Eco-friendly & hi-tech parking

Tuesday, Sep 01, 2009

Believe it or not, Delhi's getting a parking lot which is a green building, has rainwater harvesting, a sewage treatment plant of its 
own, solid waste management and energy efficient gadgets and devices to make it a building of the future. The capital's first "green'' car park, which also run on a state-of-the-art robotic technology to move cars, is soon coming up on Kasturba Gandhi Marg.

The parking lot is coming up on an area of 66,941 square feet, on a triangular plot located behind Kasturba Gandhi Marg. It will have 15 levels 12 overground and 3 basements, all of which will have parking lots. The same plot will also house a commercial complex with several levels of office space.

What sets it apart from the other multi-level parking lots is the fact that this is the first environment-friendly building. The building itself has been designed in a manner that there is a lot of natural light and fresh air coming in. The building has features like roof top thermal insulation, double-glazed windows to reduce power consumption. All the light fittings are going to be energy efficient and even the main lights of the building will be fitted with timers for switching on/off and dimming the lamps. The parking bays, ramps and garages are 100% disabled-friendly in design to enable use by everyone.

Even during construction, there will be use of fly ash instead of concrete and cement wherever possible. Use of timber has also been restricted and barring door frames, wood is not being used anywhere else. The replantation of about 20 trees, which had to be cut at the site for construction, is being done at the site itself as the building design has green spaces where over 230 trees will be planted.

For water conservation, the all rain water from the roof and storm water drains will be collected in underground lines and discharged into an underground aquifer using detention tanks and recharge wells. Even inside the building and office spaces, water efficient devices like quarter turn taps in wash basins and infra-red operated no-touch urinal flushing are being installed. The building will recycle all the water used bringing down need for fresh water by about 90%. No surface or groundwater source from NDMC will be required even when it is operational.

All the trash from the building will be put in separate colour-coded bins provided for biodegradable (green), recyclable (blue) and non-biodegradable (red) trash. These will be given to NDMC under their solid waste management. Provision has also been made to deal with e-waste.

The car parking itself will be state of the art. Minus the hassle of haggling with parking attendants and long waits to find a slot, this multi-level parking will be controlled by computers, without any human interface. All one will have to do is drive into the garage, pull the hand brakes up, lock the car and move out. The rest will be handled by a centralized computer and the car will automatically be moved to an empty slot using specially designed travelators and lifts. The car owner will be issued a receipt for safe keeping, using which the computer will retrieve the car later.

"We wanted to make maximum space available for vehicles, for which going for a fully automated robotic technology was the best option. Even in a normal multi-level ramp parking, more than 50% space gets wasted because of the ramps and alleys required for movement of vehicles. The parking lot will have space for 1,582 cars,'' said Krishan K Mutreja of DSC Limited, which will construct and maintain the lot for NDMC.

A parking survey carried out in the area projected a demand for parking space for about 2,300 cars, of which, some amount will be serviced by existing basement parking lots in a few of the office buildings. The same plot was being used to park about 250 cars till now.

Construction on the plot will start soon. "We are waiting for a few approvals, which are expected anytime now. Soon after, construction will start. The building will be ready within 18 months and is coming up at an estimated cost of Rs 198.65 crore,'' Mutreja added. It has been given to DSC limited for 30 years.

Article sourced from timesofindia.indiatimes.com at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City/Delhi/TNN29parkintimattn-all-centres-from-delhi-metro-deskheenaHEAD/articleshow/4956072.cms

 

 

Container bottleneck to be cleared

Saturday, Aug 29, 2009

Long queues of container trucks that clog Maa Anandmayee Marg in south Delhi may soon disappear. The arterial link leads to the Tughlaqabad inland container depot and may be decongested as early as 10 days from now.

Speaking at the governing body meeting of the United Traffic and Transport Infrastructure Centre on Friday, lieutenant governor Tejendra Khanna directed DDA to hand over a large vacant plot located close to the Tughlaqabad facility for trailer parking. This would automatically ease the bottleneck on Maa Anandmayee Marg.

