Urban Planning & Issues

[Krishnamoorthy K]

21 May 2012, 6:43 pm - Source: By Julien Bouissou - LE MONDE/Worldcrunch


The Gurgaon model symbolizes the new urbanization of India, led by property developers without any planning and public governance, Le Monde reports. (AAP)

On the outskirts of Delhi, Gurgaon is archetypal of the new middle class ghettos sprouting all over the country: a disorganized gated community of luxury condos, shopping malls and golf courses that's missing basic infrastructure and public spaces, Le Monde reports.

Is the city of Gurgaon, the symbol of emerging India, about to sink deep into sewage? In 30 years, the population of this satellite town near Delhi went from a few thousands inhabitants to over 1.5 million. Air-conditioned shopping malls and residential complexes are attracting more and more people who are looking to escape the congested Indian capital.

But in the subterranean of Gurgaon, a catastrophe is about to happen. With over 30,000 illegal wells, the ground-water level is decreasing at an alarming pace, by about one meter each year. Water tables are also contaminated by the infiltration of untreated wastewater stagnating in hidden sight.

“The city is drowning in its excreta,” claims a report published in April by the Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment (CSE), whose experts fear an outbreak of water-borne diseases such as cholera.

Although it has glass towers and luxury condos, Gurgaon is now facing the same problems as a slum. Roads are full of potholes; the electricity works intermittently and there are no pavements- and would be the point of having them anyway? The city doesn’t have a single public park, only vast shopping malls surrounded by car parks. In Gurgaon, the only life that matters is in gated communities.

If you believe the advertisements, these gated communities are guaranteed to bring happiness. They have their own water systems, electric generators, parks, community centers, as well as their markets protected by fortified walls. They have names like “Digital Green,” “Conquerors’ Park” or “Deer Hunt.”

“Gurgaon symbolizes the advent of privately managed cities, created by Indians who wanted to escape public governance, a system they equated with corruption and dysfunction,” explains Sanjay Srivastava, a sociologist at the Institute of Economic Growth (IEG) in New Delhi.

In the Aralias complex, apartments are rented at a minimum of 6,000 euro per month, for flats up to 1,200 square meters. For this price, residents have sprinkled lawns, a smell of bleach in the air, soccer games on a giant screen in the private restaurant, and everything that is needed to forget the country’s chaos.

Why is this residence so luxurious? “Because all apartments have a view on the golf course,” explains the real estate agent. Maharajahs had their private hunting grounds, now senior executives have their own golf course. The problem is that it rains less in Gurgaon then in Britain. The water needed for golf courses is pumped from the underground water tables, and the games are often played at night, under huge floodlights.

Not far from there, in the village of Chakarpur, there is neither swimming pool nor golf course. The only sport for residents is waiting for the electricity to arrive, so they can pump water from the underground tables. Because cheap labor is necessary to supply gated communities with chauffeurs and servants, Chakarpur was spared by property developers. The help live here, crammed in tiny windowless rooms.

Prosanjit Saha, 22, doesn’t mind this life: “I earn 17,000 rupees (250 Euros3) a month as a cook: that’s double what I would earn in my West Bengal village,” he says. He downplays water and electricity problems. On the door of their 10 square meter room, Saha and his three roommates wrote: “Save water – drink beer.”

Created from nothing- vision without a vision

Gurgaon could as well have been called DLF – the name of the company that built the city. On this stony land, where peasant farmers were trying to grow crops 30 years ago, Kushal Pal Singh imagined a city tailor-made for the growing middle-class.

The story of Mr Singh, as told by a real estate agent, is right out of Hindu Mahabharata mythology: “Once, he came upon Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, in the fields of Gurgaon. He got Gandhi to agree to his project, right there under a tree, and then bought the peasants’ lands one after the other; 3,000 hectares in total.”

But Kushal Pal Singh is no mythological hero, nor is he a city planner. “He created gated communities one after the other, without any global vision. With the construction of surrounding walls, there is no continuity between public and private space,” city planner Rwitee Mandal deplores. Some talk about “the United States of Gurgaon,” in reference to the very American life-style it promotes, but mostly to the rampant privatization of urban space.

The Gurgaon model symbolizes the new urbanization of India, led by property developers without any planning and public governance. “The soul of India lives in its villages,” Gandhi used to say. Since its independence, urban policy has never been a priority.

But since India has become the world’s second largest economic growth, big cities have become an unavoidable issue.

According to the McKinsey management consulting firm, by 2030, India will have 68 cities with more than one million inhabitants - twice as much as Europe. And 1,200 billion dollars will be invested in infrastructure development. India is definitely lagging behind in this area: public spending per capita in the cities in only a sixth of the amount spent for rural populations. Worst than the lack of infrastructure is the absence of planning, which is the reason behind so many new Indian cities’ failure, according to a WWF report published in 2010.

Gurgaon’s first ever municipal elections were only held a few months ago, as if, for the first time ever, the fate of its residents was taken into account. In the “Nirvana country” complex, the life of Richa Dubey is hell.

“We are like foreigners in our own country. We live in a bubble with no contact with real life,” explains Dubey, who moved here with her husband two years ago.

With other residents’ associations on her side, Richa Dubey is fighting for the city to develop public spaces, starting with pavements and public lightening to decrease the sense of insecurity among citizens. A community radio was also launched, where residents can share their daily problems.

For the moment, generators, water pumps and fortified walls artificially keep Gurgaon alive. But how long will that last? “The bad management of infrastructures and natural resources, combined with a ghettoization of the population, could produce social tensions,” worries Sanjay Srivastava.

SBS

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Akash, slave culture is back with isolated europes within India.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Bagish K Jha, TNN | Jun 16, 2012, 06.11AM IST

INDORE: Do you often have to look for excuses after reaching your home or workplace very late? If so, here is a survey that will suggest you what to blame for while handling such a situation. A Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) prepared by RITES on behalf of Indore Municipal Corporation ( IMC) observes that 85 per cent of the reported traffic delays in the city are due to congestion. Survey holds encroachments and on-street parking mainly responsible for the same.

Sujata Savant, additional general manager (Urban Transport), RITES said that by checking the on-street parking and encroachment menace, traffic can be streamlined to a great extent in the city. It will also reduce the travel time.

Lack of free and easy availability of parking space and and inadequate public transport facilities are the main reasons behind parking woes. Parking at junctions like Regal Square and Bhawarkua proves to be nightmarish at times for the commuters. Parking in areas like Kothari market and city centre also lead to traffic snarls.

