The Times of India              05.09.2013

Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation launches page on social networking site

PUNE: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation launched its page on the social networking site Facebook on Wednesday in its efforts to reach out to people through social media.

The civic body has claimed that it is the first municipal corporation in the state to start such an initiative. Municipal commissioner Shrikar Pardeshi said, "Social media has become an effective means of transmission and information. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation also launched its Facebook page yesterday (Tuesday)," he said.

Pardeshi said Pimpri Chinchwad has a population of 19 lakh and is the fastest growing city in the state. A large number of young people work in the Talawade IT Park and Hinjewadi IT Park and they use social media as a means of communication. The page will prove important in disseminating information about civic schemes and policies, for instance the amnesty scheme for water bills and the policy regarding unauthorised constructions, he said.

An officer of the rank of assistant commissioner will be responsible for posting information on the page. The civic body will also be able to get feedback from the citizens about its schemes, projects and services. A five-member team of civic officials and IT professionals contributed to the successful launch of the Facebook page, Pardeshi added.

Mayor Mohini Lande said the page would help create awareness about civic projects and schemes.

Earlier, members of the standing committee and some corporators had been upset about the launch of the civic body's citizens' helpline. They said people would directly contact the officials for redressal of their complaints instead of approaching corporators.

The civic body is trying to use newer technologies to reach people.

The complaints submitted by citizens through the helpline and Facebook page will be redressed and civic officials who do not perform their duties properly will be punished."

The New Indian Express              05.09.2013

In what could provide a clearer idea of the old labyrinthine pipeline network of the city,  the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) is experimenting with a technology for seeing the inside of working pipes,  thereby helping gauge their condition, detect leaks and so on. The equipment was installed for a demonstration for KWA engineers here on Wednesday.

 The equipment is a pipeline inspection system which comprises a sensor rod installed with a 5 mega pixel video camera. Bound to a cable, it can be lowered into the pipeline where it can take video and acoustic recordings to detect leaks, locate air valves and structural defects in the network of large water mains.

 “There is also a small drag chute attached which will use the flow of water to carry it along the pipeline,” explained Arun Behl,  operations head of the Canada-based company which owns the ‘Sahara Tethered Pipeline Inspection System’. “The equipment can make real-time recordings of the pipeline as it moves through it.”

 Wednesday’s demonstration -  supposedly the first time the equipment was used in India - was done on the old cast iron line, laid over 70 years ago, carrying water from Vellayambalam treatment plant to Thampanoor region.

 “We hope this will give a very clear idea of the pipeline network and help us combat distribution loss by detecting leaks and unauthorised connections,”  said K S Praveen, assistant executive engineer with the KWA’s Non-Revenue Water Management Unit. (Earlier reports state that the KWA  loses around 40 percent in distribution). 

The ‘Tethered Pipeline Inspection System’ was of the same company that brought the KWA the  ‘SmartBall’, an acoustic leak-detection device which was released a few months ago. Using this, the KWA has been conducting pipeline surveys in parts of Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam.

 “The disadvantage is that the ‘SmartBall’ is completely at the mercy of the flow of water in the pipe as it is not tethered to the surface, unlike Sahara, making it harder to retrieve,” said Praveen.

“Also it only makes audio recordings,  which can only be accessed when the ball is retrieved.”

 The survey work using these equipment is costing the Authority around US $ 3 per metre of pipeline, officials said.