Guwahati shines bright for all

GUWAHATI: The transformation of Guwahati in the past one decade has been phenomenal. And everyone, from real estate barons to college students, would like to applaud chief minister Tarun Gogoi for this metamorphosis. With towering structures of steel and glass, shopping centres, plexes, good roads, smart hotels and restaurants dotting the city, Guwahati is poised for the big leap.It's a different matter that the capital sinks under knee-deep water every year when it rains and has a perennial drinking water crisis, but then these are attendant problems of many big cities, too. The young generation, in particular, would not like to single this out as a vice peculiar to Guwahati.
On the contrary, immediate city frills in the shape of swanky inter-city buses, tony stores and malls help them overlook other discomforts. The biggest change that the Gogoi government has ushered in is perhaps a change in the skyline. Guwahati is now a bustling capital of highrises, with more than 25 per cent of its population living in apartments. And the young generation is fascinated by the housing boom.
"Gogoi is dynamic, he could effect this transformation because he thinks big. Guwahati is now shining, all because of him," gushed Geetam Goswami, a management student.
"A shining Guwahati" was the dream of many politicians ever since chief minister Sarat Singha shifted the state capital from Shillong to Guwahati in 1973.
"But this government changed the face of the city," felt a law student.
Young corporate executives took pride in the fact that the city has adequate infrastructure to facilitate outsourcing and marketing. "Now we have proper telecommunication and residential infrastructure," said Dhrubajyoti Bora, a corporate executive.
The real estate boom, coupled with easy bank loans, saw many splurging on smart homes. "The real estate boom in the past seven years was propelled by a huge demand for accommodation," said J N Khataniar, vice president, Assam Real Estate Developers' Association (AREDA).
The demand for apartments peaked in 2005-06 when interest rates dipped. "The demand was high because of easy availability of bank loans," said P K Sharma, president, AREDA.
Developers were unanimous that a "peaceful" atmosphere spurred the growth. "The government provided a congenial atmosphere that was not there before and this helped in the vertical and horizontal expansion," said Dipak Medhi, a real estate developer.
Many, however, felt the development was concentrated in one sector, bypassing the needs of other sectors like road and infrastructure. "Growth was limited to housing and modern infrastructure. Basics were ignored by the Congress government. It was not an inclusive development," said Biren Sharma, president of Guwahati City Development Committee.
Sharma, a CPI candidate from Dispur, pointed out that many roads constructed during Gogoi's tenure had to be repaired within a year though the government got crores for city development under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
He also said that while Guwahati was shining, towns in 26 districts remained untouched by development.