The road to peaceful living

GROUND REALTY

Growing demand for houses and proximity to important landmarks including airport have transformed the Dumas Road area of Surat into a real estate hot spot.

Surat, the city of diamond and textiles, has witnessed tremendous growth and development in the last few years. The city's population has almost doubled in the last decade, leading to an increase in demand for houses and a boom in the real estate market.

The Surat-Dumas road, which leads to Dumas seashore, was a sleepy area until some years back. But today houses in the area are in the highest demand. Land prices in the area have shot up five fold in less than two years. Several builders have launched a number of big projects in the area. Today, the road is dotted with several high-rises housing both residential and commercial premises.

Vajubhai Savalia, owner of Dolly Constructions, said, "With the increase in Surat's population,, demand for residential premises also moved up. Construction business saw such a boom in the past few years that there was hardly any space left for new projects in the city. This led builders to start projects on the outskirts of the city. This resulted in the fast development of the area."

Savalia said, "Shortage of land in the city is one reason for this development. Surat airport is situated on Dumas Road. The area is near landmarks such as Parle Point, Athwalines, Ghoddod Road and City Light Road. This is another factor that led to the fast development of the area. Once the airport becomes operational, real estate prices will go up further. Sahara India Group also plans to set up a large housing colony on Dumas Road."

Jayant Ganatra, president of Surat Builders' Association, said, "Dumas Road has sea on one side and river on the other. This makes the area one of the most scenic locations in Surat. This has attracted a large number of people. Development of the Hazira area, which houses large industrial units, has also contributed to the development of Dumas Road."

Jitubhai Modi of Jitu Builders, said, "People are preferring to move to outskirts of the city, away from the rush and traffic of the city. Compared to city areas, land prices in the Dumas Road area were very low. This meant that a person living in a flat in Ghoddod Road or Athwalines area could easily own a more spacious house in the Dumas Road area without investing any extra money."

Gaurang Patel, who shifted from Udhna to Dumas Road a few months back, said, "I was planning to shift to the Adajan or the City Light area, but I could not find a suitable house that fits my budget. Later, I shifted to Dumas Road."

"Due to its proximity to the sea, the area is cool. Dumas road also has a lot of theatres and other places for recreation," Patel said.

Anjana Rana, who resides in the area, said, "This area is great for working people. I work at Athwa Gate, which is not very far. The roads are good and the traffic is smooth even during the peak hours."

Anjana said, "Dumas Road is not very crowded. Sea shore is not very far."