I would like to motivate VML brass to appreciate and address our concerns

Dear Utsavites,  

I have been reading account of difficulties experienced as owners of ‘Ashiana Utsav’. We all have to keep this tempo going till VML/AHL brass awakes from their slumber. 

I too have my own experiences which I would like to share with Utsavites. I first visited Utsav and stayed overnight in February 2009. I was fascinated by:- 

i.       Excellent upkeep of lawns, roads and public / common areas. There were no dry leaves or overgrown grass anywhere, which is common during that time of the year.  
ii.      Soft devotional songs that were relayed from public address system in the morning.
iii.      Wholesome and reasonably priced food served at Utsav Café.  

I was prompted to visit again a few times. Finally, I bought M-388. On my recommendation Mr. Ashok Jain also bought M-297, in 2010. Thereafter on his recommendation, M-197 was purchased by Dr.Vijay Jain in early 2011. 

But, alas, our pride of having a dreamhouse with excellent facilities has been shattered. It has been a downhill journey since September 2011, in most respects.   The general upkeep / housekeeping are now below par. 

As regards Utsav Café, less said the better. The quality, quantity and service went down and prices went up. This malaise started after the management was taken over by VML. I bought the flat in the hope that I would not need to bring my cook / domestic help every time I visited Utsav. The then managerwas arroagant and did not know his job though cooks and other staff were OK. His successor was worse. Let us hope, the new manager who has taken over recently, does perform.  

I had meetings with VP VML (now CEO) and have also exchanged several letter/mails with Mr. Ankur Gupta bringing to their knowledge the sharp decline all around. But, nothing worthwhile has happened. Their attitude has been like our present UPA govt.—listen but do not act.   

When I bought the flat the maintenance charges were around Rs. 1000 pm which have now gone up to almost Rs. 2000 pm. 

I believe that Utsavites have been loaded with unwanted expenses like huge salaries to Managers — who work more for other units than for Utsav, Bhiwadi. No record, in support of charges claimed from Utsavites (allegedly on actual cost basis), has been made available. Is this fair? EC too has not been able to effectively to take up this issue with VML. 

Tripartite agreement between AHL/VML/Utsavites has a clause for interest free deposit for management charges. This deposit is to be set off against monthly charges for 15 years.  Till the end of year 2011 this charge was @ Rs. 170-171 per month. This has now been increased almost 2 ½ times without assigning any reason. No credit is being given for annual interest of approx Rs. 6000 (Rs. 62500 / 68000 collected from Utsav Owners from 2010 onwards). 

I have specifically asked for the details of so called management services rendered by VML but with no response. If at all any management charges is payable to VML, it has to be a % of maintenance changes (if the same is based on actual).  For obvious reasons VML has not responded to any queries on this issue. Their attitude is that the owner’s will stop protesting if VMIL did not respond. 

As has been highlighted by some owners, VML must make available evidence and details of expenses incurred under different heads billed to owners. The suggestion of AUOWS to cut frivolous and unrelated expenses as also improvement in emergency alarm system etc. has evoked little response from VML.  

We are senior citizens and had chosen Utsav as our present or future abode believing in what we saw or were assured of. But, should we allow VMIL to deny our right to live and enjoy peacefully? Before resorting to any legal action, I would like to motivate VML brass to appreciate and address our concerns. I would welcome your reaction / views on the aforesaid issues.  

More next time… 

Gulshan Rai, M-388, Block 10

The services are not equal to the maintenance amounts being charged

We have lived for several years in Utsav. Our experience is mixed.

The tiles on the floor of our flat have too much gap between them and easily get caked with dirt.

Several days, housekeepers don’t come inside the block to clean the whole day. When they collect the garbage, there is no mopping of the floor.

Cut grass lies around in the gardens the entire day and is not cleared. When residents see this and speak to gardeners, they don’t listen and walk-on. The training to listen and pass on messages to their supervisor, is missing.  

When complaints are made to VML staff, nothing happens. We have tried to speak even to the AGM level in Utsav, both the past occupant of this position, and the present one. But the AGM is adamant about her point of view.

