Times of India 22.07.2009

PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation's non-motorised transport (NMT) cell has undertaken an exercise to chart out a plan for having sustainable and walkable' footpaths in the city.

NMT cell chief Madhav Latkar told TOI that the department has taken up the task of preparing a document which will chart out the financial requirements for making footpaths along all city roads.

"For the last six months, we have been working on a project focusing on footpaths of the city. The final document should be ready in a couple of weeks. Once it is ready, we will know which ward required what length of footpath and how much funds will be required to develop them. Accordingly, the ward office can get the job done. If the amount is high, provision of funds can be made in the annual budget," Latkar said.

"The idea is to have sustainable and walkable footpaths. On Some roads there are footpaths which are not being used due to bad design or other reasons. We wish to change that scenario. Similarly, we also plan to have proper cycle tracks," Latkar said.

Latkar added that these were the micro-level efforts aimed at improvement in facilities for pedestrians and users of non-motorised transport.

"This report on the footpaths will help us plan well during the next budget. We will be able to put down in figures our requirement for a proper footpath network in the city. Even if we need some loans, we can back the proposal on the basis of the information in the report, which will have details about every square kilometre of footpath. We are seeking help from Pedestrians' First (a forum working for the cause of pedestrians) on the plan," Latkar said.

Meanwhile, Prashant Inamdar, convenor of Pedestrians First, said that it was a long-pending necessity to find out the funds required to have good footpaths in the city.

"We have been working with ward offices to improve the footpaths, but we realised that either there are not enough funds with them or they don't know how much funds would be required. That is when we had suggested to the PMC to undertake this exercise for upgrading footpaths and junctions. Other suggestions included preparing a progress report of footpaths and giving annual maintenance work to contractors," Inamdar said.

SHIMOGA: The government has decided to convert three corporations and Bangalore as `solar cities'.

Power minister K S Eswarappa on Tuesday said other than Bangalore, Mysore and Hubli-Dharwad corporations and Shimoga city municipal council will use only solar power to operate street lights, drinking water supply and in government buildings.

The project will help in saving the demand for conventional power in these areas and promote utility of non-conventional energy. Eswarappa said the Union government has agreed to share 40% of total expenditure incurred for implementing the project.

The minister was satisfied with heavy rainfall in the state, which raised water level in reservoirs and helped tide over the immediate power crisis.

With good inflow of water to Almatti dam, power generation is smooth, he added.