According to sources, the chaos at Tughlaqabad was brought to the notice of the office of the L-G some time back. A meeting was then held with senior functionaries of Container Corporation of India Limited to identify the reasons for the bottlenecks.Senior functionaries too visited the Tughlaqabad facility.

"It was found that a large number of trailers parked on the road as the depot had no place. Moreover, empty trailers, after depositing goods in places like Faridabad, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad, made their way to the Tughlaqabad facility to park in the hope of picking up a load to ferry on their way back. In the process, a major bottleneck was being created on Maa Anandmayee Marg," a top source revealed.

Meanwhile, Container Corporation of India Limited presented its plan of redevelopment of the depot facility as well. On Friday, the L-G directed DDA to hand over a large piece of land measuring 400 metres x 45 metres located in the vicinity of the Tughlaqabad depot to make room for parking. In his capacity as DDA chairman, he directed Container Corporation to prepare the site for the parking facility with immediate effect.

"Container Corporation has assured that the filling and levelling of land will take a few days and it will be made into a functional parking area for the trailers within 10 days," an official said.

Article sourced from timesofindia.indiatimes.com at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City/Delhi/Container-bottleneck-to-be-cleared/articleshow/4946556.cms

Delhi govt clears 3 projects of Rs 37 crore for CW Games

Monday , Aug 24, 2009
Source: http://www.indopia.in

The     Delhi Government&aposs  Expenditure  Finance   Committee today cleared three projects amounting to Rs 37 crore to improve infrastructural facilities for the   Commonwealth   Games next year in the national capital. During a meeting here, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit gave nod to construction of a DTC parking lot with an estimated cost of Rs 10.49 crore near IP Power Station along the Ring Road.

"The work would be completed within eight months. This parking lot is essential to accommodate those buses which are being procured for use during the mega sports event," Dikshit said in a statement here.

Another amount of Rs 16.37 crore has been sanctioned for construction of widening of approaches for Road Over Bridges (ROBs) in Keshavpuram in Northwest Delhi.

"For this purpose, the city government would have to purchase land from Haryana government for which Rs 9.15 crore would be released,"the statement added.

The Committee also sanctioned Rs 10.22 crore for strengthening of a 4200-metre-long section of main carriageway of Sri Anandmayee Road catering to Okhla Industrial Road area towards Faridabad.

"The construction work would ensure smoothening of traffic volume on the road as it leads to Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range which will be used during Commonwealth Games 2010,"the statement said.

Over 4 lakh drivers fined for jumping red light in Delhi

Sunday , Aug 23, 2009
Source: http://www.zeenews.com

Delhiites behind the wheels seem to be the most impatient drivers as a whopping 4.36 lakh of them were challaned for jumping red lights, making the offence the highest among traffic violations in the city this year.

A total of 22,07,764 people were caught while bending traffic rules till August 20 this year, with red light jumping topping the list of violations with 43,6,181 challans followed by improper parking (3,61,807).

"People seem to be a little impatient at red lights. They want to cross roads even when the green signal turns red. By doing this, they are putting the life of others at risk," a senior police official said.

According to statistics, prosecution of those jumping traffic signals have shown an increase of 28.48 per cent from the same period last year. Last year till August 20, Delhi Police had challaned 3,33,017 people for red light jumping.

Similarly, stop-line violation registered a 29.34 per cent increase this year (36,813).

Challaning on improper parking has also registerred a whopping increase of 84.05 per cent with the prosecution of 1,98,381 people for the offence. Police attribute it to lack of parking space corresponding to the increase in vehicles.

The other major traffic offences in the capital this year were dangerous driving (1,58,993), over-speeding (1,32,885), defective number plates (1,14,667).

While challans on dangerous driving increased by 107.06 per cent, it was 15 per cent for over speeding and 108.61 per cent for defective number plates.