When a fire broke out at a neighbour’s in June in the middle of the night, the AGM was not present on the spot, and came later. While the staff did help, and we are told the AGM coordinated from her residence, we feel she should have been present here.

While the complex does have the services of electricians / plumber and a mason, there is no in-house carpenter. The services are not equal to the maintenance amounts being charged.   

Mrs. Kamini Jain, T-3123, Block 13

Our first external visitor

Dear All,

We are happy that our first external visitor (other than an Utsavite) landed on the blog during his internet reading on Ashiana. We are reproducing here our interaction with him over email as it might interest our blog readers.

UF

On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 12:31 PM, Priyank Sanghavi wrote:

Hello,

I came across your blog at http://ashianautsav-experiences.blogspot.in/. I would want to hear more about your experiences. Can I call you at a time convenient to you?

Thanks,
Priyank

On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 12:43 PM, AshianaUtsav Friends wrote:

Thanks for your interest Priyank. Do you want to buy or rent in utsav or is your interest different from that ? 

Utsav Friends

On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 12:51 PM, Priyank Sanghavi wrote:

My interest is different from that. I am a stock market investor and was planning to invest in their shares. Would want to hear about customer experiences.

Thanks,
Priyank

On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 1:31 PM, AshianaUtsav Friends wrote:

Well, the blog tells you those experiences. The blog is not so much focused on the quality of construction (which is OK except for their sewage systems which appear to be in a failed state in Ashiana Village and Ashiana Aangan, their two latest offerings in bhiwadi), but on the quality of maintenance. There AHL/VML probably do only half as well as DLF though an exact comparison has not been made. 

Contract labour attendance in the Bhiwadi colonies of Ashiana (there are several of them) where Utsav is also situated, fluctuates throughout the year, and new, untrained workers form the majority of the workforce. So security, housekeeping and horticulture services, staffed entirely by contract labour, including strangely their supervisors (which are from the same contractor as the labour), have an indifferent service quality. 

It is rare that staffing is full, and even when it is full, the quality of supervision is so low that the expected service standard is rarely reached. As the rates of maintenance are robust and VML seem focused on profitability rather than good service provision, the customers are often an irritated lot. Although AHL/VML still seem better than many other options. 

The latest bill for June'12 in Utsav is nearly Re. 1 per sq ft fixed maintenance, and Rs. 1.5 total maintenance, which includes besides fixed, capital fund contribution, common power reimbursement and generator payments.  

Utsav Friends 

On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 2:38 PM, Priyank Sanghavi wrote:

Thank you so much to take out time to write this. I appreciate it.

Regards,
Priyank

On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 5:48 PM, AshianaUtsav Friends wrote:

Thank you for your acknowledgement. We looked you up at http://www.blogger.com/profile/04238522807316326115 

We were happy you found us on the web. We were curious to find out what search words got you to come to the blog ? 

UF 

On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 5:58 PM, Priyank Sanghavi wrote:

That was very pro-active of you. I was making a general search about Ashiana when I landed onto your blog.

Regards,
Priyank

Trying to understand the status of ECS in Utsav

1. The ECS system has served a couple of residents on occasion. However there have been instances when a resident used one of the emergency switches in their flat but no one responded. That person somehow coped with their emergency on their own.
2. A maintenance contract appears to have been paid by VML to the same Pune Agency which installed the system, every year since 2008. It is not clear what services the agency provides against the lakhs paid under the contract, as many people with faulty systems report that the agency is unable to repair them. 