The survey also said that the junctions of the city are not constructed as per the Indian Road Congress (IRC) standards. It says that self regulatory roundabouts with huge leftover space are left neglected and unmanaged. Insufficient rotary radius leading to traffic merging at right angles causes accidents. Faulty geometry and presence of large directional islands add to the delay at signalized junctions.

The traffic lights on rotary are also not serving the purpose-traffic signals at rotary slow the movement of traffic as most of the green phase is consumed in traffic weaving. Thus RITES suggest that all the roundabouts should be removed. Roundabout at Regal should be removed and statue of Mahatma Gandhi should be shifted to SSP Office.

It further says that bus stops and petrol pumps located at intersections and multiple junctions at very short distance are causing congestion. Service road opening directly on the intersection and no lane marking on carriageways cause also obstacle to the movement of traffic, and increase chances of accidents. RITES has prepared junction improvement plans for 40 junctions of the city including Radisson Square and Regal Square. The survey observed that national highway and state highway carry majority of the city traffic but function inefficiently due to inefficient carriageway width. Absence of footpaths and parking on footpaths also cause traffic congestion.

Survey points that city lacks pedestrian infrastructure with very few roads having footpaths. Most of the junctions do not have zebra crossing and pedestrian signals. Major roads such as RNT Marg, MG Road, RTO Road, Collectorate Road and others have raised medians, barricades and inappropriate kerb heights discouraging pedestrians. Absence of pedestrian crossing also encourages use of vehicles. Survey points that absence of pedestrian crossing facility along the long stretch of 1.5 to 2 km like the one from Regal Square to Madhumilan Square forces pedestrians to use private vehicles.

TOI

They want to subsidize parking, that too free. Horrible. Why don't they take measures to discourage usage of personal vehicles? If mass transportation system is not adequate then why don't they improve it?

Do they have traffic signals at roundabout? Why? Let them have either roundabout or traffic signals.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Originally Posted by engineer.akash

India has not matured yet to the extent that we think of environment or put the nation's interest first before ours.Indian middle class aspires for 4 wheelers,which is considered as a luxury still.In few old homes in bangalore especially basvangudi area,I understand these houses were built in 1970s which have no concept of garage,leaving the owners parking their vehicles on roads.I am not suprised to see 2-3 cars in upper middle class homes.

This trend of viewing cars as a luxury will go on for some more years.No matter what kind of public transport you bring in middle class/upper middle Indians will continue to show off with their cars .Forget rich class using public transport that is not the case even in developed nations.

They have to pay for the luxury. Free or subsidized parking, subsidized diesel, inadequate road taxes all are becoming a big burden on our economy. How long government has to pay for this luxury from its pocket? A big zero of social concern make pedestrians life horrible. There is no concern at all for health of others who have to inhale polluted air created by them. It is not only air but soil & water also getting polluted of petrol & diesel. Only autobile industry is enjoying. Government is happy that automobile sector is generating employment because they have failed to generate employment in other sectors.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

The Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) Act will be revamped to improve urban planning, said the BMRDA metropolitan commissioner Rajeev Chawla.

At a session on housing and urban development, Chawla said that as part of the amendment, a Metropolitan Planning Committee would be set up that would review development work in the Bangalore Metropolitan Region. The Kasturirangan Committee Report had recommended a separate committee to oversee urban development in the region.

"Multiple planning authorities and gram panchayats don't work in a secularized manner that results in isolated master plans. It has to be integrated effort to be productive on the ground," Chawla added.

To bridge the funding gap that urban local bodies face, Chawla suggested a pooled finance development fund for these bodies to raise capital for developmental works. He also suggested that the government revisit municipal bonds as a fund-raising instrument.

To check the growth of illegal layouts, BMRDA has created base maps to capture property details of older and new layouts and map other utilities within the 8,000 sqkm covered by BMRDA. The base maps will go live on the agency's website very soon. "There is a serious problem with land management system. Property records need to be improved drastically to check illegal layouts and base maps will facilitate this," he added. He said four vendors have been shortlisted for building the new 9,000-acre Bidadi township.

Housing and Urban Development Corporation credit

Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco) will extend a credit line of Rs 2,500 crore to the state government for urban development and housing projects. This includes a fresh loan of Rs 1,500 crore to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. The corporation signed an MoU with the state government for this on Friday.

"We're giving an additional loan of Rs 500 crore towards the first phase of the project, while another Rs 1,000 crore would be extended for the second phase of the Bangalore Metro," V P Baligar, MD, Hudco, said. The governmentowned corporation has already extended a loan of Rs 700 crore to BMRC for the first phase.

Skywalks and toilets

BBMP commissioner Shankaralinge Gowda said BBMP proposes to build about 200 skywalks and 2,000 public toilets in the city under public private partnership (PPP) mode. The BBMP also plans to generate energy using solid municipal waste.

TOI

Karnataka: Split BBMP, HDMC into smaller entities, says Suresh Kumar

BMRDA will be augmented, BBMP will be split.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Linah Baliga, TNN | Jun 16, 2012, 06.17AM IST

MUMBAI: They do not want to be labelled as 'moral minders' by supporting ACP Vasant Dhoble's crackdown on pubs and eateries. But the predominantly growing presence of such establishments in the Bandra-Khar belt is essentially due to bad governance, say residents and town planners.

H (West) and various other citizens and residents' groups will jointly file a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act to find out whether lounges, bars, bistros, restaurants and pubs across the city have all their licences in place.

Residents groups in Bandra-Khar, who are the affected party, passed a resolution on Thursday to support ACP Vasant Dhoble who has been conducting raids on pubs and eateries, and demand separate 'entertainment zones'.

Urban planners TOI spoke to on Friday also spoke of an urgent need to change zoning laws in Mumbai. Pankaj Joshi, executive director, Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI), said this would require changes to the Development Control Regulations as well as provisions under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act.

"There are cases where people have been earlier granted relief by court because of disturbance caused by wedding halls. So if an area is zoned as residential then the huge commercial activity of a pub is not a complimentary activity. But zoning laws do allow pubs in residential zones," said Joshi.

Architect P K Das blamed 'lack of ' or 'inadequate' governance for the phenomenon; urban planning demands that impact assessment be carried out before granting of permission, he said.

"Impact assessment is mandatory for governance. Today we are facing this anarchy in development due to lack of comprehensive planning and absence of impact assessment. Peace and life of a residential area are turned upside down due to the presence of pubs," said Das.

