At the end of incessant criticism on social media for his association with the Amrapali Group, Indian limited overs captain MS Dhoni has resigned as the brand ambassador of the real estate giant.
Amrapali Chairman and Managing Director Anil Sharma has confirmed to ABP News that Dhoni is no longer the brand ambassador now. The company also regretted the fact that the Indian skipper's name was unnecessarily dragged into the 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.
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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.
"The electrical panels are open, wires are hanging, firefighting equipment, sprinklers and alarms are not functional. There is no maintenance staff for lifts, and neither lift operators. The swimming pool has not been made operational," the residents' association had earlier said in a statement.
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.
Replying to questions on this issue in a press conference earlier, Dhoni had said that it was difficult for builders in the current economic scenario. "But at the same time, whatever is promised irrespective of where they stand, I think it needs to be met," he had added. He had also promised to take up the matter with the company.
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. They had also requested the residents to discontinue the twitter campaign against Dhoni. The residents said that they were forced to tag Dhoni as Amrapali had failed to respond to their demands.
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