The Agency sent a single individual from Pune to attend to these systems in 2011 who appeared to have little more training than the society electrician. That individual stayed put in Utsav for only a few weeks in 2011, although rs. 2 lakhs was paid. In his absence, the Utsav electricians seemed to repair or not repair the system to the same extent as this individual. 
3. The yearly contract payments seem to cover all 640 flats, even though the system is not even commissioned in more than half the flats - as it needs a working intercom to be made functional. The families who dont stay here (more than half of Utsav) have, understandably not taken MTS landline connection/s, on which the intercom system is based.  
4. The agency has not submitted a SINGLE report (as per mails from the Association to all residents) about the status of the system in Utsav - in how many flats is it working ? What is to be done to restore functionality in all flats ? So even at that rudimentary level, it is not clear what it is that Utsavites have received in return for the lakhs paid every year. 
5. AUOWS wrote to VML in 2011, and informed Utsavites, that it had asked for further contracts with this agency not to be renewed.
6. Atleast in our understanding, non-renewal of AMC with this agency should not affect the flats where the ECS system happens to be working : 
1. The hardware - switches, cords, gas sensor, intercom wiring etc. have been paid for in the cost of the flat, so cannot be taken away. When they go out of order, the agency or VML staff also, charge Utsavites Rs. 750 for the gas censor replacement, Rs. 300 for the bathroom cord, and Rs. 250 for the emergency switch. So these repairs are hopefully not affected by the stopping of the contract, atleast by VML electricians whose salaries we pay separately. 
2. The system when it works, sounds an alarm at the computer at the control room, and the flat no. from which the alarm has been rung, is flashed. This system too has been paid for when we all bought our flats.


The control room is manned by 9 - yes NINE staff over a cycle of 24 hours : Asssitant Estate Manager, Control Room Supervisor - Day,  Control Room Supervisor - Night, 3 Electricians, 1 Plumber, 1 Mason, 1 Mailboy. These staff are all paid for via our maintenance payments, SEPARATE from AMCs given for ECS, and other contracts. 
7. It is another matter that during experiments conducted by vigilant Utsavites last year, even when their flat no. flashed in the control room, no one called them back or enquired with them what was wrong. The non-hearing of the alarm at the control room happened not over a single day but over weeks when different people tried out the systems at their flats.  Complaints were made, but all VML did / said was that no one in the Control Room witnessed any alarm from the concerned flats. 
8. It was left to Utsav volunteers to try to find out what was happening. They found that the pressing of an emergency switch in a flat was supposed to result in the ringing of a corresponding alarm in the control room, thus drawing attention of the staff to a possible emergency. This alarm was not heard by staff as the volume button of the computer in which the alarm rang, was turned to 'off'. At last external speakers, with the volume turned high, were attached by VML staff to the computer and put up high on the wall so the volume could not be turned down again. 
9. Even when the alarm has been heard at the control room, the concerned staff member needs training to act fast. In real life situations, on occasion, help has arrived at the concerned flat in 10-15 minutes. Sometimes the organizing of the ambulance with driver, has taken still more time. One time in 2011 it took so long that the patient had to be taken to a hospital by a neighbour. Since then, VML claim to have trained staff better and improved response time. 
10. Even with the ambulance on its way, the driver has to know the routes to various hospitals. This was not entirely so, and again, volunteers took it upon themselves to check and show driver/s the routes in 2012. 
11. Even when the ambulance successfully reaches the hospital, the response time at small bhiwadi hospitals can be so slow that the emergency is prolonged. In one such emergency, the medical centre nurse had not called ahead to the hospital concerned, even though she had asked for the patient to be taken there. So when the patient reached in the dead of the night, staff at the hospital were asleep and more precious minutes were lost in trying to wake them up ! Again, it took efforts from the AUOWS medical sub-committee and volunteers to develop, with Medical Centre / Care Home staff, a faster response system that tried to address these loopholes.
12. Regardless of ECS, all flats can have, on a monthly payment of Rs. 66 or so, a working MTS phone line / intercom, which connects them to the Control Room, the Utsav Gate and the Medical centre / Care home, etc. About 15 important intercom nos. have been printed by AUOWS on a slip just large enough to fit on your receiver or phone instrument. Copies have been distributed to all occupied flats last year and have been given at the control room for newcomers to the Campus. 

