Air quality of Delhi nosedives with withdrawl of the odd-even exercise

#oddeven #airquality #delhipollution A check of the quality of air in New Delhi has revealed that the first three working days after the end of the odd-even exercise saw rapid deterioration with levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) registering a jump of more than 57 per cent on the first working day itself. This analysis has been done by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). It has said that Delhi has lost the air quality gains of odd and even scheme and the delayed winter will make pollution worse unless suitable steps are taken to sustain the gains.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 22 January 2016.

CSE has urged the Delhi government to immediately roll out its plan for the remaining part of the winter season and take action to reduce traffic volume on a more sustained basis so that public transport can perform more efficiently as was witnessed during the odd-even week.
Other steps that could be considered are - quick augmentation of bus and metro, stronger enforcement on diversion of truck traffic, closure notice on coal-based Badarpur Power Station power plant and serving notice to further advance implementation of Euro VI emissions standards for vehicles.
In the words of CSE, the gains of odd and even scheme were immediately lost after full traffic was back on the first Monday after the scheme came to a close. This was further aggravated by lower wind speed. On January 18, the PM2.5 levels shot up by 57 per cent within the day and once again rose to 'severe' category.

Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Demolition of BRT corridor begins in New Delhi to reduce traffic woes

Putting the blame of traffic snarls and associated woes of Delhites on the BRT corridor, action for its demolition has begun. Officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) began the work and, the stretch from Moolchand to Ambedkar Nagar is expected to be completely dismantled by February at a cost of Rs 3 crore.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 19 January 2016.

Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia and PWD Minister Satyendar Jain were present when the dismantling work commenced from near the DDA flats in south Delhi`s Madangir area. Addressing media persons, Sisodia has reiterated that the Delhi government had promised the public to scrap the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor. As he has explained, the corridor was constructed without any planning. It was a copy-paste concept that had been borrowed from other countries and it did not serve the purpose and failed badly.
Sisodia has assured that the dismantling work will be carried out at night to ensure uninterrupted traffic movement. The BRT corridor had been built on the lines of Colombia`s Bogota model. The 5.8-Km long stretch in south Delhi was opened in 2008 as a solution to Delhi`s traffic woes. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a nightmare for motorists as during peak hours because traffic remained choked in the side lanes.
The BRT corridor had been a much-vaunted project of the previous Sheila Dikshit-led Congress government.
The present government has, of course, said that it was not against the BRT as such, but that it needed to be properly implemented.

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43rd New Delhi World Book Fair opens - guest of honor country is China

#worldbookfair #pragatimaidan The 43rd New Delhi World Book Fair has taken off with China as the guest of honor country and a theme presentation of the cultural heritage of India. China was invited to be the guest country following the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India last year where he had signed a memorandum of understanding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 9 January 2016.

The nine-day fair, believed to be the largest in Asia, is hosting about 30 countries in which there would be a series of programs including panel discussions, dramas, classical and folk dances, workshops, discussions, authors' meets, conferences, seminars and cultural program.
Tickets to the fair held at the sprawling Pragati Maidan is priced at Rs 20 and will be sold from 9 AM till 5 PM at 47 stations of the Delhi Metro network from January 9-17. Entry is free for schoolchildren and the disabled.
Among attractions are a selfie corner for photobuffs where they can click pictures and upload them on social networks. The highlights of the China pavilion include display of traditional Chinese garden style, showcase of paper making, publishing and printing in ancient China, a daily live show of wood block printing and a china tea cultural show. Moreover, twenty-four illustration works by prize winning young Chinese artists will also be on display.
Cultural exchanges between the two countries will be showcased in an India-China cultural contacts photo exhibition of over 150 photos and the pavilion will also play host to over 300 Chinese original illustrations for children exhibition.

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Cleanliness drive by Railways - collects Rs 58 lakhs in fine from Delhi Railway station

Indian Railways has launched a cleanliness drive and, as a result of that, the New Delhi station has collected Rs 58 lakhs in fine from people who were caught littering the station or committing nuisance like urinating on the walls.
This has been reported in m.dailyhunt.in/news dated 29 December 2015.

