Migrants build city homes

BHUBANESWAR: People from neighbouring states dominate city realty market's workforce even as workers from Odisha continue to migrate to outside the state in search of work.

While masons from Jharkhand and Bihar rule the state capital's construction works, carpenters are mainly from West Bengal. Those from Andhra Pradesh have a substantial presence in all categories while plumbing work is the forte of local people.

C S Sharma, a labour contractor from Jharkhand who operates from the city, said construction workers from outside Odisha outnumber the locals in Bhubaneswar. "Outside state workers tend to work continuously for months without taking breaks while local people take too many leaves. That is why it is easier to meet deadline with outsiders," said Sharma who currently has around 500 workers under him here, mostly from Jharkhand. Similarly, when Odia workers go for work outside Odisha they work without leave for long, he added.

The industry knows who is good at what. In various components of the semi-skilled works, people from different areas have expertise. "Masons from Bihar and Jharkhand are good at finishing work while there is no match to local plumbers, mainly from Kendrapada and Jajpur districts. Workers from Bengal are good in painting work and carpentry," said Manoj Chandrabanshi, another labour contractor.

Real estate developers said big projects prefer mix of workers. "If one employs workers say only from Odisha, none will be left to work during a festival like Raja. Similarly, those from West Bengal prefer to go home during Durga puja. If the workforce is mixed, work will not suffer," said D S Tripathy, state president of confederation of real estate developers of India (Credai).

Besides hundreds of housing projects by private builders, big-ticket government projects such as All India Institute of Medical Sciences, National Institute of Science Education and Research, Indian Institute of Technology are under construction in city these days. Besides, work for around dozen flyovers and expansion of National Highways are under way here employing a huge workforce.

According to 2001 Census, 16 lakh Odia were listed as seasonal migrants to other states. The cities attracting maximum migration from the state included Kolkata, Surat, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Raipur, Coimbatore, Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore. While thousands of people from Odisha migrate to Nalgonda, Guntur and Vizag, among other areas of Andhra Pradesh to work in brick kilns and as farm labourers, migration from Andhra is also substantial. The 2011 census report on migration is still awaited.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Migrants-build-city-homes/articleshow/15111095.cms

Price edge drives realty boom on Vizag outskirts

VISAKHAPATNAM: Real estate prices have gone through the roof in the 'city of destiny' and city dwellers are now scouting for open spaces on the outskirts of the city where rates are still affordable. While the real estate market is picking up after a threeyear slump, the boom on the outskirts of the city has gladdened the hearts of realtors and property developers.

"Yes, the real estate business is on the upswing and we are expecting things to get even better in the coming months," realtor G Rama Jogi told TOI. He said that skyrocketing property rates in the city was forcing the business and middle classes to look for options on the outskirts.

There is a huge demand for land now in Sabbavaram, Nakkapalli, Chodavaram and Anakapalli mandals, on Vizag's periphery. A cursory glance at land rates in Vizag is enough to illustrate the change the real estate business has witnessed in the last five years. Square feet rates in posh areas like MVP Colony, Lawson's Bay Colony, Kirlampudi Layout, Seetammadhara, Beach Road, Dasapalla Layout, Asilmetta and Dwaraka Nagar used to be Rs 2,200 five years ago. Now, the prices have shot up to Rs 3,800-4,500 a square feet.

In middle-class localities like Madhavadhara, Murali Nagar and Akkayyapalem, the rate is Rs 3,000/sq.ft. Even in areas like Madhurawada, Kommadi, PM Palem, Gajuwaka, Kurmannapalem, Sheela Nagar, Duvvada and Sagar Nagar square feet prices have gone from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000-2,500.

Realtors say that, in the city, a two-bedroom apartment measuring 1,000 sq.ft. would not come for anything less than Rs 30 lakh. On the outskirts, the same apartment can be had for Rs 20 lakh. With the suburban property market thus becoming hot, there has been a two to three-fold increase in registrations in Sabbavaram, Narsipatnam, Nakkapalli, Chodavaram and Anandapuram mandals.

However, despite skyrocketing prices, a member of the real estate developers' organisation said that they were selling 5,000 to 10,000 flats in the city.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Price-edge-drives-realty-boom-on-Vizag-outskirts/articleshow/11692688.cms