Nurturing Gloom & Depression

Ashiana Utsav Bhiwadi (2003-2007) > Mr. Om Gupta's Dream Project

First of its kind in INDIA : A Senior Citizen Resort

for 630 Couple/Single Grand Parents, living together in their own homes!

with A class facilities including medical care & life time membership of Club

Motto/Object : Ashiana Utsav,  'Nurturing Smiles'

Promised : most needed facility in old days "Primary Medical Services, 24X7 Doctor/Nursing"

10 flats of  ground floor Block 10, kept reserved with a board, 'MediCare' Nurturing Smiles !!

Utsavites were Mighty Happy !!!

2011

Mr Ankur Gupta, at the helms of affairs replaces Mr. Om Gupta in the Utsav division of AHL,

MediCare under renovation, rumoured by Ashiana staff "Artemis, 30 bed Hospital coming up"

2012, Half renovation completed

The Board 'Medicare' is replaced by 'Carehome' (admission fee four lakh!) 

and lo within 2 months, Seven patients from various parts of India who need constant support, start living there.

Three of those patients seem to have lost touch with reality and do not recognize even their carers,

They are taken around in wheelchairs by care home staff among the utsav community - in parks, in the mandir and even at month-end parties,

We feel sad for them but are perplexed - whom do we greet here ? It puts fear in our hearts - is that who we are set to become ? learnt 23 more will come !!!

Mr. Ankur Gupta,

Conversion of Ashiana Club into Treehouse Hotel & Club was tolerble!

But conversion of Medicare into Carehome is terrible !

Contrary to Your fathers' dream, you have converted 'Nurturing Smiles' into

                 ' Nurturing Gloom & Depression'

 Praying to God Almighty, Good sense may prevail upon you!

Col Gurdial Singh T-2127, Block-14 Utsav

Sharing Views

I would like to share the following mail with the fellow Utsavites which was sent to the President, Ashiana Utsav Owners Welfare Society a few days back.

“Dear President,

I have before me your Survey Form seeking opinion of the Utsav residents on the following two points:

ECS

Care Home

Since the questions eliciting OPINION are hardly amenable to straight replies, being contingent on situations, i prefer to send my comments through this mail for your record.

ECS:

An emergency system is meant to be operated in emergencies. I think the idea of Ashiana Housing in conceiving a system like this was and is laudable. It is another matter that it has not so far been tested in a real Emergency by any resident. An emergency could pop any time without notice.

The real problem appears to be of proper and regular maintenance for which , according to the info given, considerable amount is being paid to an outside agency. So, the question would be whether we are getting our money's worth for this out-sourced service. If not, the agency would need to be changed. The terms of the contract would also have to be looked into to see if any change is required for getting better results. Regular feed back from the residents as soon as any defect is noticed should also be given to the Management/ Association. Necessary systemic changes may have to be introduced.

Personally, i am very happy with ECS in place for a paltry monthly sum of about Rs.150/- or so ( Rs.400,000/- / No. of Flats (250?) )

Care Homes:

The idea of CARE HOMES is unexceptionable. In fact laudable.

Cost is function of marketing realities. No economic activity can survive if the consumers are unable to absorb the prices. So, i do not see how and why Utsavites should be bothering their heads about this aspect.

Regarding the reasonability of Rs.1500/- a day, I think the Association could negotiate a deal with Ashiana Care Homes for the local residents.

The Ashiana Housing has set up an excellent facility for very senior citizens and they deserve our SADHUVAD. The legal point raised in point 7 does not appear to be relevant as these seniors have not purchased any units. Regarding common areas usage by them, i do not know what the facts are. I have noticed a group only sitting near the block assisted by attendants. Only one senior is seen daily piloting his mechanized wheel-chair without causing any problem to any one. I think, as of now, there is no problem which would be seen as disturbing.”

Having read the posts of the three residents of Block-10, the matter has to be treated with concern. It is squarely the responsibility of the Care Home to ensure that the residents of Block-10 and even other nearby block/s are not put to inconvenience. I suggest that as a first step, these residents write a letter to the Management of Care Homes to find a solution to this problem failing which the residents would be forced to take legal action for jeopardizing the life and liberty of the residents. The letter may be shared at the blog post.

