Is daily commute to New Gurgaon challenging?

One of the biggest worries of people exploring this area is the distance and the daily commute. The initial impression is that this place is too far for daily travel, however, this is more a myth than reality.

As an example, my colleague who commutes from Nirvana Country in main Gurgaon to the Udyog Vihar Office takes 45 minutes and you would be pleased to know that my commute from Sector 90 in New Gurgaon to the same office takes exactly the same time. Basically, the great connectivity of this area to the expressway compensates for the distance.

1. The Kherki-Daula toll is a key factor that often deters people. However, having lived in this area for eight months now I can confidently say it is a non issue. For a daily commute you would find yourself travelling in the opposite direction of the heavy traffic flow. On most occasions, the toll queues consume no more than 5-10 minutes of my time and the situation here is no way close to the Sirhaul toll near Leela and Ambience mall that was pulled down sometime back.

2. Toll charges at 60 rupees for one direction is extremely steep, however, most daily commuters use an electronic toll tag that not just automates access but also cuts down the cost drastically. It costs INR 660 for 40 trips which amounts to some 17 rupees per trip. The tag can be charged through the office at the plaza or through the Highway Saathi app using mobile wallets such as Jio, MobiKwik, and Airtel money. It becomes important to mention these wallets given the forced demonetization under way currently.

3. Hero Honda Chowk to me has been the bigger problem than the toll plaza. Heavy pedestrian movement as well as structural bottlenecks make 2-3 kilometres on either side of the crossroad a nightmare. This problem is particularly acute during rains. The promising part of the situation is that infrastructure development to solve this problem is moving at a rapid pace. By May 2017, there would be a flyover, an underpass and a foot-over bridge at this point and it will drastically reduce the traffic jams.

4. Office transport teams are starting to embed this area in their feasibility zones. RBS and Sapient for example have their office cabs picking up employees from here on a daily basis.

5. Dedicated shuttles by realtors: Real Estate companies such as DLF and Vatika that have huge presence in this area have provided shuttles that undertake 3-4 daily trips to main Gurgaon and back.

Shuttle buses by Vatika and DLF for easy commute to the main city

6. OLA/UBER cabs are available in the area and their presence is increasing with each passing day. There can be occasions when you may need to wait for 10-15 minutes but for the most part the sharing economy cabbies have this area under their zones. The locals have quickly grasped the demand in this area and have rapidly enrolled themselves with these players.

7. Driver availability: For those that need drivers for their private cars you can get a good number of both local and immigrant drivers. The going rate is about 12-14 k for a six day week. As mentioned in one of my previous blog entries, the presence of well settled villages in the vicinity takes good care of staff needs.

8. Autos were not available when i moved in. However, today it is easier to spot the green autos near Orris Carnation and Vatika Town Square. Cycle rickshaws are still missing in action although these have also started to make appearance now.

9. City bus service run by the government now connects new Gurgaon to the main Gurgaon. The presence of these blue boxes on wheels makes one feel more familiar and comfortable with the area. It also affirms the government's commitment to this area.

I could have listed a tenth point for the sake of completeness, however i would leave it at this for now. 

Do we miss main Gurgaon for groceries and veggies? Fortunately no.

My spouse had made it clear that I will be the one bringing groceries and veggies while returning from office in main Gurgaon as a punishment for pushing her to shift to New Gurgaon. I had thought well - promises are made to be broken - and we will see when it comes to it.

Lucky me. I have had to break no promises. When have you have all formats of retail available to cater to your grocery needs what's there to worry. From branded retail chain, to local convenience stores, to app based home delivery you have all options that you may desire.

Needs Super Market in sector 90, New Gurgaon

Needs supermarket in sector 90 is housed within the DLF complex, but accessible through an outside door to non-DLF residents also. It carries the complete range of grocery, dairy, fruits, vegetables and other plastic household items. The DLF shopping complex also has a stationery shop, Daikin AC shop, a boutique, a salon, a bakery, and chemist.

If the prices appear to be a bit on the higher side, you can opt for dozens of local shops spread across all the sectors but particularly near the Vatika Town Square.

Vatika Town Square promises to be a major shopping hub in the area

Finally, the biggest surprise. Big Basket does deliver in this area. You will often see the now well recognized Big Basket van doing the rounds from their hub located in Kherki Daula village itself. And because it is an online store the variety is immense and the prices are as competitive as in main Gurgaon.