The basic problem, say residents, is the spilling out of crowds from establishments on to the streets outside. "The congestion on some of the streets postmidnight has to be seen to be believed. Residents have a huge problem accessing their buildings and parking. We are harassed to a point of no return, what with clients throwing condoms, bottles filled with urine and patrons coming out with liquor glasses," said Anandini Thakoor, chairperson, H (West) Ward Citizens' Trust.

Residents said if all the entertainment is clubbed in an activity zone everyone would be happy — the police, the youth, owners of these facilities and, of course, beleaguered residents of areas, around the present locations of these facilities.

Aftab Siddique, chairperson, 33rd Road ALM, said pubs and bars involve "huge" money for all concerned. "It brings in huge amount of revenue legally and illegally for not just the owners but for the concerned sanctioning authority departments," she said.

PLAN B: CREATE ENTERTAINMENT HUBS

Residents in the Bandra-Khar belt have been pressing for entertainment districts in the city that would be separate from residential localities. The Bandra-Kurla Complex is an option, they had long suggested to home minister R R Patil. That it is a commercial and not a residential area is a major point in its favour. Offices in the business district close by 7pm, and most pub activities usually start after 8.30pm and go on till the wee hours. For such a plan to be realized, Development Control Regulations as well as provisions under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act would have to be amended, said Pankaj Joshi, executive director, Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI).

TOI

It is one's fundamental right to stay in a pub free zone. The government should protect this right by facilitating pub free zones. If you want a pub go and stay in a pub zone.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

PUNE: Over 65% people are against the bus rapid transit system (BRTS) project in the city, says a survey conducted by a city-based group of researchers.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is planning to implement BRTS on four more routes after it was first introduced as a pilot project on the Swargate-Hadapsar and Swargate-Katraj routes a few years back. The Mantraa group spoke to 700 people during a 12-day period about the proposed routes in Kothrud, Vishrantwadi, Kharadi and Kalewadi.

"The aim was to know people's views about the BRTS. Most people were skeptical about the project," said Medha Tadpatrikar, one of the researchers, at a press conference on Monday. Tadpatrikar said that people raised questions about the lack of required infrastructure and also doubted the ability of the civic administration in completing the project successfully.

"People said that since city roads are very narrow, implementing the BRTS is not a good option," said Shirish Phadtare, another researcher who was a part of the group.

Total 65.39% people gave a no to BRTS on new routes while 21.82% supported the idea and remaining 12.79% people remained neutral.

Reasons cited for rejecting BRTS

1) Narrow roads
2) Civic administration's lack of ability
3) Traffic congestion
4) Lack of study
5) Inconvenience to pedestrians

TOI

1) Narrow roads - BRTS is the best solution for narrow roads. If BRTS roads are already bus routes then no problem for bus users.
3) Traffic congestion - BRTS is the best solution for narrow roads. They will reduce congestion when more & more people keep their vehicle at home and use BRTS.
5) Inconvenience to pedestrians - Incovenience to pedestrian is caused mainly by personal vehicles parked on footpath.

Pune BRTS can still succeed, says A'bad expert‎
‎First bus rapid transit system in Pimpri Chinchwad by December

Petrol price hike: Many dump cars, rush to board public transport‎

Remove diesel subsidy, parking fee subsidy. Hike road tax. Impose green cess, congestion tax. When next time OPEC Countries raise petrol price all will be rushing to BRTS. No traffic congestion, no pedestrian problems.

Indore: BRTS to become functional from January
Bhopal: BRTS: Timeline goes for a toss
Bhopal: Bus Rapid Transit System ride to take you down heritage lane
Ahmedabad: Your wait to ride on BRTS just got that much longer
Visakapatnam: BRTS: officials directed to invoke LA Act

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Union Urban Development Secretary Sudhir Krishna was all praise for the project

Eco-friendly overhead stations designed by the L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad engineers for the city's metro rail project providing for natural ventilation and thereby reducing power consumption is worth emulating by other metro rail projects underway in different cities.

This was stated by Union Urban Development Secretary Sudhir Krishna on Wednesday after witnessing the ongoing construction at the Uppal depot and pier works.

He mentioned that he would be recommending the eco-friendly design to the other metro projects.

PLANTATION DRIVE

Mr. Krishna was also appreciative of the successive translocation of the uprooted trees along the three corridors and the plantation drive. A documentary of the exercise should be sent to the Central government so that other developmental projects could follow suit, he said.

PASSENGER FARES

Hyderabad project's approach in pre-fixing passenger fares and fare escalation formula before the bid process and issuing fare notification on these lines had insulated the project from possible legal disputes at a later stage, a press release said.

PROMISES FUNDS

He also promised that the Centre would positively consider funding additional pedestrian facilities being planned like skywalks, bicycle tracks, street furniture, etc., under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) based on the study being conducted by IIT Delhi. A sum of Rs.19 lakh was already sanctioned for the study by the Centre.

PRESENTATION

Mr. N.V.S. Reddy, in his presentation informed the Union Secretary that field works were in full swing in Nagole-Mettuguda stretch on corridor-III and at Miyapur on corridor-I.

Mr. Reddy highlighted the balanced approach that was followed in allocation of risks between the government authority and the private concessionaire.

TH

Eco-friendly measures are required not only in metro stations also in all bus and railway stations. All terminals could be green buildings.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to install rainwater harvesting structures‎

Delhi is not less eco-friendly than Hyderabad!

Metro rail project on track, Surat Municipal Corporation sanctions study
Mumbai Metro Rail delayed till March 2013‎
Nagpur Metro rail project shaping up‎
Cabinet nod to Pune Metro, in-principle nod to Nagpur Metro
Chandigarh: Administration vetting final draft‎
Centre constitutes advisory board for all metro rail systems‎
Metro rail keeps safety protocol firmly on track
Kochi Metro to start tender process soon: E Sreedharan
After Mumbai, Pune to get Metro rail
Chennai Metro Rail Project‎
Metro work to begin as Ved Vatika house owners agree to Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation proposal
Hyderabad Metro Rail stations to house hair salons to hospitals, says NVS Reddy

DMRC feeder bus service soon‎

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Dipak K Dash, TNN Jun 13, 2012, 10.58PM IST

NEW DELHI: India has sought Canada's help to implement the intelligent transport system in a large scale. Indian highways minister CP Joshi and his Canadian counterpart Denis Label discussed at a high level meeting in Cubec.

