Can Bombay Sappers help be sought?

Foreign know-how for drainage, toilet, potholes
SOMETIME ago, I don’t remember exactly when – a group of municipal councilors went to London to study the drainage system. They stayed in London for quite a while, looking down the London drains, holding consultations and discussions. What exactly they did during the free time they had – that must have been quite a lot – is not known. On their return, they spoke about London drains. It is not known what suggestions they made and whether any of their suggestions was accepted and implemented. The citizens of Mumbai did not notice much change.
In fact, the drains continue to stink and it looked like the councilors had a good holiday in London. There are so many sizzling things that keep happening in London. ‘strip tease’ for instance.
A couple of years ago, the railways are said to have consulted a UK company to build a toilet at Churchgate. Why a foreign consultation was necessary to build a toilet is not known, but the railways are said to have gone ahead and got the know-how. It must have cost a pretty penny, but having a good, modern toilet was considered absolutely necessary.
India boasts of a great civilization, top scientists were born in the country.
But they could not build a toilet at Churchgate. They had to go for consultation.
There is not much change. The toilet stinks like before. A river of urine keeps flowing on the floor. And there is no smell of any disinfectant.
And now one more ‘foreign happening’ is about to take place.
The Mumbai municipality is reported to be making Herculean efforts to cover potholes which unavoidably occur during the monsoon. All the desperate exercises in this regard for the last ten years have failed. A few showers are enough to create potholes all over the city and suburbs. Whatever they put on the road is evidently some bad stuff. What sort of a surface is it if it cannot withstand a few showers?
The truth is some of the corrupt BMC staff and road contractors want potholes to occur. Hundreds of potholes help them make extra money. It is just unfortunate that we cannot have a road surface that can withstand rain.
And now, this season we are getting German know-how and German products to make roads. There is going to be an experiment: road with German product will be constructed and it will be watched as the rain falls on it. It is quite sad that we have to depend on foreign know-how for tackling drainage, toilets and potholes….
Round up by AR Kanangi:Foreign know-how for drainage, toilet, potholes
Comment: Similar schemes envisaged for Singara Chennai 10 years ago (after visits to Singapore and USA)- All schemes down the drain once monsoon rains lash Chennai City!
Sad commentary on city sewage and storm drains- really they are perennial pipelines for making money by Political Criminals. The citizens safety comes last every time after each election.
Can BEG help Mumbai?
The Bombay Engineering Group, or the Bombay Sappers as they are informally known, are a regiment of the Indian Army Corps of Engineers. The Bombay Sappers draw their origin from the erstwhile Bombay Presidency army of the British Raj. This regiment has its centre in Khadki, Pune in Maharashtra state. The Bombay Sappers have gone to on to win many accolades in battle throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, both before and after Independence, including the British Victoria Cross and the French Legion of Honour before independence, as well as the Param Vir Chakra and Ashok Chakra as part of Independent India. The Group has also made its mark in peacetime activities such as sport, adventure, aid to civil authority and prestigious construction projects. The troops of the Bombay Sappers are renowned for their endurance, courage and valour on the battlefield.

Giant step in Delhi- Metro Rail at your doorsteps

THE BIG LEAP: Over 70 stations will bring Metro closer to everyone in Delhi.
NEW DELHI: If you live in Panchsheel Park, Vasant Vihar, RK Puram, Shalimar Bagh, South Extension, Sarojini Nagar or IP Extension and have been waiting for the Delhi Metro to come to your doorstep, here's some good news. The detailed project report (DPR) of Phase III of the Metro network, submitted by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to the Delhi government, has been finalized. It covers 103.05km of the city, with over 70 stations dotting the alignment. From Mukundpur in North Delhi to Azad Nagar and Yamuna Vihar in east Delhi, and from Punjabi Bagh (west) in west Delhi to Panchsheel Park and Jasola in South Delhi, the alignment interconnects the city forming two rings around it.

