Haven't been to Lavasa for past 6 months but it's making a lot of news. It seems Lavasa has been pumping water from Khadakvasla Dam. Pune residents are suffering to support Lavasa's construction activity. Imagine what will happen when Lavasa is occupied!
Times of India has signed a private treaty with Lavasa which essentially means that no adverse report about Lavasa will be published. Expect to hear only good things. ToI is already running a huge campaign promoting Lavasa. Obviously Lavasa is a hard sell, so it needs all the publicity it can get to rope in those well heeled buyers.
Blog reader Rajaram asks me if Lavasa is worth the money. For me, no. Firstly because I don't have that kind of money and secondly for Lavasa to flourish, it has to be a living township. Which means people from all strata of society must work and live there. Lavasa is contracting out all services. Maintenance, restaurants, dry cleaners etc. which means cost of services will be artificially high. If it's not a living township, it'll be a dead place. I wonder when Lavasa will be ready for a family or a couple to make it their first home. Methinks that many years away unless one has a job in Lavasa. Even Ekant's staff live in Paud and commute daily to work. As do Lavasa office staff.
Lavasa by 2011 will be ok as a second home like many people have in Lonavala etc. Even for that you need infrastructure support. Liquor stores, groceries, vegetable vendors, eateries and so on.
Like Lonavala and Mahabaleshwar, lots of buyers will put their homes on holiday rental. The best months will be from June to Sept and then Nov - Feb. Why buy when one can rent?
I'll visit Lavasa again in the coming months and post an update. Sad to say the quality of food in Ekant has gone down considerably.
5 comments:
Shankar, firstly thank you for your insightful and well written posts. I am impressed at your objectivity and wry humor.
I have 2 questions on Lavasa that I hope you wouldn't mind answering.
1) If I decide to move base, reclusive internet guy, what options for internet access can I expect?
2) If I opt for the cheapest villa (loans, loans, more loans) or a decent condo, what do you expect would be the overhead for a single guy? This one's tough, but a ball park figure on living expenses would help.
P.S: For the record, I live in Mumbai and do not plan to visit anywhere very often.
Sam, Your questions will be best answered by Lavasa staff. I expect net access will be top quality - how much it will cost is another matter. Living expenses - There is small convenience store for provisions. No idea about veggies etc. I don't think u get hired help. Eating out choices are limited to ITC, American Diner and Ekaant. Don't know about electricity or water rates. I suppose these will be apparent only after people start living there. Still Lavasa marketing staff should be able to give u an idea.Sorry I am not much help on this aspect mainly coz I haven't worked it out.
from d s.b.shetti
akanksha hospital
nipani karnataka
sir
i am a pediatrician (child specialist) IN NIPANI near Belgaum KARNATAKA
i happened to read your blog on lavasa
i compleatly agree with you that unless s people start living in lavasa it wont flourish
i had been to lavasa last sunday had lunch at ekant 4 persons buffe 1800 /-
I CAN estimate cost in 2015 :
lunch/dinner 2000 per person
room stay 20000 per night
i too think like you its better to go once a year and enjoy than invest anything
food for your thought : recently kerala high court has said "BUILDERS HAVE RAPED MUNNAR "
can same be said to lavasa ?? whats your opinion?
I wanted to visit Lavasa and take my parents along. Having lunch at Ekaant seems like a good idea with that visit. Does one have to book in advance? Are there any other formalities to make sure that we don't end up being denied entry? We would be driving from some other part of Pune to Lavasa and I would hate it to be a flop-show. Please suggest how I can plan this.
I visited Lavasa 3 weeks ago. There is no entry restriction. You just drive in. Lunch options include Ekaant on the hill top, American Diner and ITC Fortune Hotel on the waterfront. There is also a cafe serving sandwiches, ice creams and fresh baked cakes, breads and pastries.
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