The two ministers also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Canada. Joshi is on an official visit to Canada with senior officials of NHAI and his ministry. The MoU will facilitate sharing and exchange of knowledge and technical expertise in the areas of infrastructure development, operation and maintenance of roads and Intelligent Transport System etc.

India has shifted focus towards the private-public-partnership mode for undertaking development and upgradation of national highways network across the country as also development of expressways which are going to be access controlled with all modern construction technology, information technology, including electronic toll collection system.

It is expected that there would be an increase in involvement and participation from Canadian infrastructure industry in India's ambitious National Highways and the Expressways Development Project.

Acknowledging that India has to travel a long distance before coming up with a full Intelligent Transport System, Joshi emphasized that Canadian expertise in these areas will enable us to achieve the goal through enhanced cooperation, technology transfer and capacity building programmes under the MoU signed between the two countries.

TOI

[Krishnamoorthy K]

BANGALORE: Yet another peacock feather added to the cap of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), now with the crown of eWorld 2012 for Best ICT enabled Urban Governance Initiative of the year. KSRTC has rolled a pilot on Intelligent Transport System in Mysore on just 500 buses, 105 bus stops and six bus terminals.

KSRTC runs the city transport in Mysore. The project will be commissioned from August 1, this year across all the fleet that operates intra-city. The ITS has vehicle tracking systems fitted in each bus and bus stop and terminal to get a real time location of a particular bus on a particular direction or destination. The pilot was tested with a few hundred contact numbers of daily commuters who would get the time on his mobile when he would get the bus at his bus stop.

This system also includes systems having Central Control Station, Passenger Information Management System, Communication Sub System, Travel Demand Management, Incident and Emergency Management System, Operational and Maintenance Specification and Fleet Management System.

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation ( BMTC) is also likely to adopt ITS in Bangalore shortly.

TOI

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Bagish K Jha, TNN Jun 17, 2012, 02.27AM IST

INDORE: Right now if you are traveling from Vijay Nagar to airport during peak office hours, it takes around 1.20 hours. If the city's traffic condition continues to be the same as it is today, then nine years down the line, it will take around two hours to cover the same distance, says a study report.

The comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) prepared by RITES, a government-run engineering consultancy firm, says that the average traffic speed in Indore is 16.35 km per hour at present and it will decline to 10.8 km per hour in 2021 mainly because of unplanned development and traffic bottlenecks like poor road networks, irregular traffic junctions and roundabouts, lack of parking space and faulty signal system. This will increase the travel time subsequently.

Psychologists believe that slowing down of traffic speed will consume more time on travelling and it will lead to irritation among motorists and incidents of road rage would also rise. This is a worrisome scenario for the city, which already tops the fatal road accidents in the country.

Sujata Savant, additional general manager (urban transport), RITES, said that earlier, the focus was on the movement of vehicles. Now the focus is on movement of people and goods. Government policies centered on movement of vehicles and it had failed to solve the growing traffic problems. The number of private vehicles on the roads kept on increasing every year and it led to more traffic congestions.

CMP focuses on movement of people and goods by using minimum vehicles in order to reduce congestion on roads and increase the speed of traffic movement.

Savant noted that if measures are not taken now, then the speed at which the city traffic moves will slow down significantly in the coming years. However, if measures suggested in the CMP can increase the speed of traffic from existing 16.35 km/hr to 18.8 km/hr by 2021 and 19.4km /hr by 2031.

Listing out some of the reasons behind the slow pace of traffic movement in the city apart from infrastructure bottleneck, the report states that passenger volume at all the bus terminals has exceeded their handling capacities and as a result, street proxy terminals have cropped up. These proxy bus terminals are road side terminals causing hindrance to vehicular and pedestrian movement.

The report points out that if conditions continue to be the same, then it will result in further unplanned growth promoting longer trips and unidirectional flow of traffic.

Hitting at master plan of the city, the CMP observed that master plan has adopted low density development which will require more areas and encourage inefficient utilization of land. Land utilization rate in 2006 was 6.29 hectare per 1,000 persons, while master plan proposed land utilization rate of 10 hectare per 1,000 persons. It will cause increase in travel distance and time and it will also increase the cost of travel.

The report observed that the proposed segregated land use under master plan will promote longer trip and it will further increase the private vehicles share. Right now, 77% of vehicles on roads are private mainly car and bikes.

Right now, around 25.65 lakh passenger trips are carried out on an average day of which 21.07 lakh are vehicular trips. Average trip lengh is 5.84 km which is 40% more than the trip length of the year 2000. Kilometer travel have increased from 81 lakh km to 172 lakh km over the past 10 years. Today, 50% of the total travel trips made by the Indoreans are for work and business purposes, while 15% trips are for educational purpose.

TOI

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Bangalore, June 20, 2012, DHNS:
In order to tune into a sustainable transport in the City, the State government should take some bold steps like banning free parking, said Prof T G Sitharam, Chairman, Centre for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning (CiSTUP), IISc.

Speaking at a seminar on “Green Economy: The way forward for sustainable public transport,” organised by the KSRTC, Sitharam said the first step needed was to ban free parking in the City. Also, congestion tax needs to be introduced in the Central Business District (CBD) areas, which would force commuters to use public transport, he said.

Sitharam said public transport should aim at providing better access to citizens than easing out mobility issues. The focus of public transport should be on the movement of people and not just movement of vehicles.

To achieve this, a proper transport master plan was the need of the hour, the professor said and added that at least now, the State government should pursue commuter rail very seriously. A public transport can be considered good only when it is accessible, safe, environment-friendly and affordable, he said.

The professor said factors like proper planning, analyses, designing integrated transport systems, implementation and monitoring are key to sustainable transport.

Principal Secretary of the Transport Department and Vice-Chairman of the KSRTC P B Ramamurthy said it is high time we as a society move towards green economy from greed economy. A clean transport system is the need of the hour, he said.

CEO and MD of Diesel Gas Technologies, Robert Enc Thompson, said use of catalyst equipment in the engines of the public transport vehicles will go a long way in reducing emission of gases like carbon monoxide, hydro carbons, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter.

Karthik Sharma of Volvo company said hybrid buses proposed to be introduced in Bangalore can reduce the carbon footprint up to 30 per cent. The vehicle has an increased passenger capacity and silent start-3dB less noise.
On the first 15 km / hour-run, the vehicle runs on electrical energy and beyond that, diesel will assist. The emission of estimated 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide will be reduced during the entire lifetime of the bus that is 12 years.

