Less than six months ago, the Immigration New Zealand offices in Hamilton underwent a massive surge in personnel. The staff was in fact tripled to deal with the rapidly increasing list of pending visa applications from India, with a bulk of the work shifted out here from their Mumbai offices. And the expansion continued as 2019 drew to a close.
INDIA TOUR OF NZ, 2020
Because in Hamilton, India target little more success with little less stress
Seddon Park is as high-scoring a venue as Eden Park, even if you are hitting to or over more even-sized boundaries. © Getty
It, if anything, mirrored the incessant influx of Indians into this quiet town pretending to be a city in the last half-a-dozen years with many leaving the riches and the expensive lifestyle of Auckland behind. So much so that some locals believe their number too has tripled in the recent past. Though a lot of that has to do with the never-ending need for labour on the multitude of cattle and dairy farms all across the Waikato region, a lot of Indians have also moved into the city seeking other jobs.
Not like moving from Auckland to Hamilton is a very cumbersome task, considering how close they are -- all of an hour and 25 minutes away on a state highway where the speed limit doesn't go past a 100 kph. Think of driving from the southern part of Mumbai to Pune on a weekday morning. Hamilton is more or less the same distance but based on travel time, you'd be where Panvel is currently.
And it's a rather buoyant and confident Indian team that would have made that journey two days prior with a bid to win the T20I series before they head further south to Wellington. Much like their compatriots who preceded them to Hamilton, Virat Kohli & Co too will hope to continue with what they did in Auckland, but at a more relaxed pace in a small but still spaced out setting.
Not like they won't have to immediately get their heads on the job and shake off the understandable comfort that comes with a
