Creating the 'City Of Joy' Snehdeep Aggarwal, chairman of Bhartiya Group, has built Bhartiya City– a project built on the concept of a 15-Minute City– a residential urban concept in which most daily necessities can be accomplished by either walking or cycling from residents

Growing up in the close-knit society of Amritsar shaped the vision behind Snehdeep Aggarwal's voracious entry into the real-estate business.

"I grew up in Amritsar and have very fond memories of a close-knit society. Everything one needed was within 10 minutes reach. When I was setting up the fashion business, I used to travel to various countries, especially across Europe. The beautiful cities and the public realm really fascinated me. I used to observe and see how good urban design creates beautiful environments both aesthetically and socially. It was nice to see how people could walk, cycle, shop, celebrate in a planned way and yet co-exist almost organically," said Snehdeep Aggarwal, chairman of Bhartiya Group.

When Bhartiya Group got an opportunity to foray into real-estate business, Aggarwal was excited about the idea of creating a good life inspired by his life experiences. "The more I thought, the clearer it became that we will have to build a complete ecosystem to create the vision I had of a good life. So, we decided to build a whole city–without any prior experience, we decided to create Bhartiya City–only with a strong vision of a good life. We call it the City of Joy."

Today the best cities in the world are aiming to become 15-minute cities. Bhartiya City has been designed on the same principle. It is a smart and sustainable city spanning over 130 acres that comprises homes, school, Leela Hotel and residences, an IT Park, a mall all built around a city center and Central Park. The entire city is connected via walking and cycling tracks. "We worked with the best master planners across the globe for almost six years to design this vision. We brought together master planners, architects, landscape designers, urban planners to create this holistic experience where every detail is planned."

Traditionally cities were formed alongside rivers or trade routes and Bhartiya City is built around a city center. "The city center is the thriving commerce and business center comprising a mall, one of the largest convention centers in Bangalore, Leela Hotel and a Central Park."

The pandemic has been harsh on the hotel and travel industry. With things going back to normal, the sector is slowly reviving. "The sector came under intense downward pressure with many shutting shop in the initial and second phase of the pandemic. It has now witnessed a quick ramp up led by leisure demand due to relaxed restrictions, good vaccinations and pent-up demand. Since then, the hotel industry demand has recovered at a sharper pace with occupancy and room rates showing good trends across all hotel categories with business travel and MICE leading the way. We expect a healthier trend going ahead in FY 22-23 with the opening of scheduled international flights."