I would also like to appreciate your initiative of providing an effective platform for sharing ideas about the community living

M C Sharma, T-0124, Block No.14

Shouts and screams from the Care Home

Dear Friends,

We live in block 10 of Ashiana Utsav. When we moved into Utsav, there was a a small health facility on the ground floor of block 10. It was called Medical Centre and was meant to provide services to Utsavites. But there were no medicines when we needed them.

But we had a hope a small hospital would take shape inside this medical centre and we would get more health services. But one day we saw two Alzheimer patients in the former health facility who had come to permanently stay in it. The medical centre board had been replaced by a board that said ‘Care Home’. More patients are being taken into the Care Home.

We feel full sympathy for these patients. But we are scared on hearing their screams and shouts which can be heard throughout our block and even outside it, in the garden 3-4 times a week. We came here to spend our last days in peace. But because of these patients’ behaviour that they cannot help, we are disturbed a lot. 

These patients are not to blame. VML officials are responsible for this bad impact on our lives as they will do anything for their profit, such as bring Alzheimer patients to live in the Care Home amidst Utsavites. They do not care about the quality of life of residents in Utsav. We request all readers of this blog to reflect on the state of affairs in Utsav and then take a decision.

Mrs. Vimla Vuthoo, V-392, Block 10

Mrs. Shanti Bhist, V-292, Block 10

Mr. Sood, M-390, Block 10

Mature plants are dying in Utsav and the Village

1. Malis dont work despite payment : Non-watering of hedges (by the side of the blocks) and 'pattis' (3 ft wide soil between the path in the garden and the park edge where trees and hedges are grown) for as long as 15 days at a time has been ROUTINE in the entire Village for years, including in 2012. This watering has to be done by hand-held pipe rather than sprinklers and the malis slink off to rest in the shade during duty hours rather than work.
2. We pay for supervision but dont get it : Payment is done for Horticulture Supervisors separately for Utsav, Villas and the Club. There is also an overall supervisor for the Ashiana Village, and a visiting Supervisor from Delhi from Horticulture consultant Khan. And VML staff themselves are paid to ensure that the contracted services work. But none of this supervision is actually carried out to the extent paid for.
3. Large trees and bushes die in the summer for lack of watering : This is why every summer, scores of plants die and the complex appears unsightly in parts. Costly replacements are done after months of follow-up by concerned residents. Only to die again the next summer. The plants that die include 10/15 feet tall trees, big bushes and small ones, including in 2012.  

While this photo are from the garden of Villas in Ashiana village, next doors to Utsav and in the same compelx, I remember seeing similar dead / heavily stressed out trees and hedges in Utsav too. For example, a tall tree opposite block 3 died and fell down a few days ago, Guptaji of block 3 told me.


Anjana Mehta, M-023, Blk 3

Need for an EFFECTIVE Plan of Action (PoA)

I agree that there are few serious issues with regard to Maintenance Charges. But then we need an effective forum to strategize and then take it up with the management to find an amicable solution to our problems.

I also agree that several of the promises made to us at the time of booking have simply vanished into thin air. But then there have been reported instances of misuse of the facility that had been provided. Anneexure III of our agreement with Ashiana tells us about all the facilities that would be provided to Utsavites. Most of these promises have NOT been kept by the management of Ashiana.  

But then there have been reported instances of misuse of the facility that had been provided. For example the Red plastic chairs that have been provided for use of residents of Utsav have found their way into people's home. There have been instances of someone riding across the park on his scooter with his wife on the pillion. Now this is not on.

       

But then again, this does not absolve the management of Ashiana from honouring the commitments they have made to us Utsavites in writing and these promises form an integral part of our agreement with Ashiana.

There are a lot of good things happening in Utsav, Bhiwadi and there are some serious issues like unfair maintenance charges that are affecting us seriously.

Also, the promise of giving us Medical Assistance Centre with Doctors and Para Medical Staff, Doctor on call etc. has NOT been kept by the management of Ashiana and we residents ARE GENUINELY & SERIOUSLY concerned about this let down.

There is much talk about such let downs, but NO effective POA seems to have been created with planned timelines to find solutions.

