Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: BUYING A HOME IN PUNE - TIPS FROM A NOVICE

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: BUYING A HOME IN PUNE - TIPS FROM A NOVICE

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DIGIHOME System - Waste of Money

http://karvediat.blogspot.com/2011/07/digihome-faulty-design-erratic.html

DIGIHOME – Faulty Design, Erratic Performance, Poor Customer Service, Waste of Money

The aim of DIGIHOME Solutions is to enhance the quality of life. But in actual fact DIGIHOME has made my life miserable as the system is malfunctioning ever since installation more than six months ago.

In brief, I would summarize the problems of the DIGIHOME System as follows:

1. Faulty Design and Installation – There is some basic flaw in the hardware and/or software that causes repeated malfunction of the system. Maybe the system is designed to work in Western Countries like USA and Europe where conditions are ideal and there are hardly any electricity power failures or fluctuations but the design is not appropriate or robust enough for Indian conditions. In India, and especially in Pune, where the electric power supply is most erratic and fails repeatedly many times a day, the DIGIHOME system trips, resets incorrectly, malfunctions and behaves in a most erratic manner. The installation has been done in a faulty manner and this has entailed a lot of rework. Wrong RFC Units were installed which had to be changed causing damage to the plaster and the placement of the door unit is incorrect, which serves no useful purpose. Basic Safety and Security features do not work or have not been installed, like main door latch security. It appears that there was apparently a lack of coordination between the builder Rohan Builders Pune and DIGIHOME Solutions during installation.

2. Erratic Performance – The performance of the system is most erratic. Sometimes the doorbell never rings, safety and security features are unreliable, intercom does not work, Local Console trips, system malfunctions, hooters and alarms keep sounding intermittently for no reason  – for example, since last night a continuous shrill noise is emanating from the Console which is most irritating.

3. Poor Customer Service – It seems that the technicians are not properly trained and some of them are quite clueless due to frequent turnover and new faces come every time. For the last six months a number of technicians are trying to repair the faults and make the system function properly but without success. They seem to be experimenting on a trial and error basis rather that diagnosing defects systematically. The response is quite lethargic too and there seems to be a rift between the “blue collar” and “white collar” employees.

In my opinion the DIGIHOME System is a waste of money and serves no useful purpose. In fact, it causes inconvenience and frustration due to erratic performance. There is no point investing in futuristic technologies which do not work in local conditions. Maybe the infrastructure in Pune (for example, uninterrupted reliable regulated electric power supply) is not geared up for advanced technologies or maybe these futuristic systems for "intelligent" homes like Digihome are not robust enough to work properly in prevailing local conditions.

Customer Service Technician visited. He said that a component in the RFC Unit may have got burnt due to fluctuation in power supply or frequent tripping of power supply and that is the reason for the continuous shrill sound. That proves my point regarding the design not being robust enough to work in local conditions. He switched off the system and said he would get a team soon to find out what to do. He showed me how to switch off the DIGIHOME System and asked me to switch off the system whenever there was a defect. That’s great. I wonder why you should buy a system if you have to keep it switched off.

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Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: SHOULD I TELL HER ?

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Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: IF YOU WANT RESPECT FROM SOMEONE YOU MUST TREAT TH...

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Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: PRICE RISE The Most Important Issue For The Common...

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: PRICE RISE The Most Important Issue For The Common...:

PRICE RISE The Most Important Issue For The Common Man While Scams, Political Slugfests and the Anti-Corruption Movement continue to hog th...

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PRICE RISE The Most Important Issue For The Common Man

PRICE RISE

The Most Important Issue For The Common Man

While Scams, Political Slugfests and the Anti-Corruption Movement continue to hog the headlines, both on TV and in the print media, no one seems to be concerned about the huge price rise in the last few months. During the last one year the price of milk has almost doubled. Today in Pune a litre of milk costs Rs. 40 (which was unimaginable a few years ago). They quietly continue to raise the price of milk by a rupee or two every few days and no one seems to be bothered about it. Every single item of food required for daily living has gone up. Whether it is vegetables, fruits, medicines, transportation, in fact, all essential items for daily living, the unprecedented price rise seems to be irreversible – once the price goes up it never comes down. The price of petrol has also almost doubled during the last one year and though international crude prices have fallen petrol prices are not being reduced. Even an unpretentious cup of tea has reached double digit figures and it has become very costly to eat a simple meal in modest restaurants and roadside eateries.

It is sad that no one seems be doing anything to control inflation and stop the unprecedented price rise which is affecting every citizen of this country.

Of course, a few things like Electronic Goods (Laptops, for example) have become cheaper, but then these are exceptions and are due to global trends as most of these items are imported. Some things like diesel and gas are subsidised. I wonder why they don’t subsidise milk and other essential commodities and food items.

And there is another curious thing I observe during my walks in Pune. Seeing the ever-increasing crowds in liquor shops and bars, it seems that booze has not been affected by this unprecedented price rise, maybe a peg of liquor is more affordable than a glass of milk, or maybe drowning one’s sorrows in drink is the best way to beat inflation by remaining oblivious about it. You get so drunk that you don’t feel hungry – of course, your health be dammed. The consumption of tobacco, smoking cigarettes and eating gutka, also continues to increase day by day. I feel it would be a good idea to introduce a special tax on these intoxicants, like liquor and tobacco, and use this amount to subsidise Milk – maybe you can call it “Milk Cess” so that every time you consume things detrimental to your health, like tobacco or alcohol, whenever you drink booze, you think of a glass of healthy Milk.