Transport Minister Arvinder Singh says, "The DPR will be sent to the Centre soon. We have added another corridor to the existing alignment, from Dwarka Morh to Najafgarh. DMRC has been asked to prepare the detailed project report for this corridor as well." The corridors that have been drawn up in the present DPR are final, says Singh. According to the minister, the primary criterion for the third phase of the Delhi Metro was connection to the large tracts of the city in the west and east that had been left out in the two previous Metro phases. South Delhi also needed better connectivity. "The alignment is quite long, perhaps one of the longest in Delhi but it addresses the transport needs of a large section of the capital," adds Singh. It also provides a connection to the domestic airport, an alternative to the present Airport Express Metro line that connects directly to the international airport.

The alignment is certainly extensive. The present alignment has four major corridors - one from Mukundpur to Rajouri Garden via Dhaula Kuan and all the way to Anand Vihar and thereafter, Yamuna Vihar via Azad Nagar in East Delhi. This corridor, which is the longest in the third phase, is 55.69km in length and has 10 interchange stations on the way. It covers a large demography, from the far-flung localities in Mukundpur and Shalimar Bagh to Moti Nagar and Nariana, ultimately connecting it to the business district of Bhikaji Cama Place and commercial hubs such as South Extension and Lajpat Nagar. From here, the line twists towards Hazrat Nizamuddin and then on to Mayur Vihar. Here, it goes through the congested colonies of Trilokpuri and Vinod Nagar before winding to the middle-class IP Extension. The line then again takes a turn and moves towards Anand Vihar, Jagatpuri, Azad Nagar, and on to Welcome, Jaffrabad and Maujpur to end in Yamuna Vihar.

The second corridor, meanwhile, measuring 33.49km, encircles all the major south Delhi localities. Starting from Janakpuri West, an interchange station, it goes through Dabri Morh, Palam and stops at Indira Gandhi domestic airport. Thereafter, it goes on to Vasant Vihar, Munirka, RK Puram, IIT and Panchsheel Park before connecting Chirag Delhi, GK Enclave and Kalkaji to Okhla, Jamia Nagar, Jasola and Kalindi Kunj. The line finally stops at Botanical Garden (part of line 3: Dwarka sector 21 to Noida City Centre) after a station at Amity Noida.

The shortest alignment is perhaps the Jehangirpuri-Badli line at 4.48km in the third phase. The stations on the way include Badli, Rohini Sector 18 and Jehangirpuri in the present DPR, which then connects to Adarsh Nagar station on line 2 (HUDA City Centre-Jehangirpuri).

While the majority of the alignment is elevated under the present DPR, several parts also go underground. Only the Central Secretariat-Kashmere Gate corridor is completely underground. Of the 103.05km, around 41km is underground track.

According to Singh, work on the third phase is expected to start soon. Singh said, "Part of the funds have already been released by both the Centre and Delhi government. As the work continues, more funds will be made available." As per the funding pattern drawn up by planning commission, part of the funds will be raised from international agencies while around 50% will be put up by the Centre and the Delhi government for the third phase. Singh says that funds are not a problem. "Like the first two phases, the third phase, too, will be funded by JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency). We have received positive response from them," he adds. However, no formal agreements have been signed yet, admits Singh.

Officials say work on the third phase will start with the Central Secretariat-Kashmere Gate and the Yamuna Vihar-Anand Vihar stretches. "The funds made available so far by the Centre and state government will be utilized at present," said an official from DMRC.
Metro Rail is coming to your doorstep

Newsletter from Veekay

Dear Friends,
Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year. My newsletter click here.
Vinay and Kumud Singh

Extracts from Veekay Newsletter 2010
The year is coming to an end and it is time for the annual ritual of connecting with friends, acquaintances, comrades and colleagues. I do not recall the last time I sent a New Year's card or a hand written letter. Ever since we started using e-mail, letters have become passé. Until a few years ago, very few people had a computer and one had to write a letter. The advent of mobile telephony has put paid to the art of letter writing altogether. What a pity. I have begun to relish the advantages of being a senior citizen. One can buy rail tickets at a 30% discount. (Women get 50%, but Kumud is still to qualify. Even when she does, I think she would rather pay the full fare than be classified as a senior citizen!). Youngsters, especially girls, sometimes offer you a seat in the Metro. Shopkeepers, parking attendants and handymen address you as uncle, though hardly anyone calls Kumud an auntie, and woe betide anybody who dares...

