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E-Governance

Online mapping of MTC routes

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The Hindu 14.09.2009

Online mapping of MTC routes

 

Ajai Sreevatsan

CHENNAI: A group of students have come together to map Chennai’s bus routes and make it available online, an initiative aimed at helping commuters, particularly those new to the city.

You no longer have to go to a bus stop to find out if there is a bus available from there to a particular destination. Just log on to the Internet and type a few characters to get all the information. The online project (http://busroutes.in/chennai/) which is completely open-source, provides a virtual public transport network of the city.

“There are plans to integrate the suburban train network and share autorickshaw routes,” says Arun Ganesh, a student at the National Institute of Design, who is coordinating the initiative.

“There is a need for a centralised database of public transport. Provide them better information so that they can shift to a public mode of transport with ease,” he says.

A lot of data about public transportation system is available, but it is all personal. The idea behind the project is to ‘crowd source’ information from people who use the bus routes and make it easier to visualise and browse through all that data. Rabin Vincent, who has worked on the site, says, “The Metropolitan Transport Corporation website has stage-wise route information, but it is inaccessible to search engines and not user-friendly. Information needs to be more easily available to search engines, and by extension, to the people looking for it.”

Solutions for issues that the community faces are best dealt through open collaboration, feel the students who were involved in the mapping project; which is why the OpenStreet mapping protocol was used.

Arun Ganesh admits that five to 10 per cent of routes have errors. “The primary data from the MTC has bus stops with names such as ‘tea kadai’ and ‘water tank.’ It is difficult to map these stops. But then, the code is entirely open-source. Anybody can take it and work on it.”

The way forward for the project, according to Yuvaraj Pandian, a second year engineering student, is to incorporate frequency data and multi-point routes which would give switching points from one bus to another.

Last Updated on Monday, 14 September 2009 01:09
 

E-governance clicks with Chennaiites

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The Times of India 10.09.2009

E-governance clicks with Chennaiites

CHENNAI: Given that internet penetration is picking up in Tamil Nadu, thanks to the large number of colleges and the impact of the IT sector on the common man, the state government has decided to put this to good effect. And, its e-governance initiative has had a good response in Chennai.

Gone are the days when people thronged the Chennai Corporation's zonal offices with lists of complaints. Since its launch in January, the corporation's integrated online public grievance redressal (PGR) system has been flooded with complaints. Non-burning of street lights, irregular garbage clearance, want of stormwater drains, mosquito menace, problem of stray animals, the list is endess.

The PGR involves the registering of complaints and tracking their redressal. Under the system, consumers can make complaints, ensure that they are sent to the departmental heads concerned and also enable the administration to analyse the problems. "We want the local body to be abreast of the technical advancements. Moreover, the system brings in accountability in the redressal of grievances," mayor Subramanaian told TOI.

Almost all the 155 wards in the corporation have received online complaints under the PGR. A majority of the complaints have been filed by residents in Velachery, Tiruvanmiyur, Virugambakkam, Villivakkam, Anna Nagar, Kolathur, all extended areas, where the civic amenities are at its low. Besides, a good number of complaints have alos come in from residents of areas such as Adyar, T Nagar and Nungambakkam, where civic activism is at its best.

"In fact, complaints on garbage and street lights are normally resolved in a day or two," says V Gopalakrishnan of Fifth Pillar, a non-governmental organisation. Under the PGR system, if a complaint is not resolved in a specific time frame, it is automatically escalated' and comes to the notice of higher-ups in the department concerned. Finally, it could end up with the Commissioner. "This helps the complainant know where his complaint is being processed," corporation commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said.

There is a flip side too. Very few complaints coming from the residents of a particular ward does not mean the situation there is satisfactory. Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar, Tondiarpet, Seven Wells, Kondithope, Pulianthope, Old Washermanpet and Korukkupet have been plagued by unsanitary conditions for long but the complaint chart under the PGR does not reflect the same. The residents may be waiting at the local corporation offices or at Ripon Buildings with paper in hand, says Fathiraj Jain of Mint Street.

On the plus side, as many as 24 persons are said to have managed to get TV sets via the PGR; 33 succeeded in getting elector's photo identity cards while one person got Rs 15,000 under the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar marriage assistance scheme. In all, 6,113 people benefited in the last eight months.

 

e-Tendering launched

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The Hindu 10.09.2009

e-Tendering launched

 

Staff Reporter

Tirupur: The Tirupur Corporation launched the e-tender facility at its office here on Tuesday to make all details pertaining to the procurement of goods, services and works transparent to the public.

Official sources said that all registered contractors with the Corporation possessing digital signature cards could upload their tenders on www.tntenders.gov.in using the password and the login identity sanctioned to them by the Corporation. “At present, 43 out of the 49 registered contractors with the Corporation are in possession of digital signature cards,” sources added.

Guideline

Corporation officials said that according to a government guideline, tenders for works costing above Rs. 10 lakh should be submitted online.

They added that security features had been embedded in the software to protect the viewing of a bid by rival contractors.

The bidders were also entitled to get the doubts clarified online and could make corrections accordingly.

To publish the invitation for bids, select Corporation officials had been provided with the login facility. About 10 Corporation staff had been trained on the features of the e-tender process.

Last Updated on Thursday, 10 September 2009 00:25
 


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