Realty boom on factory lands the poll issue on both sides of Hooghly

KOLKATA: With closed factories on either side of the Hooghly paving way to large-scale real estate projects in both Serampore and Barrackpore constituencies, ruling party leaders stake claim to the urbanisation, asserting that major infrastructure development in both the areas have resulted in the change.
Several developers — national and local — have taken over large chunks of land released, building stand-alone towers and self-sufficient townships at affordable costs on either side of the river, lining GT Road and BT Road, in the last two years.
Shriram City, a real estate giant from south India, is building a satellite township on 300 acres that once belonged to Hindustan Motors, Bengal’s first and only car manufacturing unit that stopped production in 2014. Alcove Realty, another real estate major, has come up with ‘New Kolkata’ on a closed cotton mill site spread over 28 acres beside the river in Serampore.
“Today, large parts of Hooghly at places like Uttarpara, Hindmotor, Konnagar, Rishra and Serampore look like New Alipore. The roads are smooth, street lights shine brightly and public transport is available till late at night. This has led to realtors invest in these areas with highrises, malls and department stores. This is development,” said Kalyan Banerjee, the sitting MP and Trinamool candidate from Serampore.
On the other side of the river too, in Palta and Barrackpore, housing complexes have come up on closed mill plots.
“Prices of flats have shot up from around Rs 2,500 per square feet to Rs 3,500-Rs 4,000 in the past two years in Barrackpore and adjacent areas. From closed factories to small plots, everything is up for grabs. The demography of the area has changed in the past few years,” said Sumit Biswas, a resident of Barrackpore .
For any election, the usual poll planks are availability of drinking water, drainage, lights, sewerage and jobs, but not here. The fight here is over the spoils of real estate development and brokerage.
The sight of young, and not-so-young, men playing cards over endless rounds of bidis outside the main gate of Jai Jute Industries in Naihati under Barrackpore constituency gives an impression that the mill’s employees are taking a recess. But as sun heads westwards and shadows grow longer, more people join them. A casual conversation with some of them reveals that this is their daily chore. “We have no work. Most mills have shut down. Others operate for only a few days a week. Many have retrenched workers. So, this is how we spend our time till we get some odd job,” said Munir Ahmed, a former guard at Jai Jute Industries that has been shut for more than two years.
From Barrackpore to Naihati, jute mill chimneys protrude on the banks of the river but only a few are actually working. Most of them have locked out.
Traders in Naihati wholesale market say the impact of demonetisation still lingers. GST came as the last nail in the coffin.
Areas like Noapara, Barrackpore and Jagaddal too are witnessing real estate boom on factory lands.
The joke among Barrackpore residents is that industry in the area is on “auto” mode, pointing to an influx of three-wheelers in the area in the past few years.