Deccan Herald

Jayanagar cycle track to be ready by June-end
Malls only on city outskirts
Eureka! New way to widen Sankey Rd

[Krishnamoorthy K]

A. SRIVATHSAN



Even as the State alternates between two options to expand the metropolitan region, A. Srivathsan analyses the impact of the move on neighbourhoods

How much bigger would Chennai get? Will it become a large metropolitan area of 4,400 sq km or a humongous urban zone covering 8,800 sq km?

The state government is currently reviewing two options to decide on the final size of the greater Chennai region. Either way, the existing limits of Chennai metropolitan area are set to expand. The question is whether it would grow to amalgamate Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu. Indications are that it would.

In the last five years, the hinterland of Chennai has grown rapidly and witnessed a steep rise in population. The government planners, after studying this growth pattern, concluded that the present size of the metropolitan area — 1,189 sq km including the core city — was not sufficient to ensure balanced urban development. They have proposed two different-sized regions for planning Chennai’s future.

The first option has Gummidipoondi and Uthukottai taluks in the north, Sriperumbudur in the west and Chengalpattu in the south. This covers an area of 4,400 sq km. In the second option, the north and western boundaries remain the same while the western boundary extends to include Kancheepuram and Uttaramerur taluks. Cheyyar makes the southern boundary. This covers an area of 8,800 sq km (Refer map).

Government sources said they proposed the idea of a larger Chennai region after studying cities such as Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. They arrived at the exact area after taking the administrative boundaries of taluks into consideration.

Greater Mumbai urban agglomeration (city and its adjoining outgrowths), which has a population of about 18 million, is the smallest in terms of city region — 4,355 sq km. On the other hand, Bangalore, which has less than half of Mumbai’s population, is the largest urban region in the country (excluding Delhi-National Capital Region). The core city is spread across 771 sq km and the region 8,005 sq.km. The size of Hyderabad region is 7,100 sq km and its population is about 7.7 million.

Rohan Shivkumar, an urban designer based in Mumbai does not dispute the need for a regional plan, but cautions that Chennai cannot blindly follow Mumbai. “Functionally and socially, cities go beyond their boundaries and impact farther peripheries. Hence, planning has to take into consideration a larger area around the city. Mumbai’s experience with regional plan is mixed. While some good has come out of it, it has also paved way for exploitation of natural resources in the hinterlands. Development has been uneven. Chennai cannot blindly adopt the Mumbai model, it has to arrive at its own logic.”

An architect involved in evolving the Bangalore regional plan, who did not wish to be named, said that the larger urban region has resulted in multiplicity of authorities. “Each one is pulling the city in a different direction and regional planning process has not effectively taken off,” he said. “Declaring a large area as an urban region has helped developers most. They can now easily change agricultural land to urban use, which would have been difficult otherwise. It will do well for Chennai to put in place a governance structure before seeking to create super-sized cities,” he said.

It appears, Chennai, which almost has the same population as Bangalore, is keen to mechanically adopt either the Mumbai or Bangalore model rather than arrive at its own criteria. It has also overlooked well-known alternatives to regional planning such as the Randstad, the most studied model in the world.

This region in Netherlands does not delineate a single region around its alpha city — Amsterdam. Instead, it connects four cities — Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Hague — through a high speed transportation network. This allows the four cities to develop without losing their importance or unique features. Equally important, this plan protects the large productive green space between the four cities.

This approach has considerable relevance to Chennai. Instead of developing a Chennai-centric single-region, a polycentric model with separate Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu and Chennai urban regions, is possible. This alternative can also help network smaller towns such as Sriperumbudur, Tiruvallur and Madurantakam. The vast agricultural land in between could flourish as the food basket of the region.

“Delineating a bigger region would not necessarily solve Chennai’s problems. The city’s future is linked to overall urban development of the State. Unless neighbouring cities are developed and the larger urban network is strengthened, a lasting solution for Chennai cannot be found,” said K.P Subramanian, former professor of urban engineering, Anna University.

TH

Urban Jungle: No city for old people?‎

[Krishnamoorthy K]

DIVYA GANDHI
DEEPA KURUP


Bangalore has become a cyclist’s nightmare but there are nascent efforts to turn things around. Photo: K. Gopinathan

Sebastian has worked as an electrician for over two decades now. When he started out as an apprentice, he cycled all around the city, landing odd jobs in what was then the city's outskirts. There were always some roads that he knew were off-limits for cyclists, but over the years, that list only got longer.

Over the past decade, Sebastian notices that most people, who once cycled to work, have given up. Large flyovers, complicated intersections and roundabouts and the more recent signal-free corridors, have rendered most routes impossible to negotiate for a cyclist. “Bangalore is not what it used to be: cycling is a luxury actually. Even on the smaller roads, now traffic spills over, and it is unsafe too,” he bemoans.

ABYSMAL INDEX

Indeed, a Mobility Indicators Report, prepared by the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) a few years ago, corroborates this. It found that the percentage share of cyclists in road transport had gone down from a low two per cent to one per cent, between 2006 and 2008. And in the absence of any cycling lanes or tracks in any of its roadways, its cycling index was a resounding zero.

Sujaya Rathi, a research scientist at the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CiSTUP), points to a mismatch between the National Urban Transport Policy and the development trends in cities such as Bangalore. “The national transport policy talks about the need for an equitable allocation of road space, encourage public transport and non-motorised modes of transport. But here we find that the process of building roads overlooks the largest section of users: pedestrians, vendors and cyclists,” she says.

UNSAFE

The city's roads are distinctly unsafe for cyclists, devoid of cycle paths and packed with too many vehicles all moving too fast, says Ms. Rathi. What the city needs is clearly segregated lanes for cyclists that are connected to each other and also to public transport nodes such as bus stops. “Cyclists need safe parking in public places and workplaces; and most importantly, we need to create awareness among motorists about prioritising pedestrians and cyclists,” she adds.

H.S. Sudhira, an urban researcher formerly with the DULT and a cycling enthusiast, believes that Bangalore's transport planning can no longer be about widening roads and creating flyovers. “The supply has reached a saturation point. What we need is demand side management,” he says.

To begin with, a ban on free street parking might be a good idea, he adds. “We widen roads only to have a good portion of it colonised by parked cars. And so we lose a good portion of the carriageway that could have accommodated a cycling track,” he says. In fact the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 allows licensed drivers to commute, but does not necessarily authorise them to park on streets. “On-street parking must either be banned or priced at a premium,” says Dr. Sudhira.