There is little change in our routine. I go to the gym in the DSOI, which is a stone’s throw from my house, at 0645, returning at 0745 or so. Kumud goes at 0830 and returns only when the gym closes at 1000. By this time I have gone through my newspapers, had my bath and my breakfast and am ready to leave for Signals Enclave, where the Corps History Cell is located. On the days I have a hearing in Tis Hazari or the High Court, I have to give the gym amiss. The Ansal Plaza is next door and Kumud does not miss a movie. She is usually accompanied by my daughter in law or one of her gym buddies. They go for the morning show, when the children are at school and the tickets are cheaper. Twice a week, I too get a chance to go to the mall – it has a Reliance Fresh outlet and buying vegetables is one of the chores entrusted to me.

Mumbai to get its first China made Metro in April

Mumbai gets its first China made Metro in April
Mumbai: Mumbaikars would soon get a glimpse of the city's first Metro train, due to arrive from China in mid April.

China to supply trains for Mumbai Metro 2010-03-23 22:00:00
A Chinese firm will send 18 high-capacity Metro trains for the new subway rail project in Mumbai as part of a $110 million deal, the company said here Tuesday.

The trains were China's first-ever export of A-type subway trains, which were wider than 3 metres and had greater passenger capacity than other models, said Qian Houkuan, director of information and technology at CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Works, the manufacturer.

The trains rolled off the production line March 20 and would take a month to ship from Shanghai before undergoing trial runs in Mumbai, which is scheduled in May, Xinhua quoted Qian as saying.

The trains, with automatic driving systems and the capacity to reach maximum speed of 80 km per hour, could operate at temperatures up to 55 degrees Celsius and in 100 percent humidity.

Each of the 3.2-metre compartments could carry 390 people, 72 more than the 3-metre A-type trains used in China, Qian said.
Mumbai to get its first China made Metro in April

Elderly fume over proposed licence norms

NO LICENCE TO DRIVE: Many elderly feel taking away their right to drive is akin to killing their independence

BARRING ELDERLY TO DRIVE
The motorcycles zipping along, cutting across the lanes, indifferent to their own and others safety are not driven by the elderly, the speeding cars jumping the dividers and hitting the on coming traffic are also not driven by the elderly. The drunk drivers speeding their BMW’s and Merck, late in the night, and overrunning the poor homeless sleeping on the foot paths are also not elderly. Also those driving on the e-ways, over-speeding, on the foggy mornings and hitting the stationary trucks, dumpers regularly are also not elderly. The infamous Blue line Buses of Delhi were also not driven by elderly.
Then why select the elderly to debar driving, has any survey of the accidents attributed to the elderly, age wise statically resulted in this conclusion.
For the sake of elderly, do not deny their mobility, most of us living alone with children having flown the nest, mobility so necessary in case of a medical or other emergency.
We, those who are medically fit to drive are more cautious, drive at the speed of the traffic and in lanes, do not unnecessarily over-take and let the brash overtake us at their whims and fancy.
Brig Lakshman Singh (Retd)
TOI article
Elderly fume over proposed licence norms:
Say Plan To Keep Those Above 72 Years Out Of The Drivers Seat Is Arbitrary, Prefer Tests

Motor Vehicles Act to be amended to meet future needs: Kamal Nath

Illegal Parking
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 19:27 IST
The Minister for Road Transport & Highways Shri Kamal Nath has said that a comprehensive review of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 would be done so as to meet the future requirements of the country. He said that a Committee has been constituted to review the Motor Vehicles Act and it will give its suggestions in three months time. Shri Nath said,” We need to not only learn lessons from the past but also stimulate what would happen in future.” Thus, the amendments in the Act would take care of the best practises abroad and would not only “serve the present but also future”. The Minister was speaking at the launch of the National Campaign for “Reduction of Road Fatalities”, a joint initiative of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and International Roads Federation (IRF), a Washington and Geneva based worldwide platform for Road Safety.

