Take for instance, P S Pant, who retired as additional director general of India Meteorological Department, who moved into Dhyanaprastha Township for senior citizens at Shameerpet about 10 months ago. "My children are not here and my case in a city like Hyderabad is not unique," Pant says, adding that he was scouting for a concept like for a few years before he chanced upon Dhyanaprastha, which comprises 46 cottages. "Senior citizens (these days) wouldn't want to change their lifestyle or get the feeling that they have to depend on others for their needs, as is the case in an old-age home," he says, explaining his decision to move here.
Clearly, builders have hit the right note with senior citizens. Of the 46 units at Dhyanaprastha, 41 have been sold and eight cottages have even been occupied. VBJ Chelikani Rao, president of Andhra Pradesh Senior Citizens' Federation says he has been visited by at least three builders in the recent past who are trying to figure out how good the customer base among the elderly is. "In the urban context, 80 per cent senior citizens can afford such houses. In fact, there are not enough projects yet and groups of five to six senior citizens are coming together wherein they have independent rooms but have a common kitchen," Chelikani Rao says.
At another senior citizen complex, Saket Pranaam coming up in Sainikpuri, of the 180 flats on offer, almost half have been purchased. "We have three blocks with nine floors each and we will start handing over the flats from March 2010," says P G K Prabeer, marketing manager with Saket Group.
Both Saket Pranaam and Dhyanaprastha have common dining areas but even give the option to residents to order food if they wish to eat at home. Medical services in the form of a weekly doctor visit, ambulances and even a clinic in the complex are some of the features these townships for the grey-haired have. Among those who will be moving into Saket Pranaam next year would be Punjagutta resident Capt K G Rao, who has been waiting to move in for a long time now. He says, he has been "crowded out of the city". If the road outside his house once lent itself for peaceful walks, now the snarls next to the late Chief Minister's camp office has left him and his wife pining for fresh air.
Moving to a quieter Sainikpuri where a garden, a provision store and even cafeterias and servants for food and cleaning needs are possible, is what the 80-year-old retired captain thinks is his best bet. "I am 80, my wife is 75 and one of the main reasons why we decided to move was our servant problem. We cannot do house cleaning (at our age) or even cook two meals a day; both these needs are being taken care of there," he says, who is all set to rent out his house in Punjagutta when he moves out. But what he is looking forward to the most are the walks he hopes to resume. [rc]
Copyright © 2009 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
October 23, 2009
INDIA: Building on twilight dreams
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HYDERABAD, Andhra Pradesh / The Times of India / October 23, 2009
By Roli Srivastava, Times News Network
Senior citizen forums in the city are receiving unusual visitors these days - builders - who have woken to the potential customer base that retired professionals make. And while some builders are keen on catching the senior citizen route to business only now, a couple of "lifestyle guaranteed" townships tailor-made for them are already in place in Hyderabad, offering not just a house but also "assisted living" wherein all the daily needs of the elderly residents are taken care of. In most cases, children of these buyers are settled abroad.
For the 60-plus brigade, it's the comfort of living in a house with all the services and amenities in place (including housekeeping and food-on-call), without the hassle of maintaining the house that is driving them to these townships. For builders, it obviously makes good sense to do business with this category of cash-rich customers who have decent budgets of Rs 25 lakh (2.5 million) to Rs 35 lakh (3.5 million)and are willing to move away from the madding crowd of the city.
Take for instance, P S Pant, who retired as additional director general of India Meteorological Department, who moved into Dhyanaprastha Township for senior citizens at Shameerpet about 10 months ago. "My children are not here and my case in a city like Hyderabad is not unique," Pant says, adding that he was scouting for a concept like for a few years before he chanced upon Dhyanaprastha, which comprises 46 cottages. "Senior citizens (these days) wouldn't want to change their lifestyle or get the feeling that they have to depend on others for their needs, as is the case in an old-age home," he says, explaining his decision to move here.
