THE TRIBUNE Real Estate
CHANDIGARH | SATURDAY | 17 DECEMBER 2016
CHARU CHHIBBER
Shrinking spaces as well as
the vertical expansion of
urban areas has lead to
scarcity of space and land for
gardening enthusiasts. In
such a scenario many are
exploring hydroponics or
soilless gardening. This practice involves growing crops
without the use of soil. It
uses mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent. Jaspal Singh Anand, a resident
of Sector 33, Chandigarh, has
been growing plants, including different varieties of
exotic vegetables and fruits,
in his terrace garden using
this form of gardening. The
retired Merchant Navy officer, who started gardening
about three years back, is
one of the very few practitioners in India of the ‘art’ of
hydroponics agriculture.
In an exclusive tête-à-tête
Anand elaborates on the intricacies of the multi-beneficial
agricultural practice that has
taken the world by storm and
is slowly but surely garnering
support in our country.
What is hydroponics?
Hydroponics is the method
of growing plants without
soil, using mineral nutrient
solutions in a water solvent.
Terrestrial plants are grown
with only their roots exposed
to the mineral solution, or
the roots may be supported
by an inert medium, such as
cocopeat, leca balls, gravel,
etc. The nutrients in hydroponics can be from fish
waste, animals manure, or
nutrients that can be easily
bought from the market.
There are many ways to set
up a hydroponic garden.
Which one/s have you found
to be the best and why?
Gardens that thrive
A hydroponic kitchen garden on terrace
JASPAL SINGH ANAND IN HIS SOILLESS TERAACE GARDEN IN CHANDIGARH
TRIBUNE PHOTOS: NITIN MITTAL
Setting up a hydroponics
garden is not too difficult.
For a beginner the raft system is the best suited, as it
is easy to maintain. Growth
can be fairly decent. However, this system is best for
greens — lettuce, spinach,
celery etc grow well under
this system.
For other vegetables, you
need an inert medium,
which can be cocopeat, leca
balls etc. These basically
hold the plant, while the
nutrients are administered
by dissolving these in
water. This is basic, but
works well with a little care.
Demonetisation
hits cement prices
While cement prices have been affected in the southern
and western markets, volume growth has been adversely impacted in all regions in November following
demonetisation, rating agency Icra said recently.
“In the southern market, the prices have shown a
decline of ~30/bag in October and November together,
with the current prices hovering around ~300/bag. On an
average, in the southern market, the cement prices during 8M FY2017 stood at around ~305/bag, lower by ~20/bag
when compared to 8M FY2016,” Icra said in a statement.
A similar decline in prices post demonetisation was
witnessed in the western markets wherein the price,
after having recovered by ~15/bag in October to
~265/bag, slipped to ~240/bag in November 2016.
“On a Y-o-Y basis, the average cement price during
8M FY2017 around ~260/bag is down by ~10/bag, compared to 8M FY2016. The November prices for the East
and the North remained stable at ~325/bag and
~335/bag, respectively,” it said.
While cement prices have been affected for the South
and West, volume growth has been adversely impacted for
all regions in November 2016, following demonetisation.
“Given that a significant portion of the cement
demand is driven by real estate, it is likely to get
impacted in the near term.
“The demand slowdown from the realty sector is
expected to be offset to some extent by infrastructure
demand, specifically backed by Central government
funding,” Icra Ratings Senior Vice President
Sabyasachi Majumdar said.
“Nonetheless, overall, the demand for the cement sector is expected to be adversely impacted by this development in the next two to three quarters,” Majumdar
said. — PTI
Nivan in Mumbai
LAUNCH PAD
75 pc cos not
disaster ready
without soil
IN CONVERSATION
Paradigm Realty, a leading real estate
company of Mumbai Suburbs, catering
to the luxurious & elite segment has
recently unveiled a new-age iconic residential development project Nivan.
Located in Khar (west), this midtown
project is a premium tower that comprises specifications like ample parking
in basement, G+2 which occupies a
shopping center on the ground floor
while the first two floors feature commercial spaces for boutiques and
offices, while the remaining 13 storeys
cater to the luxury residential segment.
