Safari Villas Bahria Town Lahore: A Living Experience (5)

Salaam to all!

Many friends here on page and through email keep asking questions regarding practicle living experience of Safari Villas and Bahria Town Lahore. I thank all of them for remembering me.

Almost three years ago when brother CMY started this page, we use to reply questions like:
Where is Bahria Town situated? How far is it from Thokar? How is possible for some one to live there as it is too far from city. How many years will it take to attract people for making their homes? Etc etc.

Now the situation of question has been changed. As I am the only active member who is living there so I took it as my duty to provide information for visitors of this page (specifically overseas Pakistanis).

First of all we are discussing construction activity. The area from Executive lodges to Safari Villas is nicely populated as far as construction is considered. I think that there are more than 50 homes under construction. The total population in Sector B should be about 200 homes including under construction homes.

Two things are very important to understand when considering any thing regarding Bahria Town.

1. Due to distance from the main city residents needs community to live with. The visitors are impressed from Safari Villas where life is totally different than any other housing project including Bahria Town’s different sectors. Families are very much interrelated with each other here. Residents of Safari Villas have least hassles and problems of daily life due to availability of maintenance office on walking distance from each and every villa. The service is available 24 hours and one can record the complaint on phone as well. Generally the service is so efficient that a problem will be addressed within an hour. Some times it may take few hours if the staff is already involved in some Villa but it is not delayed from same day. All other facilities like mosque, markets, parks, milkman and Safai Wali etc are easily available and close to Safari Villas. At this stage no good service is available in Sector B other than Bahria Town announced facilities.
Safari Villas Lahore has dedicated power supply system. A practical problem of any Safari resident can not be ignored but Sector B resident’s problem is an individual's problem. Power supply system and maintenance facilities are not very good in Sector B. Again due to distance it is difficult to arrange plumber, electrician etc in emergencies.

2. Sector B is like any other Society. The standard of facilities can not be compared with Safari Villas. Besides this there is no concept of community living in Sector B. But Sector B is still good due to its price range and location of some blocks within Bahria. The blocks or plots near Safari Villas are more attractive for home builders.

Though I could not yet confirm all these information from some responsible source but these are important information for people interested in Bahria Town:

A. The new phase of Safari Villas is under planning and it will be located in Sector C.
B. Bahria Town has now got a large piece of land behind Juniper Block to canal. I personally visited the area and Bahria's Qabza is clear over there. Development is also under process. There are two options under consideration by Bahria Town management. One is to redesign the Juniper Block (I have seen the sketch of its new map in which Juniper was shown almost double of present map). The SECOND option is to manage OverSeas Block in this area.

C. The building of a Medical College in Sector C is now completed and has got required approval from authorities to start classes. The appointment of Professors has been made and first session of 100 students (25 BDMS and 75 MBBS) will be started within 2008.

D. The construction work on Grid Station has started in Sector B area and it is supposed to be completed by the end of 2008.

E. Generator of 1150 KVA, from Cumins Company, periodical maintenance done by Cumins, incase of power failure the backup supply, this supplies power to all Bahria Town Lahore residents and commercial areas, incase of load shedding or power failure from WAPDA the power is retired within 5 minutes. A new and dedicated Generator has been installed now in Sector B BUT for Safari Villas.

F. A water disposal system is under construction in Sector B.

G. Land line Phones are now offered to all Bahria residents including Safari Villas. PTCL will finalize it within August 2008.

H. Bahria Town water management system is really appreciated. If due to any reason it disturbs, fire Trucks are there to fill the water tank in emergency. A new and dedicated tubewell has installed for Safari Villas.

I. Fire fighters are on duty round the clock which is an amazing service.

J. Bahria Town Hospital has some consultants in the evening. The fee is only Rs.200/= for Bahria residents. Besides this all available Tests are offered on very nominal charges. Bahria Town pharmacy provides medicines on residents’ door steps within 24 hours if it is not readily available.
K. Bahria Town Hospital has started Free Registration of the residents so that the patient could be treated without any delay during emergency.
L. The residents can avail the services of Doctor on duty any time by making payment of only Rs.50/=
M. Bahria Town has started admissions for new session from August 01, 2008. The school was extended by 30 more class rooms during last year. Bahria Town School issued its first but very nicely edited annual magazine. Bahria Town School is registered with Cambridge University for O level and A level exams. Monthly School Fee is less than Rs.2,000/= for Preschool students including pick and drop service from the door step of Safari Residents.
N. Bahria Town Lahore is planning for a tallest artificial water fall in Pakistan in its sector C. 
O. Bank, Post Office with all facilities, Police Station, Air conditioned shopping Centers are already working and some additions like Beauty Saloon, Gym and Cinema are also introduced in Bahria Town Sector B.
P. Safari Mall in Safari Villas Lahore is being handed over to an investor after Eid.