Clearly, builders have hit the right note with senior citizens. Of the 46 units at Dhyanaprastha, 41 have been sold and eight cottages have even been occupied. VBJ Chelikani Rao, president of Andhra Pradesh Senior Citizens' Federation says he has been visited by at least three builders in the recent past who are trying to figure out how good the customer base among the elderly is. "In the urban context, 80 per cent senior citizens can afford such houses. In fact, there are not enough projects yet and groups of five to six senior citizens are coming together wherein they have independent rooms but have a common kitchen," Chelikani Rao says.
At another senior citizen complex, Saket Pranaam coming up in Sainikpuri, of the 180 flats on offer, almost half have been purchased. "We have three blocks with nine floors each and we will start handing over the flats from March 2010," says P G K Prabeer, marketing manager with Saket Group.
Both Saket Pranaam and Dhyanaprastha have common dining areas but even give the option to residents to order food if they wish to eat at home. Medical services in the form of a weekly doctor visit, ambulances and even a clinic in the complex are some of the features these townships for the grey-haired have. Among those who will be moving into Saket Pranaam next year would be Punjagutta resident Capt K G Rao, who has been waiting to move in for a long time now. He says, he has been "crowded out of the city". If the road outside his house once lent itself for peaceful walks, now the snarls next to the late Chief Minister's camp office has left him and his wife pining for fresh air.
Moving to a quieter Sainikpuri where a garden, a provision store and even cafeterias and servants for food and cleaning needs are possible, is what the 80-year-old retired captain thinks is his best bet. "I am 80, my wife is 75 and one of the main reasons why we decided to move was our servant problem. We cannot do house cleaning (at our age) or even cook two meals a day; both these needs are being taken care of there," he says, who is all set to rent out his house in Punjagutta when he moves out. But what he is looking forward to the most are the walks he hopes to resume. [rc]
Copyright © 2009 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
Take for instance, P S Pant, who retired as additional director general of India Meteorological Department, who moved into Dhyanaprastha Township for senior citizens at Shameerpet about 10 months ago. "My children are not here and my case in a city like Hyderabad is not unique," Pant says, adding that he was scouting for a concept like for a few years before he chanced upon Dhyanaprastha, which comprises 46 cottages. "Senior citizens (these days) wouldn't want to change their lifestyle or get the feeling that they have to depend on others for their needs, as is the case in an old-age home," he says, explaining his decision to move here.
Clearly, builders have hit the right note with senior citizens. Of the 46 units at Dhyanaprastha, 41 have been sold and eight cottages have even been occupied. VBJ Chelikani Rao, president of Andhra Pradesh Senior Citizens' Federation says he has been visited by at least three builders in the recent past who are trying to figure out how good the customer base among the elderly is. "In the urban context, 80 per cent senior citizens can afford such houses. In fact, there are not enough projects yet and groups of five to six senior citizens are coming together wherein they have independent rooms but have a common kitchen," Chelikani Rao says.
At another senior citizen complex, Saket Pranaam coming up in Sainikpuri, of the 180 flats on offer, almost half have been purchased. "We have three blocks with nine floors each and we will start handing over the flats from March 2010," says P G K Prabeer, marketing manager with Saket Group.
Both Saket Pranaam and Dhyanaprastha have common dining areas but even give the option to residents to order food if they wish to eat at home. Medical services in the form of a weekly doctor visit, ambulances and even a clinic in the complex are some of the features these townships for the grey-haired have. Among those who will be moving into Saket Pranaam next year would be Punjagutta resident Capt K G Rao, who has been waiting to move in for a long time now. He says, he has been "crowded out of the city". If the road outside his house once lent itself for peaceful walks, now the snarls next to the late Chief Minister's camp office has left him and his wife pining for fresh air.
Moving to a quieter Sainikpuri where a garden, a provision store and even cafeterias and servants for food and cleaning needs are possible, is what the 80-year-old retired captain thinks is his best bet. "I am 80, my wife is 75 and one of the main reasons why we decided to move was our servant problem. We cannot do house cleaning (at our age) or even cook two meals a day; both these needs are being taken care of there," he says, who is all set to rent out his house in Punjagutta when he moves out. But what he is looking forward to the most are the walks he hopes to resume. [rc]
Copyright © 2009 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
