http://orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=28167

Report by OrissaDiary.com correspondent; Bhubaneswar: Orissa Govt. has started planning for Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in Bhubaneswar city area to meet the growing demand for public transport. For the purpose, a meeting of Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority ( UMTA) was held under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary Bijaya Kumar Patnaik in the secretariat conference hall.

In the meeting different dimensions of the proposals for BRTS business plan and urban mass transit system were thoroughly discussed. It was decided that Bhubaneswar Development Authority would prepare Detailed Project Report-2(DPR-2) by inviting tenders from interested firms.

BDA has also been asked to prepare Integrated Comprehensive Movement Plan for Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Konark. The DPR-2 will specify the details of technical & engineering design, financial implications, possible business plan, and organizational structure for implementation. Chief Secretary Sri Patnaik has directed BDA authorities to finalize tendering process within three months. It has also been decided that Bhubaneswar-Puri Transport Service Ltd. (BPTSL) will introduce Global Positioning System (GPS) for passenger information. Through this the passengers waiting at bus stops can get the message about arrival timing of the busses. A Depo-cum-Terminal over 4.5 Ac has been developed by BDA for city bus service in Pokhariaput.

BDA has proposed for additional 1.5 Ac of land near the Depot for developing modern terminals and other facilities. Chief Secretary has advised Secretary Housing & Urban Development Saurav Garg to examine the details of the proposal. The Principal Secretary Finance Jugal Kishore Mohapatra, Vice – Chiarman BDA Sri Deoranjan Kumar Sing, Chairman BMC Bishal Dev and Police Commissioner B.K.Sharma participated in discussions.


Given that this is a new BRTS, I feel it deserves a new thread.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bda-to-float-tenders-for-brts/171314-60-117.html

BDA to float tenders for BRTS

BHUBANESWAR: For the City bursting at its seams and growing vehicular traffic have the State Government propose bus rapid transit system (BRTS).

?A meeting of Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) was held here under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary BK Patnaik on Wednesday to discuss various dimensions of the proposed BRTS business plan and urban mass transit system.

?It was decided that BDA would prepare a detailed project report by inviting tenders from interested firms. The process should be completed in three months. It has also been asked to prepare an integrated comprehensive movement plan for Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Konark area.?? The meeting was informed that BDA proposed an additional 1.5 acre of land for city bus service at Pokhariput to develop recreational facilities and other commercial activities.? The Chief Secretary asked Housing and Urban Development Secretary? Saurav Garg to examine the BDA? proposal.

when i was in india at 2004

i had such a nice bike - royal henfield (you can see pics here - http://www.royalenfield.com/ )

anyway, it was such a bike!!!! :cheers:

i travel all around india with it :))
wish to every one of you to do such a trip!


have a great day!! :banana:


cheers


scot
-------------------------
eye exercise (http://www.glassesoff.com/?page_id=1250)

http://vv.telegraphindia.com/1120125/jsp/odisha/story_15048707.jsp

Big plans for urban transport
Chandrasekharpur to Pitapalli in 10 mins

BIBHUTI BARIK

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 24: The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) will develop a detailed plan to facilitate better urban transport in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri and Konark. The integrated mobility plan (IMP) will include mass rapid transport by buses, bicycles and dedicated corridors for pedestrians.

The IMP will analyse the traffic density in each locality and plan the widening of roads as required. The planning will be done according to the comprehensive development plan and the existing transport mechanism will be included in the IMP.

A senior official of the BDA said: “Initially, the focus will be on the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Urban Complex (BCUC) as the twin cities are growing fast. As the BCUC cannot think of something like the metro rail because there are not enough people living in the area and it would not be economically viable, the emphasis will be on bus road transport system (BRTS). A dedicated route of around 50km will be developed within BCUC.”

However, as the development authority is running short on manpower, it will outsource the exercise. An agency will be selected to devise a plan for the twin cities.

According to initial plans, the Pitapalli-Cuttack stretch near Bhubaneswar will be developed with a large number of high-rises set to come up along the road. The BDA is also planning several office complexes in the area. There is also a plan to construct a second bridge over the Mahanadi near Naraj. As the region will be a high-population density zone within the plan area, a dedicated BRTS on the lines of the Janmarg of Ahmedabad will be planned.

“With the development of a dedicated BRTS route, buses will run at speeds of 60-70kmph and it will not take more than 10 minutes to reach Chandrasekharpur from Pitapalli,” said the BDA official.

The official, who did not wish to be named because restrictions are on ahead of the panchayat polls, said the IMP will include everything from dedicated roads, bus terminals, exclusive bus stops, where no other vehicle will be allowed to park and flyovers. “Janmarg in Ahmedabad has successfully added more than 50km of dedicated BRTS corridor under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. We want to add at least 40km in the first phase under the BCUC area,” the BDA official said.

The IMP will also have pavements and safe bicycle tracks so that in future, people can use green modes of transport and help lower pollution levels near major junctions and city centres.

“There is also inadequate distribution of traffic on city roads. While some roads are extra wide such as Janpath, some stretches along the national highway, Acharya Vihar, CRP Square and Power House Square to CRP are not wide enough with respect to the current traffic flow. This results either in slow vehicular movement or more traffic mishaps. The IMP will provide the consultancy to widen the roads as required and all the government agencies concerned will abide by it because everything will be done following the comprehensive development plan prepared by IIT Kharagpur in 2008,’’ an official of BDA’s planning section said.

Reacting to the plan proposed by the BDA, a senior member of the Real Estate Developers Association (Reda), Anup Mohapatra, said: “The mobility plan is definitely a good move by the authorities, but according to the provisions of the comprehensive development plan and as seen in cities such as Cuttack and New Delhi, the state capital first needs an outer ring road to facilitate the development process. The development process has already started in many areas along Infocity II and the Pitapalli-Barang Road, but the development of road network following the comprehensive development plan is very slow. The BDA should give stress on master plan roads inside the plan area. Unless the inner networks are developed, no IMP can be effective.”

“Many roads are still under the rural works department. They should be brought under the public works department after their inclusion in the urban fold,’’ Mohapatra added.