What are the most important
items you need for hydroponic gardening?
Clean water, good quality of
nutrients and control over
temperature, PH balance
and electrical conductivity,
to be done regularly.
What all plants (fruits and
vegetables included) can be
grown using this system?
Any crop can do well under
hydroponics, depending on
the medium. Root crops are
usually not grown, but salad
greens do well. I have grown
a large variety of crops ranging from tomatoes, brinjal,
| SPACES 3
spinach, cabbage, coriander,
multiple varieties of lettuce,
Italian parsley, basil, radish,
sweet potato, oregano,
strawberry, mulberry, guava, bok choy, aurugula, succulents, herbs, olives, fruits
and lemons.
invariably get various types of
insects/pests. How can these
be dealt with?
For vegetables, the first safety
from insects is a net house. I
also hang sticky paper all over
the green house as protection
against the insects/pests.
How do you determine the
nutrient requirement of every
plant and does the same
nutrient work for a wide variety of plants?
Nutrients are very important. But the best part is that
the same nutrients can be
used for all crops. However,
what varies is the concentration of individual nutrients
for different varieties.
Where there are greens, you
How can one implement
hydroponics gardening on a
commercial scale?
Implementing hydroponics
on a commercial scale is
very doable. The input
costs are higher, and as usual, vagaries of weather and
market conditions decide
the cost factor.
Finally, why hydroponics?
The biggest advantage is
that crops grown under this
system are absolutely free
of chemicals, which is a rarity these days. The food
grown not only tastes better
and is more nutritious, you
can monitor what goes into
your food. You also know
you are not adding to the
environment degradation.
Another added benefit is
that this method helps you
grow more in less space.
Other than that, hydroponics is proved to have
several advantages over soil
gardening. The growth rate
on a hydroponic plant is
faster than that of a soil
plant grown under the
same conditions. The yield
is also greater.
Nearly 75 per cent of Indian
companies are not prepared
for disaster management, a
recent survey by real estate
consultant CBRE says.
According to the study,
which included over 100
top corporates in the country and over 350 respondents found out that 75 per
cent of the Indian firms are
not disaster ready.
It said that 96 per cent of
the respondents agreed
that majority of losses from
disaster occur as a direct
result of damage to the
built environment, lack of
foresight and planning.
Nearly 97 per cent agreed
that an integrated and comprehensive approach is
necessary to improve the
safety of buildings from
disasters, the survey said.
“Unprecedented rate of
urban growth, increasing
dependence on complex
technical systems, combined with climate change
predictions,
have
increased the disaster
uncertainty even more,”
CBRE India Managing
Director-Project Manage-
ment Gurjot Bhatia said.
According to the study,
only 21 per cent of the
respondents have attempted to include hazard mitigation measures in projects. Nearly 97 per cent
have
agreed
periodic
audits should be made
mandatory for all buildings
with respect to codal provisions and compliances with
a quarterly frequency.
“India is a disaster-prone
country, with 85 per cent of
Indian land vulnerable to
one or more natural hazards, making it critical to
have plan and gauge an
organisations’ readiness to
deal with such a situation,”
CBRE Chairman – India
and South East Asia,
Anshuman Magazine said.
He further said that integrated and comprehensive
approach is necessary to
improve the safety of buildings from disasters, thus we
strongly
advocate
an
increased private enterprises’ engagement with government agencies in disaster risk reduction activities.
— PTI
THINKSTOCK
GREEN HOUSE
AMARJEET SINGH BATTH
With winter flowers offering a riot of colours at the
ground level many gardeners yearn for a splash
of colour on the walls and
grills and boundary
walls. A gardener can
carry colour horizontally
and
vertically
with
the help of climbers
that bloom in winter
months. Because of their
trailing nature these
plants can be given different
shapes
and
“wrapped” around different structures to make
thing more interesting in
your home garden.
Clerodendrum
splendens is a woody or semiwoody coarse-textured
ever green vine which
climbs by twining.
The planting location
should be a sunny spot
where thaere is shade
during the afternoon
direct sunlight. It grows
well in a complete shady
location also.