This is due to the zealous drive of the Indian Railways to curtail littering at the railway stations across the country. In order to check this, the authorities have been imposing hefty fine and penalty on those who leave behind waste either on platform or tracks.
The collection in Delhi alone was about Rs 58 lakh as penalty. The Delhi division of Northern Railway collected this amount in fines for littering at 5 major stations - Delhi Main, New Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Anand Vihar and Ghaziabad. Those found spitting or urinating in public also face the heat with fines ranging from between Rs 200-500. Earlier, in June this year, Northern Railways had collected Rs 2.3 lakh as fines at New Delhi railway station.
Moreover, 50 people were prosecuted for not paying fines and were put before a magistrate, where they eventually paid the penalty.
RPF personnel are assisting the railway staff in imposing penalty on delinquent people.

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Delhi to observe a car-free day on 22 October from 7am to 12 noon

Delhi will observe a car-free day on 22 October (Dussera) as an initiative of the government to encourage people to use public transport in the national capital – day, for this purpose, would be clocked as from 7am to 12noon. The stretch covered would be from the Red Fort and India Gate.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 2 October 2015.

As Transport Minister Gopal Rai has indicated, the government proposes a cycle rally on that day in the morning on the car-free stretch.
He has also added that the government would ensure that no car is allowed to ply between the stretch falling between the Red Fort and India Gate on October 22. However, a fleet of 20 DTC buses would be deployed as shuttle service between Red Fort and India Gate to facilitate people.
The government will also appeal to e-rickshaws to run their vehicles on this stretch so that people don't have to face problem.
This initiative is fine but Delhi government should consider earmarking a specific day of the week to the cause and not just a few hours. That way, people would get used to the concept and begin to patronize alternate means of travel like bicycles. Automatically, the environment would remain free of pollution.
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Good news for train travelers – KFC to supply meals on trains

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation IRCTC system has tied up with KFC, the fast food giants, to supply meals to passengers on board trains. The system will takeoff from July 20 on trains that pass through New Delhi and will subsequently be extended to other trains.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 22 July 2015.

The service would be expanded to Vishakhapatnam, Hyderabad (Kacheguda) and Bangalore (Yeshwantpur) stations within the next 10 days as indicated by a statement.
It would be available only on 12 trains passing through New Delhi railway station. These would be trains that do not have any pantry car and would, at a later date, be extended to trains like Rajdhani and Duronto. Price list of KFC items as on 27/7/14.
Under the scheme, a person travelling on the train can order KFC meal at the time of booking ticket through IRCTC from July 20 onwards. Once booked, the passenger would get a password on his mobile phone which he would have to reveal when he takes delivery of his food packet.
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Role reversal in Delhi - woman passenger tries to seduce auto driver

Till now, there have been reports of auto or cab drivers who have tried to outrage the modesty of their women passengers and have succeeded at times. But, now here comes the story of a role reversal – a woman passenger tried to seduce an auto rickshaw driver in Delhi.
While the 32-year-old woman tried to seduce the 41-year-old driver, her roommate, a Tanzanian, tried to capture the action on video.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 16 July 2015.

The woman has been arrested by the police after an auto rickshaw driver lodged the complaint. He broke his legs while trying to escape from their clutches. A search of the room revealed the driving licenses of at least four other drivers!!
It seems she had hired the cab to travel from Saket in south Delhi to Arjun Nagar, located some seven kilometers away. Once they reached the destination, she invited the driver to her flat on the pretext of paying him. Once inside, she gave him water to drink and then, locked the doors from inside. After that she began her seduction.
Somehow, he managed to escape when she had gone to the next room with her friend – while escaping, he broke his leg.
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Four naughty women tie the Modi government in knots

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when taking over the reins of the country had indicated that he was not one to accept corruption. His administration has, within the year, initiated action against previous regime stalwarts who are believed to have been involved in irregularities. But, he is now faced with four women leaders who belong to his own party and appear to have been involved in misdeeds that are tarnishing the clean image of the part.
It seems it is turning out to be a case of the pot calling the kettle of being black.
The way skeletons are stumbling out of the cupboard of the Modi government within one year in office is a matter of concern for the Prime Minister.

Four women stalwarts are in the center of controversy – two of them are central ministers, one is the chief minister of a state and the fourth is a minister in the Maharashtra government. Their behind-the-scenes activity have come a huge embarrassment for the Prime Minister and he, like his predecessor, has chosen to remain silent on the affairs. The chief minister had made a trip to New Delhi to explain her position but she has, apparently, been snubbed by New Delhi.
The controversy surrounding the second union minister is regarding her education certificate – it seems the certificate she had submitted on different occasions for contesting elections were not consistent – she has sought to explain it off as ‘typo errors’.
Once upon a time the party that used to criticize the then Prime Minister of remaining silent on matters of corruption find that their own Prime Minister is following the same route.
And, ever since the controversy broke, the senior minister is abroad – probably waiting for the heat to cool off.
As to the minister of Maharashtra, she is trying to put up a brave front – she is the daughter of a famous political leader and knows the tricks of the trade.

