Harbhajan Singh tweeted his support to India captain MS Dhoni on him stepping down from ambassadorship of the Amrapali group of builders. Dhoni stepped down from the post after a spate of social media messages from irate residents, after the builders failed to fulfill their promise. The builders have regretted drawing Dhoni’s name into the mess.
Harbhajan said that the same group had promised villas to Indian team members after the 2011 World Cup triumph, but had not kept their word. It was on the grounds of this that he lent his support.
This was probably meant half in jest, but the social media is not a place where distinctions between humour and seriousness can be made out so easily. Therefore, other Twitter users replied to Harbhajan, saying that this was a first world problem, and that it seemed like he was crying over a villa when there were more important matters at stake.
Others exhorted him to think about the less privileged people who had lost their money as a result of their blind trust in Dhoni’s name.
The Amrapali issue
The dwellers of a housing society under the realty firm Amrapali based in Noida have been extremely unhappy about the non-completion of electrical and civil work as per schedule. The Sapphire Complex in Noida, which is one of the many residential projects under the Amrapali Group, has been in the news recently as residents claim that the builder has not fulfilled his promises.
The Sapphire Project with 1000 flats spread over an area of 4000 sq. metres was launched back in 2009. The houses were to be handed over by 2011 and attracted a lot of high-profile investors like Justice Markandey Katju and vice admiral (retired) Shekhar Sinha.
But even after a two-year delay, the project was not delivered compelling residents to shift to the houses without occupation certificates in 2014. The occupants have been complaining since then about incidents of fire, failed lifts and poor parking facilities.
Tagging Dhoni on his twitter handle, the residents have been asking Dhoni to use his influence to force the company to complete the pending work or dissociate himself from the company. The complaints had gone viral on twitter and #AmrapaliMisuseDhoni had started trending.
The Real estate firm had said that the issue was being blown out of proportion and had cited issues like slow market, lack of funds and a stay order from the National Green Tribunal as reasons for the delay. The residents said that they were forced to tag Dhoni as Amrapali had failed to respond to their demands.
It is possible that this is not the last we see of this issue, sources indicate that Dhoni’s wife continues to hold a post in the Amrapali group’s occupations.
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