The silver lining, of course, is that in recent years, there has been a renewed focus on making Bangalore a cyclist-friendly city. Government bodies such as the DULT, urban planners and cyclist groups have been planning several projects in key areas in the city, many of them at varying stages of implementation.

JAYANAGAR PROJECT

Though delayed by a few months, the cyclist-friendly zone, a pilot project in Jayanagar, is likely to be inaugurated in a fortnight, says DULT special officer Shailendra Singh.

The project does not envision dedicated cycling tracks, but uses a combination of other techniques — including signages, zoning and varied signal timings in congested areas — to improve “cycleability”. Cycle stands will be introduced near important buildings, parks and facilities, to encourage people to shift to these environment-friendly vehicles for shorter trips within the area. This project, though basic, costs around Rs. 3.5 crore.

TRANSPORT SHARE

In other parts of the city, plans are under way or in final planning or early tendering stages to implement similar projects. In Madivala, near the lake, DULT is working towards creating its first full-fledged cyclist-friendly zone. This area was chosen because its survey showed that a sizeable population here is using cycles: the transport share of cycles was eight per cent, compared to the city average of two per cent, says Mr. Singh. “Being an area where there were several low-income groups and settlements, more people were using cycles, which is why we chose to start our project here,” he adds.

The project cost for Madivala is an estimated Rs. 7.5 lakh. The detailed strategy for Madivala, spread out around approximately 10 sq km, involves a three-pronged approach: dedicated cycling tracks, identifying cyclist-friendly streets and routes (where traffic is less intense) and the most critical junction improvements (which deals with signal timings and allowing cyclists to cross safely).

The DULT has also conducted feasibility studies to indentify routes for cyclists in Koramanagala, RMV Stage II, Indiranagar and R.T. Nagar, while detailed project reports are being made for HSR Layout and Rajarajeswari Nagar.

TH

Bengaluru: New protocol to repair major roads in city
Bengaluru: BMTC's big buses may hit roads next week‎
Bengaluru: Green groups gear up to save Lalbagh from BDA‎
Hubli city planners turn their back on Girani Chawl
Mysuru: Officials prepare to peddle to work

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Himansshu Bhatt, TNN Jun 22, 2012, 05.51AM IST

SURAT: The town planning (TP) scheme for Vesu-Abhwa-Magdalla and Gaviyar is unique. All the plots here would have access to an 18-metre road, a first not only for Surat city but also for entire Gujarat.

There would be sufficient space for Surat Municipal Corporation ( SMC) to provide all the basic amenities to the plot holders and this would also ease traffic congestion problem in the area. Electricity and gas supply agencies, too, would get bigger space to lay their underground networks.

"This should have been the norm in every TP scheme," said a developer.

Surat Builders' Association ( SBA) president Velji Shota told TOI, "This was our suggestion to urban development minister. Our basic idea was that there should be enough space for vehicular traffic in every TP scheme."

SMC's TP committee chairman Kanti Bhanderi said, "Our aim is to have uniform policy. We plan to do the same in all future TP schemes."

Provision for basic infrastructural facilities is made in every TP scheme that is conceptualized. If the reservation ratio is for 35 per cent, then uniformly 35 per cent of the land is taken away from each plot holder.

Now with 18-metre road in the whole of TP schemes, no one would lose anything.

At least 122 TP schemes in the city are at different stages of approval. The provision of 18 metre road has been made in the 123rd TP scheme.

"If the town planning officers (TPO) want, they can make the provision for 18 metre road in at least 76 TP schemes," an official said.

TOI

What about BRTS?

Leave 3 meters on each side for NMT & pedestrians. And two meter on each side for trees so that people using NMT & pedestrians can enjoy shadow of trees.

Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority releases town planning map for Bareja, invites objections
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation allocates crores for infra in Sanand‎

[Krishnamoorthy K]

By Raka Choudhury


Prakash Singh/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
An efficient BRT in Delhi, which when implemented system-wide, would provide an attractive public transport alternative.

The push back against Delhi’s Bus Rapid Transit seems like an unnecessary waste of time and energy, just delaying the inevitable. This is because Delhi’s reliance on private cars, two-wheelers and even auto-rickshaws is not sustainable in the long-term. Here are some reasons why:

Fuel Prices: Last month, petrol prices were raised 11.5% to 73.18 rupees per liter in Delhi. The outcry at this perceived attack on the “aam aadmi,” or common man (who anyway remains largely unaffected because he rides a bicycle), has been sizeable, and laughable at times. A Hindustan Times opinion piece says “its psychological impact… has been devastating. The night before [the price increase], long queues had formed at petrol pumps as if tanking up would save cars and two-wheelers from Armageddon.”

A recent policy brief by the American Public Transportation Association examines how public transportation “protects Americans [and everyone else] from gas price volatility.” While it states that an increase in petrol prices will cause a shift from automobiles (and other private modes) to public transport, a less obvious finding is that “the decline in ridership [on public transport] when gas prices fall is not as great as the increase in ridership when gas prices rise; the long-term effect is an increase in ridership.”

The price of fuel may fluctuate in the short term, now that it is a deregulated commodity. But ultimately fuel is a diminishing resource. It is elementary economics that as supply decreases (and demand increases), prices will rise. An efficient BRT in Delhi, which when implemented system-wide, would provide an attractive public transport alternative.

Congestion Pricing is Coming to Delhi: In early 2010, under a Delhi High Court order, a Special Task Force was set up to study problems related to traffic congestion in the city. Among the subsequent proposals, congestion pricing was recommended for heavy vehicles entering Delhi and all vehicles entering certain congested parts of the city’s center and old quarter.

In December 2011, news broke that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi planned to charge car drivers 150 rupees ($2.70) and motorbike riders 50 rupees during the day (residents of congestion zones would be exempt in their area). Even though experts believe the plan would be difficult to implement in Delhi, it remains an option that may well be turned to in the future (or may manifest itself as an increased tax on fuel in the city).

Increase in Parking Fees: The Special Task Force also recommended a re-evaluation of parking practices in Delhi. According to Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director of research and advocacy at the Center for Science and Environment, scarce urban land is being offered for parking, in what perpetuates a “hidden subsidy” to car owners. It also raises some equity concerns. “More land is allotted for one car slot while building a multilevel parking structure than to a low cost housing scheme for poor people. A car needs about 23 square meters to be comfortably parked, but a very poor family in Delhi gets a plot of just 18-25 square meters,” she said.