The smile is there and the staff are polite and courteous but certainly quality on some fronts have taken a definite beating.

Yes, there is a YOUNG Doctor Sachin who visits the Utsav Complex for an hour a day. My personal experience with him has been just wonderful. He is a meticulous person and his youthful appearance is extremely deceptive. He is a VERY good Doctor and takes pains to arrive at his diagnosis. This is my personal experience. The prescribed Consultation Charges of Rs.50/- is VERY REASONABLE. The prevailing consultation charges in Delhi, Gurgaon ranges between Rs.500- Rs.1000/-.

Is everything about Utsav BAD ? Can we compare  ANY other Society or apartment complex anywhere in Delhi, Gurgaon or in the neighborhood that can stand comparison to Utsav ? I feel personally feel that Utsav is a VERY nice place to live in and with a positive approach we can surely make it a happier one. 

I would also like to place on record that I am not happy with some of the Notices that have been displayed on the

Notice Board. By doing so, those responsible are only exposing their own levels of maturity and vision.   

We MUST strike a balanced view of things and create a correct perspective to plan our POA.

Is all that is happening in Utsav ONLY the responsibility of the Management of VML/AHL? As citizens/Residents can we absolve ourselves of EVERYTHING and decide to look upto VML/AHL for all and  sundry? 

As residents there's something called Shared Responsibility and we must exercise this privilege. Healthy feedback and positive and regular follow up with due perseverance will yield the desired results.   

I would appeal to all residents of Utsav, Bhwadi to join hands and put in place a time bound time POA to address specific issues and find amicable, positive solutions also with a reasonable time frame. Best Wishes,

Vasant Nair, V-066, Block 7 

Sewerage backing on to roads

1. Sewerage regularly backs onto the roads since 2009 or so (atleast 2-3 times a month throughout the year - ask Guptaji at intercom 7126 - a long-standing sufferer)  ! Especially in front of blk 3 and the mandir. 
2. Once the shit water is on the roads, it is not addressed for days, despite complaints. 
3. It is clear to all experts who have lived in / visited Utsav that the sewer system has design / execution faults - probably the level of parts of the sewer conveyance system is wrong. 
4. We understand that all this has been communicated by letters and meetings by the Residents' Association to VML and also to AHL - Mr. Ankur Gupta, repeatedly. AHL / VML say cost of any repairs if required, will have to be borne by Utsavites (these are extremely expensive to redress - will cost lakhs). Neither will they give the Residents' Assn. the facts in writing about the system.

Anjana Mehta, M-023, Blk 3

Making money but not looting

Dear Friends,

The mail below shows what is looting of public money.

AHL/ VML are making money but they are not looting.

Abhimanyu Jain, T-1123, Block 13

KAR – NATAK KA ASLI NATAK 

Rs. 50,000 Cr. Of natural resources are looted; 

In just 3 years and are illegally exported to 

CHINA & PAKISTAN 

Head Lines

"HIRANANDANI of Mumbai buys Land for developing Housing for the Weaker section but uses the same for Luxury Housing for the Super Rich."


"Ashiana buys Land at special prices for making homes for the Senior Citizens including a CLUB-- But instead builds a Five Star Hotel and transfers the same to Vatika Marketing Limited and gives the Hotel to TREE HOUSE HOTEL AND CLUB with the sole intention of making BIG MONEY"


Do you find any similarity between these two news? You decide...


R. Prakash, M-132, Block 4

Count your Blessings

I would like to write that Utsav is a wonderful place to live for senior citizens.  It is clean, quiet, full of greenery and well-secured. It provides 24 hours water and light if power is gone and guards on duty.  
 
Where can you buy a 2 BR flat for 20-22 Lacs and a 3BR flat for 30-32 Lacs?
 
Where can you rent a 2 BR flat for 3-4 thousand rupees a month, and a 3 BR flat for 5,000 rupees a month with gated community and plumber, electrician , cleaners readily available.  Newspaper, sabziwala, milkman, fruitwala, presswala, maids delivering their services at your door. 
 
So, be thankful to be at such a nice place in your final years!  and count your blessings.
 