And that is not all. There is a market in the Tulips campus as well. Also, all the surrounding villages of Sikanderpur, Hayatpur, Navada have their mini markets that ensure that groceries will never run out.

Is schooling a challenge in New Gurgaon? Not at all !!

To be honest, i have been a bit carefree about this topic because my child is not old enough to go to school. However, i know, that to be fair to this blog i do need to share a clear picture of the schooling situation in this area and discuss the options available for parents.

Parents dropping off kids to a waiting school bus outside Bestech Ananda.

The discussion is broadly divided into two parts depending on the age of your child and your preferences regarding schooling.

1. Do we have any reputed schools in the area? The answer is yes. Bharat Ram Global School (by Shri Ram Horizons) in sector 86 and Matri Kiran in sector 83 are two reputed schools that are fully operational and have decent infrastructure.

A distant pic of Matri Kiran in sector 83

However, in case you are not convinced about these schools and are wondering if your child's education is going to take a hit because you have moved to New Gurgaon, then your fears are unfounded.

2. Do school buses from main Gurgaon come to this area? Yes. Most schools from main Gurgaon, particulalry near the Sohna road, send their buses to pick up children in the morning. The list includes, but is not limited to:

G.D. Goenka Public School
GEMS
OMPEE World school
Manav Rachna International School - MRIS
Shalom Presidency
Kunskapsskolan
Presidium
The Millenium School

For some other schools such as Amity in Gurgaon, parents have cab arrangements to pick and drop their children. So, all in all you have a bunch of options to meet the schooling needs of your kids. And i am sure there are few more that i have not been able to capture here.

If you are aware of any such option please leave a comment and i would include it in the post.

New Gurgaon meets the criteria for working parents - daycares galore !

Working parents with little parental support is a reality for a growing number of families today. So, for any area to be accepted by this segment of population it must have quality daycare centers and creches.

For me and my family this was the make or break decision in terms of shifting to this area. Our two year old son needs a daycare and without that it means my spouse or me has to take a break in our careers. And to be honest, with high ambitions and high EMIs this hardly is even a choice.

Thankfully for us, we found that the area has number of daycare centers to suit different preferences and budgets. IPSAA in sector 91 and KIDZEE in sector 93 are the most prominent ones apart from a series of centers being run by families in their homes, particularly in Vatika.

IPSAA's new facility in sector 91

Both IPSAA and KIDZEE provide complete pre-school and daycare facilities including meals and transport. The timings are from 9am to 6pm like most daycares in the main Gurgaon. 

Who lives in New Gurgaon - well, no less than 3500 families !!!

New Gurgaon is real. It's no longer a distant dream. I shifted here three months back, in April 2016 with a lot of apprehensions, and my wife swearing on me for dragging her to an uninhabited locale. However, most of our worries were unfounded. While i will cover different issues related to transport / office cabs / carpool, daily needs, daycares and schools, medical facilities etc. in different blogs, today i will focus on doing a quick estimation for you of the number of families living here.

So, let's start. We have the Vatika India Next in sector 82/83/84/85 with 1500 families. The DLF New Town Heights (NTH) series of apartments spread over sectors 86, 90, 91 has no less than 750 families. Bestech Ananda in sector 81 stands at about 200 families. Orris Carnation in sector 85 has more than 300 families. Vipul Lavanya in sector 81 has more than 150 families. Sare Crescent Parc in sector 92 has more than 450 families. The Tulip Apartments in sector 89 are likely to have atleast 200 families living there. At Mapsko Casa Bella people have started to move in and I expect some 50 families to be living there.

Occupancy indicator at Vatika India Next

And this is just based on what I happen to see during my daily commutes. The actual number is likely to be much higher. So the area does not bear a deserted look at anytime of the day, and even until 10-11 pm in the night. Adjoining villages such as Sikanderpur, Hayatpur, Shikohpur also add to the density in the vicinity and provide the required manpower to run shops, attend to customer service requests of various service providers.

A DLF New Town Height Tower in the evening.

As per a report by the Economic Times in September 2015, more than 50,000 apartment units have already been launched across 95 projects. A year down the lane, a large portion of these units have already been delivered to the buyers and the remainder are in varying stages of construction and hand over.