The National Urban Transport Policy also recommends that parking should be used as a restraint measure that discourages the use of private vehicles, thereby making public transport more attractive.

And the Delhi Government is looking into it. In early May, Delhi’s Transport Department posted a public notice inviting feedback on the proposal to increase parking fees. Existing fees range from about 10-20 rupees an hour, but the new proposal is to charge a fee of 50 rupees for the first three hours during peak times and 30 rupees for the first three off-peak hours. After this, every subsequent peak hour will cost 30 rupees, and every off-peak hour 20 rupees. The proposal also includes a monthly charge of 1,500 rupees for residents, who have been parking for free until now.

Finite Road Space: Approximately 21% of Delhi’s land area is occupied by roads, which is among the highest worldwide, according to the task force. And with much of the city developed, there is very little scope for adding more. Additional roads do little to alleviate the problem anyway. Drivers are tempted to travel on the newest roads, soon bringing congestion levels back to where they were initially, and often even making them worse. The flyovers between AIIMS and Dhaula Kuan on the Ring Road illustrate this well. The only option now is to manage our traffic by prioritizing buses, which occupy only 2.5 times the road space that a car needs and carry up to 40 times as many people.

Health: For those of us who sneeze and wheeze through Delhi, this is probably the most important reason. The Centre for Science and Environment last year said that the health of everyone who travels on urban roads regularly or lives near them is at serious risk. “About 55% of Delhi’s population lives within 500 meters of such roads – and is therefore, prone to a variety of physical disorders,” it said.

With increasing car-ownership and congestion, and thanks to some good policies being put in place by the Delhi Government, it is going to get harder and more expensive to drive in Delhi. It would be smart to put our weight behind sustainable public transport. We need an efficient system that puts a network of buses running on dedicated lanes within an easy walking distance from our front doors, connected with an extended metro system.

If you do want to continue driving, despite the rising fuel prices, high parking fees and congestion charges, you should still support the BRT: it just may take some cars that are competing for space with you off the road. Now that is an outcome we should all be rooting for.

Raka Choudhury is an urban planner with a decade’s experience in Washington, DC. Since her return to Asia, she has worked on projects in Singapore, Malaysia and India. The views expressed here are her own. You can follow her on Twitter @rcrc201.

You can follow India Real Time on Twitter @indiarealtime.

WSJ

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Lucknow Gujarat’s CEPT, Delhi UMTC both favour new system to improve city’s mobility

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has formed a high-level committee to examine various aspects related with the implementation of Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) project in Lucknow. The committee headed by Chief Secretary Jawed Usmani will also select a consultant to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Lucknow BRTS.

Other members of the committee include Industrial Development Commissioner, principal secretaries of PWD, housing, finance and planning departments. Divisional Commissioner, DM of Lucknow, SSP of Lucknow and vice-chairman of Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) have also been included in the panel.

UP Housing and Urban Planning Department has been made the nodal department for the project. A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) would also be formed. The LDA will function as nodal agency for the project till the formation of SPV.

In a meeting regarding the project on Tuesday, Ahmedabad-based Centre for Environment Planning and Technology (CEPT) made a presentation about BRTS and its feasibility in Lucknow before the chief minister. Delhi-based Urban Mass Transit Company (UMTC) also made a presentation about the city’s mobility plan it had prepared. Both CEPT and UMTC suggested BRTS as a good option for improving traffic system in Lucknow.

The CEPT is credited to successful implementation of the BRTS project in Ahmedabad. In a two-day survey of the city traffic conducted in May, CEPT found BRTS feasible for Lucknow.

Sources said that the state government officials and CEPT experts have proposed to get 50 per cent of the project cost from the Centre under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

Sources said that CEPT has proposed to operate BRTS in Lucknow along the median of the road that is the separation between two-direction flow of traffic. “Two-lane operation of BRTS could be made at median of the 30-metre wide roads which is available on various important routes of the city. On 18-metre wide road, one way movement of BRTS has been proposed,” said an official.

It has also proposed elevated movement of BRTS on 18-metre wide roads. Elevated corridor has been proposed on the road connecting Vidhan Sabha Marg with Lohia Path in Gomti Nagar. Lohia Path can have two-lane median movement of BRTS. Plying of high-floor buses in BRTS has also been proposed.

According to government’s press release, BRTS will cost around Rs 20 crore per km.

For Lucknow

Chief Minister has directed officials to construct Railway Over Bridges in Daliganj and Puraniya and widening of underpass near Haathi Park to six lanes. He also called for finding out the possibilities of construction of an over bridge connecting Pipraghat to proposed Green Park in Gomti Nagar Extension housing scheme and another bridge over the railway track on Sultanpur Road.

For Kanpur

A delegation from Kanpur city met the CM and requested to complete the pending development projects worth Rs 6 crore. The delegation requested the government to take steps for reviving glory of the industrial city. The CM asked the officials to shift Transport Nagar in Kanpur to city outskirts. He also assured the delegation of shifting the Kanpur District Jail to outskirts. CM also assured to revise power tariff and handover the power distribution in Kanpur to private agency to improve power supply there. He assured to develop ghats along river Ganga.

Express India

Akhilesh gives nod to Bus Rapid Transport System in Lucknow

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Mechanisation of cleaning operations including sanitation works are going to be the focus point of civic administration in the coming days.

A Road-sweeping machine has been brought for demonstration purpose. The civic administrators have drawn up a plan for the introduction of mechanised devises for a slew of activities including road sweeping and loading and transporting of municipal waste from various points in the city, which are now carried out by its casual labourers.

A road-sweeping machine has been brought to the Kochi Corporation office on Sunday for demonstration purpose. The machine, developed by the Bharat Earth Movers Limited, a public sector company, would cost around Rs. One crore. If the machine is found to be useful and if budget permits, the Corporation would purchase the machines, said T.K. Ashraf, the chairman of the Health Standing Committee of the Kochi Corporation.

The Corporation is planning to carryout a demonstration of the sweeping machine before stakeholders in the city shortly and if proved successful, the machine would be first used for cleaning operations on Sahodaran Ayyappan Road, he said.

PROPOSAL

The authorities are also considering a proposal for the introduction of small vehicles with facilities for mechanical collection of waste. The proposal for the purchase of these vehicles and devices will be considered under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. If the project of the civic administration progresses as planned, the mechanisation will be completed in four months, he said.