Pushpa R. Vatsalya, M-254, Ashiana Utsav

The Builder has deprived the Buyers

Dear All,

Yes ASHIANA UTSAV at Ashiana Village, Bhiwadi, is an extremely good concept, very well thought of and executed meticulously. To a visitor, this place does look like a Good Society with all the facilities.

However the picture is not as rosy as it looks like / advertised. The builder has deprived the Buyers of many things which he had promised in the initial stage, but later on withdrew as the time passed by.

One of the examples is a Club. Initially we were compulsarily made the members of the CLUB. Specially for UTSAVITES it was a MUST PAY. However as the time passed by the Builder has very meticulously and with utmost Business Shrewdness converted this CLUB into a Hotel.

Built at the cost of the Flat Buyers, the whole Club has now been converted to a Hotel with income accruing from the Business operations going to a new Group Company VML (Vatika Marketing Ltd.).

Surprisingly, the restrictions on stay and visit to this UTSAV complex have also being modified to suit the Business requirements. The visit to the Temple inside is restricted to ONLY UTSAVITES, whereas another Business Entity of the Group Company--Now UTSAV CARE HOMES has provisions to allow NON UTSAVITES to stay at UTSAV CARE HOMES.

And now this comes at a disadvantage to the UTSAVITES. I wish the builder to ponder over this and take care and not ONLY MAKE MONEY.

R Prakash M-132, Block 4

What happens when AHL completes giving posession for a majority of the units in the complex

From http://www.slideshare.net/Ashianahousing/vml-our-facilities-management-subsidiaries-co
VML - An Ashiana Co. — Presentation Transcript

• 24. “ We were so happy with the Ashiana maintenance that we bought another apartment at Amarbagh .. !.” Mrs. & Mr. B. N. Tiwari, Ashiana Amarbagh, Jodhpur Testimonial 

Comment on the same page :

• UtsavFriends Mr. B N Tiwari's testimonial about Amarbagh, Jodhpur, presents a quite different experience from residents of Ashiana Utsav, Bhiwadi. Once the majority of flats at Utsav had been given possession of, the standard of maintainance started falling from 2009 onwards. Even as the maintenance climbed steadily from Rs. 700 or so a month in 2007 to about rs. 2000 a month in 2012 for a less than 900 sq ft flat. The present maintenance standard can be guaged from the fact that hedges abutting residential blocks as well as park margins - which require watering by hand-held pipes, are not watered for periods as long as a fortnight. They stand shrivelled, yellowed and black in some stretches, necessitating costly replacements every year.

I wish someone had told me what was in store for me

I moved to Ashiana Utsav, Bhiwadi on 6th June, 2011. When I bought the flat, I was told many good things about Utsav - that I would get all types of facilities here. For e.g. I was told that I would get medical facility, home-delivery, golf cart for the distances I could not walk, etc. However I have not been able to avail of any of these facilities in Utsav. 

When I bought this flat, the representatives of Ashiana Housing Ltd. (AHL) spoke about everything in very sweet tones. But their promises came to nought. The quality of the building material used is not good and some cracks are visible. Two tiles of my bathroom have come off of their own accord. 

Most people who live here are pensioners and much above the age of 55 years. I am also one of them. But the maintenance bill is increasing every month. For e.g., the first maintenance bill that I paid after moving into Utsav was for June 2011, for an amount of Rs. 1000. My bill for the same one-bedroom flat for May 2012 is Rs. 1500 - up by 50 % within a space of one year ! And the trend of increasing bills seems set to continue. 

I feel that one day will come when all my savings will have to be handed over to the Ashiana builders and their maintenance agency Vatika Markting Ltd. (VML). Many of us have long-run illnesses and have to take a large no. of medicines. If so much money goes towards maintenance, how will we purchase medicines ?

Looking at my own experience, I wish someone had told me more frankly about what was in store for me. Likewise, those planning to purchase Ashiana properties should speak more at length with those already living here. 

