Puda, Mohali, Punjab

Our work involves the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority, or PUDA as everyone calls it. Even though we deal with Mohali, this specific office is located at H.No. 2638/2 in Sector 47-C, Chandigarh. It is a residential-looking area, which makes the work environment feel a bit more relaxed than a big office tower. We spend our time managing records for houses and land allotments in the Mohali area. It is a lot of data entry and looking over old property documents. Most of us have been working in the Chandigarh and Mohali region for years, so we know the sectors pretty well. The office is basically a house that has been converted into a workspace. We have files stacked in the cupboards and desks squeezed into the rooms. People come here to settle their paperwork or check on their property status. It is a lot of back-and-forth with the main headquarters. We do not really do any advertising or anything like that because we are a government body. It is just a place where the staff shows up, has their tea, and tries to get through the list of applications for the day. The commute between Chandigarh and Mohali is part of the daily life for most people working here. It is just a regular routine of managing urban development files. Some days the phones don't stop ringing, and other days it is very quiet.