1,200 milimetres) can come the bolted or welded con- ing raised by prospective forces (loads) and out from the foundation base nections should resist more buyers on whether their protect their safety? and is attached to the ground tension than the ultimate buildings would be equipped floor slab to form a network tension value of the brace (or The question of structural to withstand a lateral move- of concrete embedded around more than the design load) safety begins from the kind ment during an earthquake,” the building space. and should not buckle with of foundation, which is, in says Sujit Kumar Paul, Proj- loads well above the design turn, influenced by building Pile foundation – Offers the ect Manager of Modello Ven- load. Finally, there is a need type, soil and environmental strongest foundation; re- tures LLP. quires specialised engineer- for the load to go down to the conditions. The foundations ing with soil bored deep into ground in a seamless manner. “All buildings are construct- generally used in Kolkata ed to carry their own weight; the earth and filled with con- comprise the following: they are all equipped to do so crete to support a multi-sto- Compliance vertically but not necessarily Pocket or strip foundation rey building. commitment – One of the commonest side-to-side, a crucial factor Besides, a resistance to sway At the heart of the structural foundations built on a strong in case of an earthquake. So loading through robust walls safety of Kolkata’s buildings soil base in non-waterlogged when an earthquake strikes, and partitions helps enhance lies a robust compliance to areas, generally for low-rise the side-to-side movement resistance to earthquakes. The a number of stringent codes buildings (only first floor) creates a tuning fork-like result is that engineers design that enhance structural safety.