LIVING EXPERIENCES in Safari Villas
Life in Safari Villas is improving day by day. It is an amazing experience to witness all these additions. Bahria Town management is trying to facilitate its (at least Safari Villas) residents. Me and my family is enjoying our stay over here. Malik Riaz Sahib opened a special office to address all the problems of Safari Villas related to construction even if possession was given three year earlier. Madam Maira is appointed as a Manager so that the ladies can approach her without any hesitance. Her office is over booked so one has to wait for ones turn but they are trying their best to address each and every problem.

We did face serious power failure problems due to some technical fault in the generator. Too much interruption in the power supply caused a real problem for the residents but the management dedicated a new and special generator for Safari residents within ten days. Now the system is working satisfactory. 

Electricity unit rates are now revised. Residents are bound to pay flat rate Rs.9/= per unit from July 2008 which is too expensive. No monthly charges has been revised and residents are paying Rs.1,000/= per month which is on lower side as there are many services provided against this amount.

DSL Wireless (Internet) Service is available for Safari Area. TV Cable Service is now working efficiently.

Almost every second week there is some recording (shooting) of some TV program, drama or film is seen in Safari Area.

Sundays evening is like a fair or MELA is Safari. People from all walks of life come here and families enjoy picnic over there.

Due to too much rains in Lahore some time heavy water is seen on main road of Safari and Sector B but Bahria Town Management is continuously improving the system. Workers are engaged to clean the road as soon as rain stops if needed. Nowadays Bahria is resetting all of its roads for solving the problem of water slope. The main road on canal has finalized during last week. Water Disposal System is under construction which is basic need to control water drainage. Due to limited population and availability of work force this is being managed without any problem. Keeping in mind Bahria Town’s philosophy of CHANGE (change is only permanent value in Bahria Town. Change in policies, promises, commitments, work force and road systems etc is always main thing of Bahria Town), there will not be any practical living problems in near future (at least 10 years).

Thokar Chowk is now much better for traffic and it will be properly managed within couple of months which was the only hindrance for daily traveling to the city. Canal Road has been completed till EME and work on next phase is also under process. I think that it will be completed to Bahria Town with in 2008. As soon as it is ready the drive from Bahria to City will be an easy and tension free job.

CMY   Hussain bhai thanks for writing a very detailed post. Your time and effort is highly appreciated.

Abrar   Kaisrani sahib, many thanks, very detailed post. God bless you. This post will help many visitors of this forum and many from overseas will still be obliged with recent pictures, otherwise news, views and confused.:) P.S. Pictures should be of Bahria, Lahore, and not Bahria Pindi. I know a friend here who went back home to get married after seeing a picture but came back with someone looking different. It turned out that picture he saw was of younger sister. Anyway, they are living happily now.

tzk  thanks husain saheb for providing useful details like always. 200 houses, is it sector b excluding safari villas?  How many safari villas are occupied? Did the situation of school improve?

Shahid, Melbourne  Good review! How much is a new 8 Marla Safri villa in Lahore.

JJ   How long is the drive from Safari Villas to the center of Lahore, both in peak traffic times and in non-peak times. thanks

tzk   i would estimate 30-45 minutes to most parts of lahore but husain can give better idea as he drives every day

Abrar   I would not recommend a daily commute to the city depending on the current road and traffic conditions. I find pictures of vehicles stuck in rainwater and frequent traffic jams very disturbing. Realistically, a place of work in Lahore and other cities in Pakistan should be within a radius of 10 miles, maximum and even that commute should be on public transportation. Public transportation should be made available more easily, its quality should be improved, and it should offer low fare during rush hours. People should be encouraged to use public transportation and by doing this they will help themselves and others. They will have more money in their pocket, they will save fuel, they will save environment and they will reduce traffic jams. Where possible employers should offer incentives to their employees for using public transportation.

JJ   I am a bit confused. Safari Villas are sold as already designed built houses, right? From the pictures I see, most are not totally free standing. In other words, they are connected to the neighbors home, much like a town house in the US. Is that also correct?

tzk   safari villas are town houses

mrk  Kindly post some pictures if possible

JJ   Who pays for the upkeep of roads and parks and for simple maintenance of the villas that is provided by managment?  Are there montly service charges for each villa ?