Law panel for 10 years’ imprisonment for death caused by rash driving

Sunday , Aug 23, 2009
Source: http://thehindu.com

Expressing serious concern over the increasing number of deaths caused by road accidents due to rash and negligent driving, the Law Commission has recommended 10 years' rigorous imprisonment for such offences, up from a two-year term provided in the Indian Penal Code.

The Commission, headed by Justice A.R. Lakshmanan, in its 234th report submitted to the government on Saturday, also recommended that causing death by driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs should be punished with a minimum prison term of two years.

In its report on 'Legal reforms to combat road accidents,' the Commission said: "India has one of the largest road networks in the world, of 3.314 million kilometres, consisting of national highways, expressways, State highways, major district roads, other district roads and village roads. More than 1,00,000 Indians are dying every year in road accidents. More than a million are injured or maimed."

Driving recklessly/dangerously, non-observance of traffic rules, driving without driving licence, driving by untrained/disqualified drivers/minors, driving under the influence of liquor, driving while talking on mobile phone, driving without helmet, ill-health of vehicles and bad road infrastructure are among the causes of accidents, accroding to the report.

The Commission, which took up the issue suo motu in its recommendations, said Section 304 A IPC should be suitably amended to provide for 10 years imprisonment and causing death of any person under the influence of liquor should be punishable with a minimum of sentence of two years and any second or subsequent offence punishable for one year.

For rash driving or riding on a public way in a manner as to endanger human life, the Commission suggested amending Section 279 IPC by introducing Section 279 A and providing for five years' imprisonment, as against six months at present. Similar under Section 338 IPC for causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others, the Commission suggested five-year imprisonment as against two years at present and for reckless driving under Section 184 IPC, the Commission has recommended a punishment of five years.
"Install CCTV cameras"

The Commission asked the Centre to enact a comprehensive legislation on road traffic law to regulate all kinds of traffic. "As an important part of the enforcement measures, there should be compulsorily installed CCTV cameras at all vulnerable points, to be determined by an expert committee to curb traffic violations."

Further all motor vehicles should be fitted with irremovable or tamperproof speed governors to regulate speed, the report said.

Delhi Metro increases parking fee

Saturday , Aug 22, 2009
Source: http://thehindu.com

 When the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation recently announced that it will streamline the monthly parking system at its stations to benefit regular commuters, what it forgot to mention was an impending hike in parking fee.

Commuters who are regulars at the parking lots of the metro will have to loosen their purse strings in the coming days. At some parking bays, a hike in fees has already been implemented. For instance at Rohini commuters now have to pay Rs.500 instead of Rs.300 for a monthly parking facility and at Patel Chowk too commuters have been warned of a similar hike in fees.

"All of a sudden without any intimation the parking fee was increased by Rs.200. There should have been some kind of a notice at least," complained Sanjay Mehra, a regular commuter and a smart card user who parks his car at the Rohini station to commute to Connaught Place by metro.

The DMRC for its part claims that the parking lots are run by contractors who are hired after inviting bids. "Each parking lot is run by a contractor selected after a bidding process. These contractors are hired for a two-year term and they decide the parking fees after assessing the market. They pay the DMRC a certain fee per month, which is decided after taking into account the footfalls at the station," said an official.

He said the contracts for the parking lots currently in use will soon be renewed and the fee at most of these stations is likely to increase. "Each contractor will decide on the monthly fee and not the DMRC. At some stations the contract renewal has been carried out and other will follow suit," the official said.

"The parking fee at the DMRC stations is decided after market research and it is much less when compared with the fees levied by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi or the New Delhi Municipal Council."

Faced with a parking crunch at its stations, the DMRC recently announced that the bays will now be open to only regular commuters with smart cards using the metro at least 20 times each month or 50 times in three months. The process has been started on a pilot basis at the Vishwavidyalaya metro station.

