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Urban Infrastructure

New Town to get three subways, an overbridge

Thursday, 13 February 2014 09:38 administrator
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The Times of India             13.02.2014

New Town to get three subways, an overbridge

KOLKATA: Rajarhat New Town's smooth roads over which vehicles zip by have always been a challenge for pedestrians to cross, often leading to accidents. But there's a solution in sight now. A number of pedestrian subways are being constructed by the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) under the arterial road of Bengal's showcase township.

NKDA and Hidco chairman Debashis Sen said one subway has already been commissioned at Akhankha More close to Chinar Park and another at DLF More is under way. A third has been planned in front of Eco Park.

"The subway at DLF More is expected to be completed by Durga Puja," Sen said. This subway, commissioned last year, has a number of exit and entry points.

The one at DLF More in Action Area I will provide relief to thousands of employees of IT sector offices and residents of apartment blocks that have come up around that spot. With a sharp increase in vehicular traffic on this road that leads to Salt Lake Sector V, the subway has been a longstanding demand of locals.

Official projections say that traffic on this road is set for an exponential rise as more residential and commercial complexes come up.

That's why the NKDA has planned another 60-metre-long subway to connect Eco Park's gate No. 2 to the bus stand in front of Finance Centre on the other side. The advanced tunnel boring system being used for Metro will be used for building this subway.

Apart from these subways, NKDA will construct a canal overbridge in Action Area III to replace the existing steel Bailey bridge. It will help vehicles enter Action Area III where several major residential and commercial projects are coming up. Soil testing for the project has started.

 

NDMC prepares to redevelop Khan Market

Thursday, 13 February 2014 09:28 administrator
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The Times of India             13.02.2014

NDMC prepares to redevelop Khan Market

NEW DELHI: After Connaught Place and Palika Bazaar, New Delhi Municipal Council has turned its attention to Gole Market, INA-Dilli Haat, Khan Market and Sarojini Nagar Market in the new financial year. Presenting the budget for financial year 2014-15, NDMC chairman Jalaj Srivastava said there is an urgent need to decongest these markets and redevelopment plans are on anvil.

As per the initial plan, the civic agency will construct an underground car corridor around these markets to address the growing parking requirement. The markets will have common air-conditioning units, uniform facade and more space for pedestrians. While work on Khan Market redevelopment plan will start soon, the civic agency will hire consultants to prepare a redevelopment plan for three markets.

"These markets have high footfall. But the parking space is inadequate. Now, we have to upgrade the infrastructure to meet the growing needs of the areas. The underground car corridors will provide a solution to the parking problem. We will identify parking sites in and around these markets and connect them through the car corridors," said Srivastava.

While it is planning new projects to address the parking problem, the civic agency admits that the two multi-storeyed automated parking lots in Sarojini Nagar and Baba Kharak Singh Marg have not been "complete success stories". "We need to encourage people to use these parking lots. It is not a complete success as people prefer surface level parking," said Srivastava.

For long, traders have been demanding that the civic agency start a feeder service between the parking lot and Connaught Place. But the civic agency has no immediate plan to start feeder bus service.

To improve sanitation in NDMC areas, the civic agency will start a door-to-door waste collection facility. "We will construct state-of-the-art transfer stations so that waste is dumped here first. It will be transported to the landfill site during night time. We plan to do away with dhalaos. Existing dhalaos in the area will be converted into public toilets," said Srivastava.

Officials say the main focus in the next financial year will be on augmenting existing services ranging from water and power to sanitation. It has allocated close to Rs 1,600 crore just for redevelopment and upgrade of existing amenities. The civic agency is also set to implement its round-the-clock water supply scheme. The Rs 153-crore project has been approved by the Council and work will start shortly.

 

LEDs to light up Hyderabad's Outer Ring Road soon

Wednesday, 12 February 2014 07:46 administrator
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Deccan Chronicle             12.02.2014

LEDs to light up Hyderabad's Outer Ring Road soon

Picture for representational purpose only.

Hyderabad: For the first time in the country, LEDs are to be installed along an eight-lane expressway. Following a green signal from the state government, the 24-km stretch of the Outer Ring Road, from Gachibowli to Shamshabad, will be lit up with light emitting diodes in the coming months.

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority is to take up the project with a Rs 30 crore loan assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Generally, sodium or mercury vapour lights are used along highways; but the HMDA has opted for LEDs in order to save power and because they do not need frequent replacements.

To light up the ORR, the HMDA needs each light outputting 120-125 watts of illumination. The LEDs can produce the light while consuming lesser power than other categories of bulbs.

Each pole will have two arms with lights on the sides to illuminate the eight carriageways. Power saving is one of the reasons for taking the LED route, but installing solar panels is not yet an option.

 
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