MADURAI: Imagine landing by a helicopter close to a golf course and after some precision strokes, heading to a Chinese or Indonesian-styled luxury villa 450 metres above sea level for a relaxing shower.Well, for those who can afford such a flamboyant lifestyle, you don’t have to head to exotic locations abroad. Namma Madurai is all set to get South India’s first hill city — ‘Swarnabhoomi’, an all-encompassing luxury enclave promoted by city-based leading builder Vishaal Promoters (P) Ltd. The approval for the project had got through last week.According to R Ilankovan, the chairman of Vishaal Promoters, the project, which will be completed in a couple of years, will be similar (though not in size) to the Lavasa Hill City near Pune — the country’s first private hill habitat.The site for ‘Swarnabhoomi’ is a hillock near Alanganallur, globally renowned for its bull-taming sport jallikattu, off Natham Road. From Madurai, it’s hardly a 20-minute drive.“The hill city will be established on a 200-acre site. It will comprise 250 plots, each measuring 10,000 sq ft, on which Burmese, Chinese, Indonesian and Thai-styled villas would be constructed. A small farm with five species of trees will also be part of the villa premises, which would be set against the picturesque backdrop of the Eastern Ghats and the gopurams of the Meenakshi Amman temple,” Ilankovan told Express.A golf course on a 100-acre site and a state-of-the-art clubhouse, offering facilities such as a swimming pool, a badminton court, a snooker room, a library, a bar and 20 guest rooms, will be other attractions at the proposed hill city.What’s more? Those who can afford a chopper can directly land on a helipad inside. “Its pollution-free nature is an added advantage,” said Ilankovan.“Madurai lacks cool spots. Except for Kodaikanal, which is about a three-and-a-half-hour drive from here, no other recreational spots are available in the vicinity. So, we have envisioned the hill city to cater to the weekend or holiday needs of local residents.”The promoters are bullish about the success of the project, as they are targeting wealthy residents, including NRIs, in Madurai, and Rajapalayam and Sivakasi towns in the adjoining Virudhunagar district.Apart from being used as a weekend hangout, the villas can also attract investment from corporates looking for palatial guest houses.Ilankovan said the hill city would also suit those who wish to retire in style in an oxygen-fresh environment.“Senior citizens can stay at our proposed hill city for the rest of their life, since we are providing a departmental store and hospital,” Ilankovan added. A residential school affiliated to the CBSE has also been proposed.
Comments
0 comment