Graphite India's Whitefield land: what came next

A few years ago, when the #GraphiteIndia factory in #Whitefield was shut down due to environmental concerns, many nearby residents celebrated.
But I was skeptical. I had a feeling that this massive land parcel wouldn’t stay idle for long, unfortunately, the fear has come true.
#Tata Realty and Infrastructure has received permission to build a massive new tech park (Tata Intellion Park) on the former Graphite India land. The area is already choked with Bagmane Tech Park expanding with new towers popping up frequently, Prestige Technostar's ill-planned entry gates, and two more tech parks already under construction!

Anyone familiar with the area knows the pain of:
- Narrow, confusing one-way systems, I call it the Bermuda Rectangle!
- The infamous SAP U-Turn bottleneck
- The railway crossing on the narrow back lane
With thousands more professionals going to use the already stressed infrastructure, as rightly said by our honourable Minister, even God will feel helpless!

What could have been? Instead of another tech park, the land (25+ acre) could’ve been:
- A public park
- A mini urban forest
- A parking + mobility hub for the nearby Metro station
It could have helped ease pressure, not add to it. But now, we’ll see more concrete, less green, and eventually wonder why the weather has changed, why it rains less, and why the city is always choking.

But #WhoCares...

Btw closing of the Graphite India factory is a win-win situation for everyone, the company sold the land mass, Tata's paid Rs 986 cr to Graphite India, Govt would earn perpetual income through taxes directly and indirectly through increased fuel spending, private players make money! Who lost, the common man, who thought he could breathe some clean air!