Delhi border to be sealed on Aug 15

Friday , Aug 13, 2009
Source: http://pib.nic.in

If you are planning to travel out of the city on August 15, hit the Delhi border only in the latter half of the day. As part of Independence Day security arrangements, Delhi Traffic Police would be sealing the city borders on August 15. While commercial vehicles will banned from entering Delhi, all private passenger vehicles will be allowed only after thorough checking.

"The restrictions will be in place from midnight to about 9am on August 15, till the function gets over. Traffic diversions will be put on all roads around Red Fort while the function is on,'' said SN Shrivastava, joint commissioner of police (traffic). Due to these restrictions, heavy traffic is expected at the borders.

Within the city, no vehicles would be allowed on Netaji Subhash Marg, Lothian Road, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Marg, Chandni Chowk, New Daryaganj road and Link Road from 5am till about 9am. Only vehicles with issued labels would be allowed in this area on Saturday morning. Restrictions would also be imposed on Tilak Marg, Mathura Road, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Subhash Marg, Jawaharlal Nehru Marg and Ring Road till the celebrations at Red Fort end.

Buses plying on both interstate and city routes would be restricted interstate buses will not be allowed between ISBT Kashmere Gate and ISBT Sarai Kale Khan while local buses will not take Ring Road between Hanuman Setu and Bhairon Road. Buses terminating at Red Fort, Jama Masjid and Old Delhi railway station would also be diverted.

Access to hospitals, railway stations and bus terminals in the vicinity of the venue, however, would not be curtailed. "Vehicles would be allowed to go to railway stations, though there would be no parking for security reasons. Movement to hospitals would also be allowed,'' Shrivastava added.

Rs. 200 crore Traffic Management Plan for Delhi

Tuesday , Aug 06, 2009
Source: http://pib.nic.in

A scheme named "Developing of Traffic and Communication Network in NCR and Mega Cities and Model System of Traffic Management" has been included for implementation in 11th Five Years Plan with a provision of Rs. 200 crore. The scheme has two components viz., (i) Introduction of Intelligent traffic system (ITS) and (ii) Setting up of an Integrated Date communication Network (Cyber Highway). The scheme comprises a wide range of novel tools for managing transport networks, as well as services for travelers. The project broadly includes the state-of-art command and control centre, a city video surveillance system covering the maximum number of roads and intersections with fixed/PTZ cameras which will enable real time monitoring of traffic, assessment of road congestion, area control system, red light jumping cameras, intelligent transport system, variable message signs etc. Phase I of ITS Project will cover the area specific to the requirement of the Commonwealth Games (2010).

The traffic Management Plan prepared and implemented by Delhi Police is based on the following principles:

Regulations: The focus of traffic regulations is to improve traffic flow on travel corridors and reduce journey time. For this purpose, traffic Police keeps studying the traffic flow, congestion/bottlenecks points and ensure possible remedies to improve traffic flow pattern.

Road Safety Education: The thrust is on training programmes for drivers, motorists, pedestrians, school children etc. both in the organized and un-organized sectors.

Engineering Solution Measures: (i) Low cost Traffic Management measures (ii) High Cost Traffic Management Measures such as implementation of Intelligent Traffic System (ITS); use of modern enforcement equipments etc. and Creative Solutions module.

Enforcement strategies: The emphasis of Traffic Police is on quality having direct bearing on road discipline and safety.

The Traffic Management Plan of Delhi Police during the rainy season includes sharing of information by Delhi Traffic Police with all civic road agencies annually regarding the roads affected by water logging during heavy rains, de-silting and repair of roads/streets; deployment of additional manpower in the affected areas from offices and line reserves; area specific planning of diversions and implementation to ensure proper movement of traffic; dissemination of information through FM Radio etc..

