Amrapali homebuyers perform ‘hawan’ to highlight their plight

Buyers claim they had paid 80% of the total flat cost, but builder is yet to finish even 60% construction

Homebuyers of Amrapali projects organised a ‘garh prapti yajna’ (a ritual to own a house) outside the corporate office of the group in Sector 62 and, later, a candlelight march in Film City. Buyers have been sitting on a hunger strike for many days demanding that the group directors to come and talk to them.

Amrapali buyers also took out a candlelight march in Film City on Saturday. (Virendra Singh Gosain/HT PHOTO)

The Amrapali Group had in 2009 launched Amrapali Dream Valley project with a total of 47 towers in Sector Tech Zone-4. Of the 12,000 dwelling units, around 8,000 flats have already been sold but the builder has completed only 40% of the construction work, thereby troubling buyers.

Homebuyers have claimed that they have already paid almost 80% of the total flat cost, but the builder is yet to finish even 60% construction on the site.

The hawan took place around 4pm and the candlelight march started around 6.30pm.

On Saturday morning, the directors of Amrapali group had approached the buyers to form a team of 10 people to meet and discuss issues. Buyers refused to meet them in a closed room and asked to come in the open to clear their doubts.

Amrapali homebuyers during the Grah Prapti Yajna at Amrapali Corporate Tower in Sector 62, Noida, on Saturday. (Virendra Singh Gosain/HT PHOTO)

“Amrapali directors asked a team of 10 people from our side to meet them inside the office. We refused to do that because they should come out and answer all buyers. Why do they want to meet in a closed room? They told us that they will think about it and get back to us,” said Hitesh Nakhasi, buyer.

Buyers also decided to hold a candlelight march in Film City because most of the leading media houses are located there. “We want to raise our voice against the fraud committed by the Amrapali group. We want the media to give importance to thousands of buyers who have been left in the lurch by the builder,” Nakhasi said.

Around 500 buyers attended the hawan and the candlelight march. People joined the protest after finishing their office hours. “I just finished my office work and am now rushing to attend the protest. My wife went to attend the ‘hawan’ while I will be attending the march. We have invested our hard earned money and we want justice. Builders can’t cheat people like this,” said Rajesh Malhotra, another buyer.

Read I Amrapali buyers lash out at Noida authority, Yogi government

Last week, Amrapali group’s three directors Anil Kumar Sharma, Ajay Kumar and Shiv Priya had submitted their passport to the district magistrate.

Vikas Jain and Kaushal Singh, buyers of the Amrapali Dream Valley housing project, are on a hunger strike outside the builders’ corporate office in Sector 62.

“We will keep protesting till the time the builders and the authority don’t fulfil their promises. We have taken loans from banks to buy a house and we have been left on the road. The government, politicians and bureaucrats are responsible for allowing such builders to fool innocent people,” Singh said.