Presently, the Corporation has 955 casual workers on its roll who are deployed mostly for cleaning operations including the sweeping of roads, de-clogging of drains and door-to-door segregated collection of refuses. On an average, six workers would be deployed in the Corporation a day for sweeping roads and by-lanes. Rain and inclement weather conditions would hamper cleaning works on these days resulting in the accumulation of waste, he said.

While members of the Kudumbasree units are largely involved in the collection of refuses from the eastern parts of the city, the job is mostly carried out by the Corporation workers in the West Kochi area. The mechanisation of garbage removal from roads would also help the workers stay from the unhygienic environs, he said.

T.B. Mini, a trade union leader of casual workers of the Kochi Corporation, said that the labourers were working in unhygienic conditions and without even the basic amenities.

The cleaning works of the Corporation have mostly become the job of the casual workers and members of the Kudumbasree units. The workers are not well-paid, she said. The civic administrators often fail to provide them raincoats, gloves and boots. During the rainy season, many workers are forced to work without rain coats, Ms. Mini said.

TH

For transport NMT, BRTS & Metrorail, for cleaning machines are good.

Kochi: Solar power for streets
Urbanisation the key villain

[Krishnamoorthy K]

AYAN PRAMANIK

* To be built as a tourist destination, the quay will have an array of amenities such as pavers’ blocks, amusement park, and shopping kiosks

KOLKATA, JUNE 21:
A Singapore-like riverside quay may soon become a reality in Kolkata. The State Government has taken up a beautification plan on the lines of Clarke Quay in Singapore along the Kestopur canal.

Starting from Chitpur lock gate in Central Kolkata, the canal – now heavily silted and locally known as Pocha Khal – runs parallel to the VIP Road aka Nazrul Islam Sarani, connecting the airport to the city, before heading towards the wetland further North East.

To be built as a tourist destination, the quay will have an array of amenities such as pavers’ blocks, amusement park, and shopping kiosks. Small boats will also pass through the canal to facilitate waterway transport and conducted tours.

The Urban Development Department has also taken initiatives to speed up works to divert all the sewer lines falling into the canal, meant to be an important irrigation channel.

“We will build a quay like in Singapore along the Kestopur canal. We hope to start the project by August,” Mr Firhad Hakim, the State Urban Development and Town and Country Planning Minister, told Business Line.

The Rs 3-crore project will be developed jointly by the Kolkata Municipal Development Authority (KMDA), Bidhannagar Municipality and Techno India, he added.

According to Mr Vivek Bharadwaj, Chief Executive Officer, KMDA, an expression of interest has been issued for appointing a consultant for preparing a detailed project report for the desiltation of the canal. The desiltation project will come under the National Ganga River Basin Authority.

The bids for this are expected to be opened by Friday, Mr Bharadwaj said.

In order to stop the sewerage water flow into the canal, plans are also underway by the urban development department to set up water treatment plants using the sewerage water.

BL

Read also post #585 on page #30.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Ashok Pradhan, TNN | Jun 23, 2012, 05.17AM IST

BHUBANESWAR: A Saheed Nagar address is among the most sought after and costliest in the city. Anybody who owns a house here is a millionaire because of the high real estate price. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to access basic amenities like power, road and water in the locality, dominated by prominent retired bureaucrats, several politicians and business families.

Bound by the NH 5 and Satya Nagar on the western and eastern sides respectively and Janpath-railway track on the southern-northern directions, Saheed Nagar was originally planned for 5,000 people. But at present, 30,000 people live in the area that witnesses a footfall of around 20,000 because of the offices and markets. The serenity of a residential area is vanishing by the day because of the commercial properties, said local corporator Umanath Mishra.

Originally planned for big residential bungalows sprawling over an average 0.1 acre, the area has become more of an office-cum-shop complex. With real estate price is shooting up, many people are tying up with builders to convert their houses into apartments, putting an extra load on the already fledging civic infrastructure. There are around 150 residential plots of 0.1 acre size in the area. Though government price is around Rs 8 crore per acre, the market price is around Rs 12 crore per acre with no plots valued below Rs 1 crore. Several hotels, showrooms and offices have come up in the area, choking the infrastructure.

"The water and sewer network built in 1960s is not ready to tackle the extra load. Water scarcity is worsening by the day," said Debendra Mishra, former state election commissioner, who resides in the area. The local corporator agreed with Mishra. "The sewer lines get chocked every now and then. Though these are cleared through the 2,000 manholes frequently, the garbage is mostly not lifted. It gets littered on the roads. I have raised this issue with the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) several times," said Umanath.

He said even the conservancy lanes have been spoiled. Despite cleaning these several times, residents and commercial establishments are indiscriminately dumping waste in these lanes. Tripping of power supply is also common because of the undue load, the corporator added. With public health and engineering department (PHED) pipe supply water getting scarce, people are increasingly relying on deep bore wells, resulting in receding of the water table.

People are very upset with the Cineplex coming up in the area. BMC in partnership with a private party has been constructing a five-storied shopping, office, residential and cineplex structure on a 6 lakh sq ft area. It would house corporate offices, shopping malls, retail outlets and residential apartments. "Instead of defacing the old localities, city planners should look for virgin areas to plan vertical structures where roads, sewer lines and power infrastructure can be made available accordingly," said Piyush Rout, a consultant in urban management.

The condition of roads are equally bad. A case in point is the road from plot no.I to the ESI Hospital, one of the major inner roads, that has been lying dug up because of the ongoing sewer work for around two years. "This road has become very accident-prone," said Dr Arabinda Mohanty, president of the Saheed Nagar Socio-Cultural Society, an association of residents. Among others, the road in front of Mayur Bhawan, office of director of Nandankanan Biological Park, is invariably water-logged.

Mohanty, who is a paediatrician, drew attention towards the insufficient healthcare facilities in the area. "There is no government-run facility to cater to medical emergency. The Saheed Nagar zonal dispensary should be strengthened to make it a full-fledged hospital with regular staff," he said. Dr Mohanty said many retired couples are settled in Saheed Nagar while their children stay in other cities. But there is no dedicated healthcare facility for them though Saheednagar has some good private hospitals.

The area has a slum population of around 2,000 people, who mostly reside near the Vani Vihar railway station. "Steps should be taken to refurbish the look of the station. Though it lies right next to residential area, it is in a bad shape because of encroachments. These should be removed," said Naresh Mitra, a resident of the area.

TOI

Not a drop to drink in Bhubaneswar