Project and
Publicity. Quid pro Quo? Or What else? A big construction firm, L&T, is
'helping' in the design and supervision of constructing a swanky building as a
'goodwill gesture' for the Hyderabad Press Club in Somajiguda. You may wonder
why the L&T has developed so much love for the media. It is building
Hyderabad metro rail (HMR) which is mired in many controversies. It may also be
noted that L&T and HMR organised a lavish party recently for the
journalists in a place on the outskirts of the city (We published it on our
blog.) What else could be the motive if not getting favourable publicity? Read
the news item below.
Row over L&T gesture, Times of India,
Hyderabad, Apr 29, 2013.
HYDERABAD:
Plans to build a swankier press club at Somajiguda had run into controversy
with several members of the club objecting to the decision, which they say, has
been taken by the management without taking majority of journalists into
confidence. The new club's
design, comprising three floors, a centralised kitchen, a convention centre, a
press conference hall and two restaurants, has been planned by construction
firm Larsen and Toubro(L&T). While club authorities said that the total cost would be around Rs 4-5 crore,
they clarified that the construction major is helping the club in executing the
project as a 'goodwill gesture'. During an emergency general body meeting held
on Sunday at the club to discuss the plans, members raised questions on the
involvement of L&T in the project. Last week, L&T engineers gave a
power point presentation on the design of the new building to a selected few
members, which did not go down well with the remaining.
Larsen & Toubro is building the metro rail project in Hyderabad at an
estimated cost of Rs 14,132 crore. The project has been dogged with inordinate
delay and there has been numerous complaints on allotment of prime land at dirt
cheap rates. A case has been filed against the project by traders of Ameerpet,
saying that the alignment of the project has been changed unilaterally,
violating the detailed project report.
L&T has not been able to make inroads into the Sultan Bazaar area due to resistance from locals. "There is no doubt that the metro project has given L&T negative branding and I am sure they would do anything that could boost their image in Hyderabad," an analyst said.
L&T has not been able to make inroads into the Sultan Bazaar area due to resistance from locals. "There is no doubt that the metro project has given L&T negative branding and I am sure they would do anything that could boost their image in Hyderabad," an analyst said.
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