Seriously, I hope they do something to contain, and reverse, this unprecedented price rise and alleviate the distress of the common

citizen.

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Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: WATER WOES IN ROHAN TARANG - Living in Pune - Life...

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: WATER WOES IN ROHAN TARANG - Living in Pune - Life...: LIVING IN PUNE LIFE IN WAKAD WATER WOES IN ROHAN TARANG By VIKRAM KARVE Wakad Pune 03 September 2011 It is raining heavily all ...

WATER WOES IN ROHAN TARANG - Living in Pune - Life in Wakad

LIVING IN PUNE

LIFE IN WAKAD

WATER WOES IN ROHAN TARANG

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Wakad Pune

03 September 2011

It is raining heavily all over in Pune. Lovely weather. Awesome view from the balcony of my 9th floor apartment in Rohan Tarang Society - rains, mist, clouds, green hills in the distance, the Mula River overflowing - water water everywhere but no water to drink. Unbelievable isn't it? But it is true. The high falutin sophisticated hydro-pneumatic water supply system in Rohan Tarang has failed us again and there is a big problem of water supply in our society. I had an inkling that this high technology was not suitable for our indigenous Pune conditions but no one listened to me, then.

Read on, especially if you are thinking of buying a house in Pune ...

THEN

“Where are the water tanks?” I asked.

“What water tanks?” said the sales guy who was showing us the brand new apartment in the upmarket township.

“Overhead Water Tanks. There are no overhead water tanks on this building,” I observed.

The sales guy and the property manager looked at me as I were a relic of the prehistoric era, “Sir, this is modern high rise building. There are no overhead water tanks. There is a sophisticated water pumping system.”

“But at least there should be a small Sintex water tank in the balcony of each home for emergency use in case the main water supply fails,” I said.

“An ugly looking black plastic water tank in the balcony? It will spoil the whole show of the house. Sir, you are living in old times. This is a modern complex and we have an advanced water management system. It is the latest – we have it in all our projects. You will have assured 24/7 water supply,” the sales guy said and the property manager gave me a contemptuous look as if implying that I was probably unfit to live in this elite posh township.

Now my wife and son were looking at me as if I were a big embarrassment to them because of my old fashioned attitude, middle class mentality and archaic views.

I had learnt in school that water finds its own level. In my earlier home (a simple old fashioned bungalow) the main water tank was atop a hill. Twice a day they opened the valves of the huge main water storage tank and water flowed down by gravity into our overhead tank and we always knew how much water was there in the overhead tank on top of our house on the terrace.

However, as per all the “experts” standing around me, I was hopelessly outdated and this all this was obsolete technology, and it was high time I kept myself abreast with the latest things or else keep my mouth shut.

So, despite nagging doubts, I kept my mouth shut.

NOW

I wonder why we paid so much for an apartment which has such erratic water supply. Water is a basic need. Property prices in Pune are very expensive. In fact, the dismal infrastructure and the almost non-existent amenities certainly do not justify such exorbitant prices. And if they want you to pay so much, the least they can do is to ensure proper water supply.

With frequent regularity, as you are about to have a bath in the morning, the sophisticated water management system fails due to one reason or another and the water suddenly disappears and the taps dry up. And then, as desperate crisis-management patch-work repairs are carried out, we have to do without water for almost the whole day. All sorts of excuses are given – pipes burst, motors burn, pumps fail. And whenever the electric power supply fails (which happens very frequently, many times a day, and load shedding every Thursday for the whole day, in Pune) the water supply is affected (They do have a back-up generator but that doesn’t seem to help much as far as water supply goes). And this is a beautiful aesthetic brand new township called Rohan Tarang in Wakad is built by one of Pune’s leading builders, Rohan Builders, who have won prizes for their various projects. There seems to be something wrong somewhere if such failures occur in the first year itself. I hope Rohan Builders will live up to their reputation and brand name and find a lasting solution to our water woes problem.

It is all a question of appropriate technology. Why go in for sophisticated technology when we cannot provide basic inputs like proper uninterrupted electric power supply, quality material, reliable equipment and high-class workmanship which are sine qua non for efficient functioning of modern systems. Whenever I raise this matter with all concerned, including all those who scorned my old-fashioned ways, all they can do now is give me sheepish grins. One guy even told me that they have decided to have overhead water tanks on their new buildings from now on. But what about us?

Dear Reader, whenever you are buying a house, don’t forget to look for the overhead water tanks. Of course, in some parts of Pune, like Kondhwa for example, even if you have overhead water tanks they will be empty most of the time and you may have to buy tube-well or bore-well water from water tankers. But that is another story.

My Doberman Girl Sherry and Me on Twitpic

Sherry Karve and her Dad. Isn't she beautiful? And isn't he handsome?

My Doberman Girl Sherry and Me on Twitpic

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