It has oval leaves and
bears extremely showy
scarlet flowers which
attract butterflies. Clerodendrum splendens can
be used as evergreen
screen on trellis or walls.
Irrigation requirement is
frequent during summer
and less during winters.
To encourage branching and more flowers,
cut previous season’s
growth to a suitable pair
of buds. The climber can
be propagated from softwood cuttings in spring
or by breaking off pieces
of the root or removing
rooted suckers.
The project will have 48 two and three
BHK apartments which are modular to
undergo permutations and combinations in the form of customised 4BHK
(2BHK + 2BHK) and 6 BHK (3BHK +
3BHK) units to suit spatial needs. Khar
offers excellent connectivity to most of
the western suburbs, including major
business hubs like BKC, Andheri and
Borivali etc via subways. Just few miles
away Bandra-Sea link connects one to
the Mumbai's Downtown like Lower
Parel. The price of apartments is
~42,000 per sq ft and the project is likely to be completed by end of 2017.
Pyrostegia venusta (Golden Shower ) is a
vigorously growing woody climber with
cascade of reddish-orange flowers. It
grows lavishly in the tropical and
subtropical regions.
This climber forms dense masses and
climbs by clinging with its tendrils over the
trees and shrubs, on walls or over structures
and forms a colourful veneer.
However, be careful to prevent this plant
from running over the nearby trees or
shrubs which may crumble under its weight.
Climbers which are not well managed
bloom only on the top but flowers can
bloom close to the ground also if regular
trimming is done. A sunny location is
the right place to have a good bloom.
These flowers also attract Humming Birds
and butterflies.
Colourful climbers
Mansoa alliacea is already in bloom and
draws attention with its unique purple colour
flowers. Its crushed leaves smell like garlic
and this is why it is also called ‘lahsun bel’.
It is a perennial creeper with woody vines
and has bright green long leaves. Its
compact growing habit and profuse flowering
make it the favourite of gardeners looking for
climbers. Early flowers are purple in colour
with a white throat, which gradually change
colour to lavender.
This climber requires a sunny location and
is almost maintenance free . It only requires
normal irrigation to keep the soil wet. It is
grown to cover the walls, over the fence and
on arches etc.
Jasminum multiflorum, is native to India and is also known
as winter jasmine or ‘juhi’ which sparkles with white flowers
during peak winters. The flower flush is so dense that the
flowers cover most of the leaves making everything look white.
The flowers are scented and are considered sacred. It is
widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions for its
attractive small white flowers and intensely fragrant flowers
which travels in the entire garden.
Select a position where the plant can receive a few hours of
early morning or evening sunlight and not direct sunlight.
To maintain the climber, trim the weak shoots to give the
climber a sense of direction. Also remove the dead wood
regularly. As the blooms are sweet, birds are attracted and feed
on its nectar and tender leaves.
Why Amritsar is an emerging hotspot
continued from p1
Prime locations for commercial space in Amritsar are:
Ranjit Avenue, Mall Road and
Lawrence Road, which are
characterised by high absorption and limited supply.
Prevailing average rental
values in prime retail-cum commercial areas such as
Mall Road, Ranjeet Avenue
and Lawrence Road vary
between ~40- 120 per sq. ft.
per month depending on the
grade of building, floor and
specifications among others.
These locations typically
house buildings which have
retail on lower floors with
top floors occupied primarily by BFSI sector. With the
increase in demand from
BFSI sector and retailers,
many big developers are
planning to develop retail
cum commercial office
spaces in the city.
The road ahead
Due
to
comparatively
cheaper realty prices and
many proposed infrastructural improvements, Amrit-
sar is expected to become a
hub of residential, commercial and retail activity in the
region going forward.
Realty experts are upbeat
about the growing interest
from investors in Amritsar,
which has not only augmented
its
economic
growth but also positioned
it prominently among the
fastest-growing
tier-III
cities in India.
Amritsar is now well on
the way of transcending its
image as a 'holy city' and
transforming into a prime
real estate investment destination.
— The writer is National Director
& Head of Operations - Strategic
Consulting, JLL India