No shortage of accommodation on IT corridor
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Access to facilities, quick transport are added advantages, writes K.Manikandan
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Adapting to needs: Areas along IT corridor have comfortably adapted to housing demand.
The phenomenal growth of Rajiv Gandhi Salai (formerly Old Mamallapuram Road) as the IT corridor has resulted in several thousand young men and women from elsewhere making Chennai their new home.
The arrival of these technically qualified people working in software development and testing has thrown up a huge demand for housing, and areas along the IT corridor have comfortably adapted to meet the requirements. From small rooms on a twin-sharin
g basis with basic, yet decent facilities, bigger rooms that can house a small group of people, hostels for men and women to serviced apartments and even villas, IT corridor offers rental accommodation to suit the needs of every individual.
Though IT units are located all along Rajiv Gandhi Salai till Siruseri and beyond, it is Perungudi where most of the outstation professional prefer to live.
S.Sathish, a diploma holder in civil engineering and a third generation resident of Perungudi, has been smiling all the way to the bank for the past four years ever since he started arranging accommodation for people from outside Chennai and Tamil Nadu.
“The potential in this activity is enormous but we have to be on our toes all the time,” he said. Elaborating further, he said about five years ago, a small room measuring 100 square feet attracted a rent of nothing more than Rs. 750 but it has now shot up to Rs. 2,500.
Such rooms could house maximum six men and it was sufficient for them to take a good night’s rest. The rooms come along with decent bath and toilet facilities. There are other rooms with double cots and charge Rs. 1,500 per person a month. Pointing out that it was common to note classmates getting recruited in the same company, Mr. Sathish said such groups preferred to remain together in an apartment. Double bed apartments charge anything between Rs. 4,000 and Rs. 25,000 depending on location, proximity to IT corridor and facilities that come along with them.
Property owners had become flexible and had got used to frequent shifting of their tenants, but they ensure that their apartment is never vacant at any point of time.
Exciting and peaceful
G.Balakrishna is among the many who have come from Andhra Pradesh and is currently living in a apartment complex in Perungudi. He was lucky to get a decent apartment in a good location for Rs. 12,000 rent and he shared it with five of his friends.
Having been selected to work in software firm in Chennai in his very first campus interview, he did not want to miss the chance of working here as he finds the metropolis exciting and peaceful at the same time.
For this 22-year-old native from Hyderabad, it is nothing but work on the weekdays while he relaxes and explores the city with friends in the weekends. With Andhra messes dotting IT corridor, they feel at home. Vinod Kumar of Salem is slightly older and was living in a shared room as a bachelor. After marriage and an on-site trip to U.S., this 32-year-old engineer had no option but to shift to a more spacious double-bed apartment in Perungudi paying a monthly rent of Rs. 8,000.
On why he preferred to stay back in Perungudi even after marriage, Vinod Kumar said public transport was very efficient, markets, schools and hospitals were situated all along this stretch.
Serviced apartments are also available, said V. Sri Chandrashekar, a resident of East Tambaram but earlier living in a rented accommodation in Perungudi. “Serviced apartments are fully furnished, come at a higher price but they are for people in a hurry,” he said.
“There is enough room for all, from beginners to Chief Executive Officers,” Mr. Sathish said. Sholinganallur is another important destination for people outside Chennai to look for rented accommodation on IT corridor while other locations also include Karapakkam and Semmancheri.
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