The Transport Department, Government of NCT of Delhi has informed that in order to reduce congestion in Delhi roads, they have taken a decision to improve quality of public transport through extension of Metro throughout Delhi and NCR; introduction of BRT Corridors, procurement of low-floor Buses for DTC; modernization of Private Stage Carriage Service; installation of GPS based automatic tracking and monitoring system and introduction of automated fare collection system for seamless travel across modes.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shri Mullappally Ramachandran, in a written reply to a question in the Lok

Cutting the Chai: Dilliwallahs, Let's Take Errant Autowallahs to Task

Cutting the Chai: Dilliwallahs, Let's Take Errant Autowallahs to Task: "Soumyadip"

Road mishaps kill more than cancer

Monday , Aug 03, 2009
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Nearly 3,000 accidents have been reported on Delhi roads in the first six months of this year (till June 15), in which more than 916 persons have died. When compared to the same period last year, statistics reflect a decline of 21% in the total number of road accidents in the city. But the figure is still very high, and experts reveal that the toll of those killed on the roads is way higher than the fatality rates of ailments like cancer and heart attacks in Delhi.

Shockingly, the number of fatal accidents by DTC buses has seen a sharp increase of 59% in 2009, as these buses have already been responsible for 27 fatal accidents, compared to just 17 last year. The "killer'' Bluelines have been involved in 48 fatal accidents. The statistic was the same last year too.

The decrease in the number of accidents despite the fact that the number of vehicles on city roads is increasing by nearly 1,000 a day, according to the traffic police, could be attributed to a new system of accident analysis which is being adopted for each and every collision on the roads. According to the procedure, traffic policemen visit the site of every accident and fill up a detailed proforma to detail the causes of the accident, so that corrective action can be initiated accordingly. An analysis of the responses for 2008 has thrown up some startling facts. Times City shares them with you.

Contrary to popular perception that accidents `just happen' in the capital, the most common cause of accidents in Delhi is driver's fault, which caused about 1806 accidents last year, amounting to nearly 69% of the total 2015 accidents. The fault of the victim caused another 7% more accidents (171), about 6% were due to faulty road environment like poor lighting, unguarded digging, civil works or bad weather and 3% (68) were caused by bad designing of roads where basics like central verges were missing. Another 14 accidents (1%) happened because of mechanical faults in vehicles.

The police found that in nearly 461 accidents (26%), overspeeding was found to be the major offence by drivers. Jumping red signals, especially at night when the police presence is thin, was found to be the culprit in another 298 accidents (17%). Other offences like rash driving, lane indiscipline, sudden application of brakes, drunken driving and reversing the vehicle without looking what is at the rear were seen as the other causes for fatal accidents.

In the absence of proper road engineering cells in maintenance agencies, faulty road design like missing central verge, hole or pit on roads, potholes, narrow carriageways and sharp curves caused numerous accidents on city roads. The most common reason for accidents out of all of these, according to the traffic police, is missing central verges especially in outer Delhi areas due to which head-on collisions happen. These accidents are mostly fatal.

With rampant construction going on in the city and roads being dug up being a common sight, negligence of civic agencies is another major cause for accidents. As many as 78 accidents occurred last year due to improper streetlighting on main roads. Another 34 accidents were caused by bad weather like fog and heavy rain, followed by nine accidents due to unguarded civil work, three accidents due to slippery roads, and two due to the glare caused by vehicles using high beam.

In certain cases, it was found that the cause of the accident was actually the fault of the victim. The analysis revealed that 73 accidents happened due to rash driving by the vehicle driven by the victim, 34 when the victim (pedestrian) was hurriedly crossing a main road, 10 due to lane indiscipline, nine when the victim was boarding a moving bus, four when the victim suddenly applied the brakes and one due to drunken driving.

Based on the analysis compiled, the traffic police devised a strategy for prosecution. "Despite the fact that the challan amount has got reduced again and the number of vehicles on Delhi roads is increasing, we have managed to bring down the accident rate. The analysis has been used by us to devise specific solutions. For instance, it was found that two-wheelers drive rashly and are involved in several accidents. So this year, there has been a focus on their prosecution. Till June 15 this year, 19,526 two-wheelers have been prosecuted as against 1,684 last year,'' said S N Shirvastava, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

The overall prosecutions have also risen by 53% from 10,34,008 challans till June 15 last year to 15,83,747 in 2009.