Mrs. Vimla Vuthoo, M-392, Blk 10

Ashiana Utsav as a happy place to live in

Dear Friends,

The Ashiana Utsav experience has been a very happy one for us. We always felt that as soon as you enter Ashiana Village in Bhiwadi, you feel that you have entered a different world altogether.

The people here are really wonderful and always smiling and the ambience is also so soothing.

In the backdrop of our past experiences in Delhi and Gurgaon, we feel that Utsav is indeed like heavens and we hope that it continues to be as wonderful in the future.

In every given situation there are always issues...but then these can very easily be resolved amicably.

My wife and I are very happy with UTSAV.

Friends and relatives who visited us after we moved into Utsav at Bhiwadi, liked the place so much that three of them almost immediately bought flats and three more are in the pipeline. The strong positive impact has been contagious.

We look forward to Ashian Utsav as a happy place to live in. Let us all together make it even happier.

Vasant & Swarn Nair, T-1109, Block 12

It all looks heavenly. But is it ?

Our residential complex is called Ashiana Village which has a mall, a club, bungalows, 5-storey flats and a retirement complex called Ashiana Utsav. You have to be atleast 55 years old or your spouse has to be 55 years old for you to live in Utsav. 

The ambience is green and peaceful. There are beautifully landscaped gardens and fountains. A well-stocked activity centre with computer, library, TV room, table-tennis room, etc. It all looks heavenly. But is it ?

THE CAFE which is meant to cater for all meals for those who dont want to bother with cooking, has been shut down for a weeks and only just reopened. Vatika Marketing Ltd. which maintain the complex, claim the cafe has been running at a loss.

A MEDICAL CENTRE with 24 hrs Dr. facility was promised that never quite came through. What we got was a half-qualified nurse, no or few medicines in stock, and a young Dr. available for consultation for an hour a day.

THE HOUSEKEEPING, brilliant at first, has deteriorated over the years to an extent when some days, your block is left unswept.

SECURITY, like a lot of other complexes in Delhi and Gurgaon, is illiterate blokes in uniforms who dont care who is coming or going. Sure, there are the more experienced and comitted among them too, but they are in a minority.

THE SEWERAGE NETWORK seems faulty and backs-up every few days in the low-lying areas of the complex.

In the perception of many residents, Vatika Marketing Ltd. seem to be focused primarily on a marketing and sales function for Ashiana Housing Ltd. (AHL) the builder of the complex, and whose sister concern they are. There seems little attention given to engaging with managing the complex well. The cost of the services rendered / purchased for managing the complex, seems to be inflated by 50 % - while some overheads are to be expected, surely a 50 % overhead is far too much !

For the moment residents are sticking on, but realize everyday, that the dream that Utsav promised has remained a pipedream.

That is not to say that it is still not a joyful place - but a lot of the energy and togetherness is provided by residents to each other. Some of the staffing is as it should be - 24 hrs electricians, plumber, control room attendant, and security staff, but some is not - an 'Asst. General Manager' to manage a small complex who actually has to manage other complexes of AHL as well.

Given the urban mayhem that large cities present, Utsav is still a retreat, and there are things to be grateful for - but it could have been much better. Somewhere the vision of Om Gupta, the promoter of AHL - seems to have floundered a bit. We hope they can course correct sooner rather than later.

Anjana Mehta Flat M-023, Block 3

Experiences of real people living in / visiting Utsav

A group of us Utsavites had been looking for a space on the internet for all of Utsav to share their experiences, including those active in the Residents' Society. We hope that the experiences of real people living in / visiting Utsav when available on this blog and other places on the internet, can help balance the one-sided view that Ashiana Housing Ltd. (AHL) / Vatika Marketing Ltd. (VML) put out in the media. 

For sharing your own experiences with others about Utsav, please mail the text to allashianautsavfriends@gmail.com. We invite you to send photos and videos too. All Utsavites, whether they own a flat or are tenants or just relatives or friends who have visited and spent some time in Utsav, are welcome to send materials for Posts.

Entries should preferably have name of resident / owner / visitor and flat no. of the Utsavite concerned.


You may also post your comments directly on the blog, below each entry or post.