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Encroachment of parking space a cause for concern in twin cities

Thursday, 09 October 2014 10:01 administrator
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The Hindu       09.10.2014  

Encroachment of parking space a cause for concern in twin cities

Proposal to set up a squad to curb the menace yet to be a reality

Motorists will have to scramble for parking space in Hubli-Dharwad, and parking vehicles on the pavements is a common phenomenon.—Photo: Kiran Bakale
Motorists will have to scramble for parking space in Hubli-Dharwad, and parking vehicles on the pavements is a common phenomenon.—Photo: Kiran Bakale

With parking lots in commercial complexes again being encroached upon for running businesses, the problem of parking vehicles in the twin cities has worsened in the last two years.

The failure of the municipal corporation to take up the issue and the increasing number of new vehicles has added to the problem. Consequently, motorists have to scramble for parking space and often end up parking on pavements.

Illegal structures

The issue was taken up for the first time in 2005, along with that of illegal structures in the twin cities when the then municipal commissioner P. Manivannan initiated a phase-wise demolition drive to clear encroachments.

Mr. Manivannan extended the initiative through a ‘sealing drive’ against commercial buildings not having completion certificates. He succeeded in getting basements of many commercial complexes cleared for parking.

However, after his departure, the alleged laxity of officials resulted in these spaces being encroached upon again, which made Municipal Commissioner K.V. Trilokchandra to initiate a drive against such encroachments in 2011.

Having served notice to over 260 buildings, Mr. Trilokchandra succeeded in making several building owners clear the encroachments on their own, while the rest were removed through a demolition drive by the municipal corporation.

However, with no strict adherence to building bylaws while issuing completion certificates, several commercial complexes have come up with little space allotted for parking. Discussions to keep a ‘regular squad’ to act against encroachments have not materialised.

Displeasure

During his visit to Hubli in February 2014, Upalokayukta Justice Subhash Adi expressed displeasure over the issue and directed municipal officials to clear encroachments over parking lots within a period of three months. But barring a discussion on the issue in the HDMC council meeting, nothing has be done.

Last month, while initiating a cleanliness drive, Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Rajendra Cholan and in-charge Municipal Commissioner C.W. Shakeel Ahmad promised to take up an extensive drive. Till date, there have been no signs of it.

Municipal corporation yet to take up the issue

The number of vehicles has gone up too

 

Municipal body to install intelligent system in Ludhiana city buses

Wednesday, 24 September 2014 07:21 administrator
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The Times of India       24.09.2014 

Municipal body to install intelligent system in Ludhiana city buses

 

LUDHIANA: There will be a new system in place to keep a check on movement of buses, fuel theft, footfall and safety of passengers in each city bus once the new operator takes over the service.

Ludhiana city buses had come to a complete halt two months back, but could be back on roads in a month's time. Tenders have already been floated by the municipal corporation to get operators for the city bus service.

In a bid to keep a check on the movement of city buses, municipal corporation will install intelligent transport system (ITS) on all buses as soon as a new operator comes.

Under the new system, a control room would be set up where information regarding details of buses would be displayed. Geo-fencing of routes would be done that would allow the management to keep a check on the routes from the control room.

Baljit Singh, manager, City Bus Service, said a new operator would soon be fixed to run the service.

"Intelligent transport system would be installed on every buses that would make transportation for residents of the city easy and safe," he said.

Further it has been learnt that MC would also soon install display boards at different bus stops that would help commuters know the exact timings of buses.

Installation of CCTV cameras in the buses would lead to additional safety of passengers. Sensors would also be installed on oil tanks of the buses that would check oil theft in buses.

MC is planning to start ticket counters.

Another gadget would be connected with the ticketing machine of conductors, which would help the authorities to check number of tickets sold in a particular time and also the footfall in buses.

Box:

The new system would prove beneficial especially in the following areas:

Manakwal, Dugri Phase 1 and 2, Canal bridge, Aroma market, Preet palace, bus stand, Bharat Nagar Chowk, Durga Mata Mandir, railway station, Clock Tower, New Sabzi Mandi, Jalandhar Bypass, Alamgir Gurdwara route, Lalton village on Pakhowal road and Baddowal on Ferozepur road.

 

Civic bodies yet to finalize tenders for 546 buses sanctioned last year

Tuesday, 23 September 2014 11:01 administrator
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The Times of India      23.09.2014 

Civic bodies yet to finalize tenders for 546 buses sanctioned last year

 

PUNE: It has been over a year since the ministry of urban development sanctioned 546 buses for Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, but the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) is yet to finalize the tenders.

At a high-level meeting earlier this month, the ministry had said if any city is finding it difficult to procure the vehicles, then the proposed buses would be transferred to other cities in the waiting. A total of 10,000 buses were sanctioned last year by the UPA government in the second phase of funding under JNNURM.

A total of 1,991 buses were sanctioned for 12 cities in the state in the second phase. While Pune has been allotted 200 buses, 346 buses have been sanctioned for Pimpri Chinchwad. All these buses will be run by the PMPML, which has been told by the two corporations to complete the tender process. Five various types of buses are being procured by the two municipal corporations.

The rise in the cost of the low-floor (900mm) standard size non-AC CNG buses has resulted in the delay for finalizing the tenders, said the state government. "The cost of the buses is higher by around Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12 lakh than the estimated cost. A total of 165 buses of this type are being procured. Thane, Vasai-Virar and Mira Bhayander are also in the list of cities which are yet to finalize the tenders," state government authorities said.

Ministry officials emphasized that the decision must be taken as soon as possible. While the ministry would not interfere in the state's procurement policy, officials said a decision has to be taken whether the cities want to procure the buses at all. "If any city fails, then these buses can be transferred to other cities in the waiting list," ministry officials said.

Incidentally, the state has failed to release funds received from the ministry to some of the municipal corporations for the purpose. Authorities said that besides Maharashtra, the other defaulting states include Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana and West Bengal.

The ministry said the delay in transfer of funds from the state to municipal corporations has resulted in delay in payment to bus manufacturers. The ministry said if the 'funds are not released to the corporations, the amount would be recovered from the states with interest for the default period'.

While the state agreed to follow the conditions, it also claimed that "almost all reforms for sanction of funds'' were in place. The state had set various conditions and reforms, including setting up of a special purpose vehicle for bus operations, as well as creating an urban transport fund to be used for public transport. The Centre had also asked the cities to approve a parking policy to discourage use of private vehicles.

** Articulated buses: 25

** Low-floor Volvo buses: 50

** Mini low-floor buses - 50

** Low-floor (650mm) buses - 245

** Low-floor (900mm) - 165

** Others - 11

 
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