Speaking at the function in Delhi, Shri Nath said that we need to make not ony 20km of roads per day but also ensure that they are safe. The roads would be built with safety stndards and no over or under engineering will be done, he said.

As per the WHO's global status report on road safety, India tops the global list of deaths in road accidents with 125,000 fatalities and at least 2.2 million serious injuries each year. India accounts for 10 per cent of global road accident deaths. The national campaign has been launched with the target of reducing road accident deaths by 50 per cent by the year 2012.

Shri Brahm Dutt, Secretary, MoRTH and Shri Nirmaljit Singh, Director General & Special Secretary, MoRTHwere also present on the occasion. Gre5/
Motor Vehicles Act to be amended to meet future needs: Kamal Nath

Illegal Parking on carriageways, berms and footpaths
Greatest menace to road safety is illegal parking of vehicles on carriage ways, berms, footpaths, highways and streets especially by the commercial vehicles. This restricts the road space available for driving to less than 40% of road surfaces paved for smooth flow of vehicles. Strict laws should be brought in to curb menace of illegal parking in metro cities and on the National Highways. Safety norms are violated in connivance with traffic police who accept bribes from the traffic violators and law breakers.

Chennai City will come to a grinding halt by 2020

Transportation crisis in Chennai by K. P. SUBRAMANIAN- The Hindu
Traffic congestion in Chennai is frustrating. The volume capacity ratio on many roads during peak hours is more than one. Increase in road space accounts only 3 to 4 per cent of the total area, while about 425 vehicles are added every day.

The city’s vehicle population has zoomed to 32 lakhs from a mere 8 lakhs barely 12 years ago. Car and two-wheeler ownership in Chennai per 1000 population is 45 and 181 respectively. In Mumbai, the corresponding values are 24 and 30 respectively. Two-wheelers and cars occupy more than 90 and 60 times the road space than buses for the same travel demand.

The per capita trip rate per day in Chennai is 1.30 while that in Delhi and Mumbai are 1.05 and 1.15. The average trip length in Chennai was 11.25 km while that for Delhi and Mumbai has been 10.2 km and 11.4 km , notwithstanding the fact that the population of Chennai is only around half of that for Delhi and Mumbai.

The share of trips in public transport has diminished from 52 per cent during 1970 to 25 per cent in 2008. In Delhi and Mumbai, the corresponding values are 48 per cent and 52 per cent. The patronage for the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) in Chennai is abysmally low. The effect of increased bus strength from 2700 to 3200 during 2008 was nullified by launching 36 new routes to places located outside the Chennai Metropolitan Area, instead of augmenting the existing routes. The Urban Mass Transport Authority (UMTA) exists only on paper in the absence of a statutory footing. Parking demand in the city was 13,000 PCE (Passenger Car Equivalency) against a supply of 5100 PCE. On-street parking has led to a loss in the road capacity that ranged between 15 to 60 per cent. Traffic stream crawls at an average speed of 20 km/h.

Demand management
A car and a two-wheeler consume 5 and 2.6 times more energy than a bus. The carbon monoxide load in the city ranged between 1908 to 4198 mg/m3 against the permissible level of 200mg/m3. The emission load of the pollutant SPM (Suspended Particulate Matter) ranged between 264 to 451mg/m3 while the permissible level is 200mg/m3. The average noise pollution level in residential areas across the city is to 70 decibels (db) against the permissible level of 55db. On an average, about 620 persons die on the City roads annually in accidents. The fatality rate is around 35/10,000 vehicles. About 40 per cent of road accidents involve pedestrians and 10 per cent cyclists.

Most transport plans and projects overwhelmingly focus on supply side management, ignoring Demand Management (DM). The demand can be curtailed by raising price, through levying taxes on the use of public roads and parking places. In other words, those who are responsible for traffic congestion should be made to pay extra. In countries like Singapore, owning a car is extremely difficult. Trainers’ fee is hefty and the licence test includes two theory examinations.

Hunt for alternatives
Before you buy a car you need to prove that you can maintain it and show documentary evidence for car parking space. Commuters without the using capacity are levied a fine. Road pricing is a technique that requires a special licence to enter certain designated areas during peak hours.

