Elections remain a low key affair in Chandigarh: Windy Kumar of the Con Party Likely to Scrape Through


The Great Indian Election juggernaut rolled through the city on Wednesday. And we must thank heavens, specially the city god (we have so many of them, I am sure a city god too exists) that the marauders spared the city from turmoil, a worst kind situation, which generally comes with Elections. In fact, electioneering in the run up to the voting day has been a low key affair this year. Though party flags, flyers, buntings and other promotional stuff had been put up on the rooftops, the mad imagery of posters was missing.
I actually have a serious issue with Banta Singh's poster overlapping that of Santa Singh and Ghatiya Chand trying to sneak in between the two, as if the positioning of the posters were to decide the elections. In the past, as we got closer to the voting day the posters displayed at all prominent places, including Conveniences and zoos presented a grotesque collage of images, with Santa's moochh covering half of Banta's face and Banta's long nose jutting into the 'Vote For'slogan of another small timer. However, I attribute my dislike to the disdain shown by my three year old kid. This kind of imagery literally popping out from every nook and corner of in the city leaves the little fellow bewildered and is enough to give him creeps of the worst kind.
The polling day being a holiday, I dusted my old faithful, a Yamaha 350 cc, and set out for a small spin (or geri as it is known in colloquial) around the city - just to capture the general mood. The city was unusually quite for an election day with paid party workers being the only ones trying to attract attention. However, I soon found that it was not only me, but almost every other guy who was on a spin. The spin in their case, though, was of a different kind, what with steel glasses filled with liquor to the brim doing quick rounds at most of the places. I noticed disapproval and a look of disgust on a few faces,  and I wondered whats could be wrong with people having liquor? After all, looking at the dismal outcome of the last few Parliamentary elections, these no longer command the kind of respect, which is the hallmark of a great democratic tradition . At that moment it occured to me that the guys had every right to take a swig or two or even polish off full bottles. Afterall, isn't the The Great Indian Election the baap of all tamashas?
As for the candidates, once again it is a straight contestt between Jhootha Mal Shastri of the Bhago Jaldi Party (BJP) and Windly (Pun)sell from the Con Party. Of course, the Quixotic Sharamheen Dhawan too is contesting:  as usual from a new party.
I stopped for a smoke near one of the polling stations, thought I could caught the buzz. I overheard and too a disinterested part in a few conversations and I sensed that Windy may just about scrape through, with the slightest of margins, to have another five-year go at the free government accommodation, govrnment sedans powered by my hard earned money, and various other privileges.
Windy had his aides campaigning hard for him. It didn't come as a surprise at all, when I learnt that one of the youth leaders was in the news just an year back, after his wife was caught red-handed stealing dresses from an upmarket boutique in sector 8. The lady was pretty enterprising, and had lured one of the showroom staff to hand over the loot when the showroom remained shut on holidays.

Cut to the present. Amidst the general confusion, I watched the guy in question. He had an impressive demeanor, appearing as if an incarnate of truth itself had landed in our midst. The guy had his best smile on (despite the crooked tooth, which was acting as the only spoiler to the otherwise pleasing stretch), stood with hands permanently folded, back slightly bent, and showed off an ultra fast mouth trap that yapped away incessantly, uttering niceties to all and sundry; as if he was meeting relatives back from dead. And why shouldn't he? For he knows his time will come, and if he plays his cards right, he could be the leader supreme of City Beautiful.

The day that happens,we will adjust,'coz thats the Indian way of life. But I am sure Le Corbusier for one would be doing some furious turning in his grave. Looking at the way things are deteriorating in the city, I won't be surprised if he springs out from his grave and have a nice go at the public servants or netas, whose only agenda has been to serve themselves...and leave the city to deteriorate at its own pace! 

Chandigarh: Then & Now III

ChandigarhPost delves into the past to find out issues that made news.
Juxtapose these unsolved matters to the present and you can see how much the city has changed or remained the same.

This report appeared on November 5, 2001 in The Times of India. Now we know for sure, but at that time a five-star hotel in the city seemed more like a dream. Interesting read.

THEN (November 5, 2001)

Is the city ready for a five star property? While this question still remains to be answered, the India Tourism Development Corporation’s (ITDC) decision to pull out of the half done five-star project has seriously dented the administration plans of having such a property. Are there enough takers for the services offered by a five-star hotel? What are the impediments? For one, pricing of land. “Land prices have been jacked up artificially by the administration and that leads to the project becoming commercially unviable,” said a businessman who had bid for the five-star plot auctioned by the government in sector 34 in the recent past.

Ponty Chadha, based in Delhi, was ready to pay a whopping Rs 36 crore for the property, but after depositing Rs 9.42 crore as guarantee money he decided to pull out of the project. Reason? He was allegedly not allowed to construct the facade of the building as per his design and permission was not granted for the sixth floor. “Chandigarh is not an investor-friendly city for property developers. The administration just wants to stick to the concrete monstrosities of Le corbusier,” said a bureaucrat on conditions of anonymity. “A building constructed with an investment of Rs 80 crore to Rs 100 crore ought to have its own character. a five-star cannot be made to look like the Markfed building,” he said.

Chandigarh is the centre of three governments and has a high per capita income of Rs 29,661 with a growth rate of 7.02 per cent. But does it merit a five-star hotel? “the city is mainly a transit point, it has not been marketed well and is not a tourist attraction,” says Beant singh, resident director, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Statistics bear this out. A CITCO report put the city’s share of foreign tourist arrivals still stuck in the thousands range. The average duration of stay per visitor is 1.6 days. “The city ought to have its USP. It can become a major convention centre for exhibitions and trade shows if promoted well. we feel that a five-star is very much viable as the city picks up on the corporate front,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, regional director, Confederation of Indian Industry.

Anshuman Magazine, Managing Director, cb richard ellis, a global consultancy major, joins issues with Banerjee. “The project will be viable in the long run and has to be conceived with a longer duration in mind. The demand at present is not high, but with the economy picking up and industries coming to Mohali and Chandigarh, it will be viable,” he said.

A top executive of a prominent organization suggested an alternative: “A five-star hotel can only be viable if relaxations are made. there is no point in creating excess capacities. the local administration should instead work on existing properties and privatise hotel Mountview which can be upgraded to a five star.” as of now, Chandigarh is not likely to have a five-star on its skyline, but with business growing and a right sense prevailing in the administration, the landmark may become a reality in the coming years.

NOW (November 5, 2007)

The Taj Chandigarh was launched in February, 2005 and has been a runaway success from day one. The Punjabi zest for good living has kept the cash counters ringing. Plus, the spurt in economic activity has lead to tremendous increase in business visits. Whereas, earlier a company executive would prefer to return to New Delhi by the evening Shatabdi, now the majority of them would rather enjoy the opulence of The Taj (that is if their company considers them worthy of five-star treatment). The Taj Chandigarh is now one of the most profitable hotels in the region. The hotel has been designed by Singapore architect, Tom Catelo.