Police plan to acquire big cranes hits CNG hurdle

Sunday , Aug 02, 2009
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The traffic police's proposal to get more cranes, including bigger ones to lift SUVs and luxury car models, seems to have hit a roadblock. Sources said that in wake of Delhi government's decision to convert all heavy vehicles in the city to CNG, the police are finding it tough to procure cranes.

In May this year, the traffic police had floated tenders to hire 150 cranes, including those with higher capacity to lift bigger vehicles. But the response, said sources, has been lukewarm. "Earlier this year, the Delhi government had come out with a notification making CNG mandatory for all heavy vehicles registered in the city. The last date for this was June-end, which has been extended by two months now. Since cranes come in this category, the owners are not willing to invest in new vehicles till the fate of the notification is known. This has resulted in a shortage of cranes,'' said a senior traffic police officer.

Also, it is feared that cranes may not be able to run efficiently on CNG and the retrofitting of CNG kits could affect the pulling power of the vehicles. According to the plan, the additional cranes should have been put on roads by now.

The tender is for hiring an additional 150 cranes, including 110 small cranes with a capacity of 1-2 tons. Another 40 high-capacity cranes with a capacity of 1.4 to 3 tons are being added to the fleet to tow away large luxury cars, jeeps and SUVs.

The cranes being used by the cops at present can not tow away large cars. In cases where these cranes have been used to tow away big cars, the front of the vehicles have been damaged. Currently, the traffic police has 53 cranes to deal with the problem of unauthorized parking all over the city. It has another 28 cranes but they are exclusively used to tow away vehicles in case of breakdown.

Road caves in on BRT corridor, two injured

Sunday , Aug 02, 2009
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

A section of the road on the controversial Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor here caved in early Sunday leaving critically injured two bikers who fell into a seven-foot pothole, officials said.

The incident took place around 2 a.m. when the road-section subsided near Defence Colony as the mud below the road seemingly turned soft apparently due to water seepage.

Amit Kumar, 23, and Santosh Kumar, 29, suffered injuries as their bike went inside the seven-foot-long crater. Both of them are working with a courier agency in Delhi.

"They were rushed to AIIMS trauma centre and are undergoing treatment, a police officer said.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said experts will look into the matter.

"We will inquire the matter and experts will look into the whole incident. But such incidents don't mean that we stop work on other BRT corridors, Dikshit told reporters.

The authorities have repaired the road and truck loads of mud were filled in the hole to prevent any such incident in future.

The BRT project manager, R.P. Singh said: We have repaired the road and are checking the reason (for the accident). The road is 50 years old and there might be a possibility of water leakage from an underground sewer or water pipeline that may have softened the stretch.

"There is also a possibility that rats might have dug the land below and subsequently rain water washed away the mud. We are checking the reasons and then only anything could be said, he contended.

The 5.6-km long Ambedkar Nagar-Moolchand stretch of the BRT corridor was opened to the public in May last year. The BRT corridor is to be extended to Delhi Gate by next year.

The 14.5-km Ambedkar Nagar-Delhi Gate project being built at a cost of Rs.18.19 billion will be a milestone for the infrastructure upgradation being carried out in the national capital for the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

According to Delhiites, such incidents clearly show how badly the city is prepared before the Commonwealth Games.

"Before it was Delhi Metro and now BRT. Such incidents show that we are compromising on quality of work and material to meet the games deadline. It is so scary as thousands of people cross the BRT daily and anything could happen. Delhi Government should take it seriously, said Abhijeet Singh, a software engineer.

The BRT corridor project has been in the thick of controversy for adversely affecting the flow of traffic. The Ambedkar Nagar-Moolchand corridor has also claimed many lives since last year, prompting people to express concern over its safety.

The government's Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) has already given the nod to six BRT corridors with a combined route length of 107 km.

The government's deadline to complete the BRT routes is December 2009 and commuters would be able to start using these corridors between January 2010 and June 2010, much before the commencement of the Commonwealth Games.