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Life in Delhi, the capital of India, is not all a bed of roses – a study has shown that it is one of the metros that is least bothered about its old people. Neither do most of the metros. Family life as depicted in popular TV serials are far removed from reality because, in real life, it is all about nuclear families where there is no space for parents or elders.
As per statistics revealed by HelpAge India, 92% youth of Delhi are unwilling to act followed by 64% in Chennai, 45% in Hyderabad, 41% in Ahmedabad, 37% in Bengaluru and 35% in Mumbai.
This has be reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 16 June 2015.

The survey was carried out in 200 households selected from 20 middle and upper class localities in 10 cities. The country head of HelpAge India has said that financial reasons were the most perceived factor for elderly abuse.
Moreover, 'attitudinal and relationship issues' also played a prominent role.
Incidentally, the reasons of elderly abuse in the past had been attributed to son and daughter-in-law.
The survey report was released at India International Centre, New Delhi and many elderly persons were present on the occasion. As one of them has lamented – the children have no time to talk because the son and daughter-in-law are busy with work and the grandchildren are busy with their mobile phones. As a result, the elders feel isolated at home.
Another elderly person lamented that he had spent most of his savings in buying a house for the family and children's education. Now, when he approaches them for money for small things, they often refuse.
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Uber cabs in New Delhi have faced flak due to some of its errant drivers who had misbehaved with women passengers. There was an instance of rape reported and, it faced criticism once again for the recent molestation case in Gurgaon.
Therefore, the cab aggregator firm Uber has decided to employ women drivers to boost customer confidence. It has already done so in Mumbai where it has recruited 20 women cabbies to ensure safety of women travelling alone, especially in the night.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 15 June 2015.

As one of the woman drivers has remarked - women feel safe when ferried by women drivers. She has joined Uber recently and earns up to Rs 3,000 per day and is, probably, one of the highest paid woman cabbie in the city. She has explained that the numbers may soon increase to 100 as more women are coming forward to join this profession. They have the option to switch off the mobile app and attend to household chores. And, once free, can switch on the app to accept bookings.
Other operators like Ola are also encouraging women to join the profession.
Recruitment of women cab drivers is seen as an attempt by Uber to enhance its image which has been sullied by the rape incident last December and the recent molestation complaint.
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Who will give India the Bullet Trains – China or Japan or both?

Delhi-Chennai bullet train - on 27 November 2014, a news report in thehindu.com indicated that China was hoping to bag the contract of a possible bullet-train deal with India along the 1,754-Km Delhi-Chennai high speed rail corridor.
In the report, it was also revealed that Japan also had its eyes on the market and had pledged to offer India a more attractive funding scheme. Moreover, based on a report there were apprehensions that the Sino-Indian partnership in the field of high-speed rail was not well-received by the Indian public.

An Indian delegation had gone to China to work out the “terms of reference” of the feasibility study. This would be undertaken by the Chinese authorities to establish a high-speed rail corridor between Delhi and Chennai. Once completed, it would reduce travel time between Delhi and Chennai to around 6 hours.
Of course, mere finalization of the study was no guarantee that the Delhi-Chennai corridor high-speed rail contract would go to a Chinese company.
Mumbai- Ahmedabad bullet train – a strong contender for this sector appears to be Japan. As reported in asia.nikkei.com dated 5 March 2015, its shinkansen bullet train technology is the leading candidate for the 500-Km bullet train that would connect the western city of Mumbai to Ahmedabad.
The Indian and Japanese governments had initiated a joint feasibility study in late 2013 before the Modi government came to power in 2014 and a final report is to be released in July 2015. As indicated by a top official in India's Ministry of Railways, Japan's technology is the best in the world and that India is hopeful of linking up with Japan to work on this project.
On a rough estimate, this link will cost 700-800 billion rupees ($11.3 billion to $12.9 billion) and would include 12 stations to be built along the route. The train is expected to have a top speed of 320-Kmph and would drastically travel time to around two and a half hours from the eight hours it takes now.

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