Modern city beckons biz houses

BHUBANESWAR: From outskirts of the city to 'heart' of it. Chandrasekharpur, once considered an extension of Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary, has transformed into modern Bhubaneswar.
People avoided going there, particularly after dark, let alone building houses. Time has changed. The extended city is now bustling with activities with high concentration of IT companies and educational institutes.
Seeing the growing importance of the area, several big business houses and popular brands have opened shops.
"In 1990 when I bought a piece of land here it was a forested patch. There was no electricity. Neither were there water supply or telephone connection. The area developed beyond expectations and all this after education and IT boom," said general secretary of District Centre Owners' Association Saroj Kant Mallik. The association has 390 member residents.
Managing director of Kalamandir Royale, a fashion shop, Dalbir Singh said, "In the last few years we noticed that about 25 to 30% of our customers are from this side of the NH-5. There are several residential pockets and we decided to reach out to them. The area became strategic in business point of view." The group recently opened its outlet at District Centre.
Several leading jewellery shops, branded cloth stores, restaurants, food joints and shopping centres have come up.
"Opening of our showroom has certainly brought us closer to our valued customers in the fast-growing area of the city," said director of Panda Travel Mart Shiba Prasad Panda.
With a large number of educational institutes, the area has also become the education hub of the city. Targeting the youth, chief operating officer of Fabindia, Subrata Dutta said, "Considering the growing demand of youth towards hand-woven products, the company has expanded its retail business.
The IT boom has also brought in a series of technology giants like Infosys, TCS, Tech Mahindra and Wipro. The area is also witnessing a massive real estate boom.
"Chandrasekharpur has turned into a core part of the developing city with good investment potential," said president of Real Estate Developers' Association of Odisha P K Biswasray.
The major organizations and residential colonies are Omfed plant, BDA Colony, Regional Medical Research Centre, East Coast Railway headquarters and staff colony, Odisha State Armed Police 7th Battalion colony, Kalinga Hospital and Niladri Vihar residential area and so on. Keeping in view, the large customer base all major banks have opened their branches in the area.