Clearing backlog on top of to-do list
Wednesday, 25 July 2012 09:46
administrator
The Times of India 25.07.2012 Clearing backlog on top of to-do listBella Jaisinghani, TNN | Jul 25, 2012, 06.28AM IST MUMBAI: Twelve months have elapsed since the term of the previous Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee
expired last July. The unprecedented delay has caused a small mountain
of proposals to pile up before the new panel that was set up on
Saturday. Apart from micro-level decisions, the committee will have to
address macro-level policy issues like drafting a new list of heritage
regulations and devising ways to incentivise conservation by private
owners. Everybody from representatives of the urban development
department to former panel members and heritage activists put clearing
the backlog at the head of the new committee's to-do list. "That and the
task of getting the revised heritage guidelines cleared by the state
government," says outgoing chairman Dinesh Afzulpurkar. In the
absence of a functioning heritage committee it is the municipal
commissioner who reserves the right to clear proposals, but given the
busy profile of the job as well as the recent change of guard, this did
not come into practice. Meanwhile, the state has a wish list
for the new panel as well. "The government expects the committee to
devise ways of granting incentives to private owners who choose to
conserve their old properties rather than destroy them. The previous
committee had initiated the process of planning a heritage fund and that
must be taken forward," says a senior UD official. However, a parallel
proposal to fine those who damage or destroy heritage structures is not
on the anvil. The state has already said it would like the
heritage committee to tread a balance between the city's need for
conservation and development. "Most heritage buildings are located in
south Mumbai and new infrastructure projects are coming up in that zone.
The committee must curb its tendency to be overly enthusiastic, for
this could jeopardise essential development in the name of heritage.
Urban renewal calls upon us to take stock of crumbling, old buildings,"
the government official says. He recalls receiving complaints over neon
signs installed by shops located in heritage buildings and says the
conflict must be handled in a "sensitive manner". Ironically,
lovers of heritage have similar expectations from the government.
"Mumbai has just 648 listed heritage buildings, which is barely 0.01% of
the entire building stock, far lesser than other international cities.
After the rules were diluted for Grade III buildings, we are left with
barely 200-300. Remove government buildings from the list and you are
left with a few anyway. Is conservation getting in the way of
development or is it the reverse?" asks the member of an earlier panel. Times View: Heritage panel has task cut out
That Mumbai has gone without a heritage committee for a year indicates
the importance preservation of heritage has in our government's scheme
of things. It also means the panel that takes charge now will begin with
a backlog of files and issues. But that should not bog it down. To
serve Mumbai's interests best, the new panel has to be authoritative
enough to stop wanton destruction of heritage and sagacious enough to
balance development demands with the conservation of the city's unique
architectural history.
Hundreds homeless as rain pounds city
Wednesday, 17 August 2011 11:04
administrator
The Hindu 17.08.2011
Hundreds homeless as rain pounds city
Staff Reporter
Property damage put at Rs. 20 crore, displaced housed in six relief camps
Raining misery: (Clockwise from top left) Construction debris used to fill potholes poses a threat to motorists on the Mysore Road stretch between Nayandahalli and Kimco Junction; a shopkeeper salvaging what he can after rainwater entered his textile shop; Fire and Emergency Services personnel draining out water from Gali Anjaneya temple on Mysore Road, and displaced people in a relief centre at Nayandahalli on Tuesday. — Photos: K. Murali Kumar and Sampath Kumar G.P.
Nazima (35), six months pregnant and disabled, shouted for help for a good half hour from her flooded hut in Thigalara Thota in Metro Layout before neighbours were able to break the sheet roof and rescue her.
Critical, and under treatment at a hospital here, she is among hundreds of residents whose homes were inundated or washed away in the incessant rain which began in the early hours of Tuesday, continuing through the day and into the night.
Across the city, six relief camps were set up by councillors in community halls and schools to provide food and shelter to some 4,850 people who have been displaced.
Damage
IT City's infrastructural gaps lay exposed once again as several people were rendered homeless, enduring a cold, sleepless night for a second night. The damage to both public and private properties has been put at around Rs. 20 crore. The downpour, which so abruptly ended an extended weekend, flooded low-lying areas, brought down trees and turned many roads into gushing streams.
As many as 83 houses collapsed, a record 6,055 houses inundated and 29 trees crashed. The city recorded 8 cm rainfall on Tuesday. Complaints of water entering homes continued to pour in at press time.
Painful task
Residents of these areas spent a large part of Tuesday bailing out floodwaters from their homes, mopping and wiping their belongings dry. Distraught shopkeepers spread out their ware — from garments and cellphones to medicines and groceries — on every available space to salvage whatever they could. People living and working around Laggere, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Arundhatinagar, Gangondanahalli, Nayandahalli, Padarayanapura, Hale Guddadahalli, Shamanna Garden, Bapujinagar, Telecom Layout and so on were among the worst affected. Over 100 people — mostly agarbathi workers — spent the night at the R.K. Urdu Higher Primary School at Rehmatnagar, their homes being submerged. At a similar relief centre in Nayandahalli, nearly 70 people were spending the night, and over 800 people had come in during the day.
