Five years ago, it would have taken courage in a realtor to launch a scheme in or around Makarba area in western Ahmedabad, as few people were willing to buy property in the locality. But today Makarba presents a very different picture. Several residential schemes have come up in the area and properties there are selling like hot cakes.
Makarba, along with certain parts of Vejalpur, has long been a ‘border area’ for Amdavadis because of its proximity to Juhapura, Asia’s largest Muslim ghetto with a minority population of over five lakh.
Today, however, thanks to the growth of infrastructure in areas in its vicinity, more and more people are willing to buy property in Makarba. The development of neighbouring Prahladnagar as a posh residential and commercial zone has also benefited the neglected area. In the last one year or so, nearly a dozen residential schemes have been launched on the Vejalpur-Makarba road.
Director of Bakeri group, Pavan Bakeri, said that they had launched several schemes in the area in the past. “The main reason why realtors are coming up with schemes in Makarba is its proximity to the city,” he said. “If buyers can get homes at affordable rates within the city area, why would they want to go any farther?”
Makarba falling in an R-1 zone has also helped it attract builders. “Prahladnagar and Makarba fall under residential zone-I and are also close to the city,” said Pramod Poddar, chairman, Poddar Developers. “Besides, the area has good connectivity and infrastructural facilities.”
Poddar said they had purchased land in the area around four years back as they could see that Makarba had good potential for development. The group has since launched four residential schemes with 2 and 3-BHK accommodation in the area.
Developers are of the opinion that the state’s economic progress is responsible for the change in people’s mindset. “People of both communities want peace, and barring stray incidents, Ahmedabad has by and large been peaceful,” said Bakeri. “This has instilled a sense of security in ordinary people.” Poddar holds similar views on the new status of Makarba.
“The absence of communal strife in the last eight years or so has definitely helped make this area desirable to buyers.”The developers have been marketing properties in Makarba and other Vejalpur areas close to Juhapura, as an extension of Prahladnagar. In fact, many developers have shown the railway tracks from Gandhigram to Sarkhej as the proposed metro train project.
Hitesh Shetal, a resident of Vejalpur, said that he had zeroed in on Makarba as flats were available in the area within his budget. “Moreover, I liked the location because of the greenery here,” he said. “As for its being in the neighbourhood of an area dominated by the minority community, I am not worried. I expect communal harmony to prevail in the city ultimately.”
Source: DnaIndia
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