Naeema, a garment worker whose house was completely under water, was distressed because she had lost some jewellery and Rs. 80,000 in cash kept aside for the wedding of her daughter Sabrin Taj.
Protest jams traffic
Incensed residents of Bapujinagar and nearby areas staged a snap protest on Mysore Road. Angered by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike's failure to prevent recurrent floods, they gheraoed Commissioner Siddaiah saying BBMP was only fire-fighting instead of finding a permanent solution. The protest caused a massive traffic jam on Mysore Road.
Residents said that though the BBMP claims to have removed the silt and remodelled the drains, their homes were flooded again.
They said it was impossible to get through to BBMP's control rooms, as most lines were continuously busy. The maximum damage reported was from the South, East and West Zones.
Relief amount
Meanwhile, the BBMP has decided to allocate Rs. 75 lakh each to the three core zones and Rs. 50 lakh each to the outer zones to take up immediate works to mitigate rain damage. “We will also compensate the victims in the range of Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 5,000 to provide some immediate relief to those whose homes were flooded,” Deputy Mayor S. Harish said.
Mayor Sharadamma visited some rain-damaged areas in the city.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 August 2011 11:38
|
LMC to rehabilitate roadside vendors
Friday, 21 January 2011 10:45
administrator
The Times of India 21.01.2011
LMC to rehabilitate roadside vendorsTNN, Jan 21, 2011, 05.51am IST
LUCKNOW: The vendors dotting city footpaths only to be either chased
away by a municipal squad and police may finally be rehabilitated.
On Thursday, the Lucknow Municipal Corporation
(LMC) decided to begin the exercise to ascertain the extent of vacant
land available in the city where these vendors could be rehabilitated. The members of Lucknow Footpath Vyapar Samanvay Samiti (LFVSS) met municipal commissioner S K Singh who assured them of taking adequate steps to get them rehabilitated. Singh said the LMC
would consider constructing small 64 sq feet shops made out of fibre
sheets for the vendors. These shops would come up on vacant plots,
essentially those which do not have any legal dispute. "The
shops would be of same dimensions and same colour in different zones of
the city," he said. The construction cost of these shops would also be
considerably less. The municipal commissioner also asked the
officials to ascertain if the land around the water bodies in the city
could be used as a vending zone. Singh said that the LMC would also
examine the areas which have been occupied by the vendors. In
the first phase, the vendors would be identified and registered. "But
they would still be limited to a certain area and not allowed to
sprawl," the municipal commissioner said. The members of LFVSS wanted to know if the vendors could be allowed to operate from where they are presently operating. The samiti also urged the municipal commissioner to include the vendors in the overall relocation process. The samiti members sought to know if the vendors would be kept away from the purview of an encroachment drive.
Diagnostic camp for handicapped held
Monday, 20 December 2010 10:54
administrator
The New Indian Express 20.12.2010
Diagnostic camp for handicapped held KOCHI: “The Corporation is committed to helping the mentally and physically challenged,” Mayor Tony Chammany has said.
He was speaking after inaugurating the Kochi Corporation’s diagnostic camp for the handicapped held at the Town Hall on Sunday. The camp was organised by the Corporation in association with Keltron.
The Corporation will organise another camp at the Nehru Memorial Town Hall, Mattanchery, on December 28, for West Kochi residents. The Corporation authorities have said that those from other areas who could not attend Sunday’s camp can attend the camp at Mattanchery.
Based on the diagnosis held here on Sunday, the Corporation will distribute artificial limbs, crutches, walking sticks, walkers, wheelchairs and tricycle for the handicapped, hearing aids for the hearing-impaired, white cane, Braille watch, slate and tape recorder for the visually-impaired.
The Corporation has a total budget of Rs 1,19,50,000 for various welfare activities.
Of this Rs 15.5 lakh is for the distribution of equipment for the handicapped, Rs 91 lakh for scholarships to mentally-challenged students, Rs 8 lakh for the distribution of medical kit to those suffering from epilepsy, dementia, Alzheimer’s and cancer and Rs 5 lakh for the distribution of nutritious food to HIV-infected persons.
Deputy Mayor Bhadra Satish, Development Committee chairman T J Vinod, Welfare Committee chairman Essy Joseph, Tax Appeal Committee chairman Ratnamma Raju, Keltron chief general manager Zacharias P Thomas and other Corporation councillors were present.
Last Updated on Monday, 20 December 2010 10:56
|