The levy of high parking fees that totally represents the value of land should be used as a means to make the use of public transport more attractive. Bus priority techniques like ‘priority at signals’ may be introduced. Inter-modal connectivity among the MRTS, suburban trains and the MTC to provide seamless travel across modes is indispensable.

Patronage of the MRTS must be augmented. Any encroachment on footpaths and main carriageways should be strictly dealt with, akin to that on water bodies. A cynical school of above thoughts is that out of box solutions and unconventional thinking are all too much and will never work in the Chennai context. However, the moot point is, “Is there an alternative?” “What is the consequence of not making a beginning now?” Even a journey of thousand kilometres begins with the first step.
Transportation crisis in Chennai by K. P. SUBRAMANIAN

Future Predictions
The city will come to a grinding halt by 2020 going by present statistics. The motor vehicle population has increased by 400% in the last decade and corresponding increase in road space was a mere 3%. By 2020 vehicle population is predicted to be 64 lakhs and increase in road space by mere 2%. The compounding problems of the city are:
1. Poor quality of existing infrastructure which are poorly maintained. Subways for Public occupied night and day by vendors.
2. All footpaths hijacked by vendors, hoardings, touts, goons and roadside makeshift worship idols.
3. Absence of parking space. Road space hijacked for illegal parking by commercial vehicles and taxis limiting flow of traffic. The traffic police do not have tow vehicles to impound defaulters.
4. Total absence of road crossings for public. No safety for children and elderly. Public jump the medians to cross roads, leading to accidents.
5. Poor traffic and erratic lane discipline. Untrained traffic Police unable to manage traffic jams.
6. Incubation period for poor quality and badly planned infrastructure projects is anywhere from 5 to 15 years.
7. Traffic signalling and road signs of poor standards leading to accidents.
8. Poor traffic discipline where there is no enforcement of rules nor punishment of violators.
9. Poor sewage works and open storm drains used for flow of sewage from residential colonies. Digging up newly surfaced roads by agencies like electricity, communication, water works, sewage, and councillors who illegally permit cutting of newly laid roads.
10. Dumping of construction material on all roads thereby reducing road space and smooth flow of traffic and causing congestion.
11. Last but not the least "Criminalisation of Citizens" by the state, leading to and creating chaos where the rule of law is blown to the winds. Once the State has more criminals than citizens then the state is doomed forever. The process will become impossible to reverse. Decriminalisation of Politics and education are the only remedies which can reverse the trend and also coupling it with total "Election and Electoral Reforms".

Organisations for counter terrorism

Is raising new NSG- like units the solution?

The ineffectiveness of the police will soon help them to gain more high rank appointments for the IPS. The plan to raise more NSG type units to place them at four metros would relieve the state police of all responsibility.

Though Mumbai Police has an ATS we are told this is only for investigation after strikes. Yet we are told there are many encounter specialists in the org. For what? When the terrorists struck where were these encounter specialists, other than those killed in an ambush? Not even one came forward to battle the terrorists. There was not a single casualty of the ATS in any encounter or battle. Great!! Must be due to tricks picked up from Bollywood! Only catch is that they did not neutralise even a single terrorist and just waited for help.

Next we have the Marcos. Sad to say but their performance was no better than the Police. And if they are not trained for such jobs why did they deploy? To exhibit their ineffectiveness? Not being familiar with the Taj is no excuse. Were the NSG cdos familiar with Taj or Nariman House?

It is time introspect critically and increase the level of training and professionalism once we have decided to raise a force.

It must be realised that NSG or any other Cdo force can only react. The ideal organisation is where the Intelligence and Ops are integrated under one cdr. Since only four metros are not going to be threatened (See history of terrorist strikes) what will be the arrangement for the remaining country? Terrorist strike planners take time to identify weaknesses and strike only when they realise the protective measures are cosmetic and the reactions likely to be lethargic. There is no record of terrorist strikes on alert troops, in India, so far. In this I do not include strikes for assassination of specific targets. In the West, of course, there have been suicide attacks but again they were confident of getting through the protective perimeter to drive their explosive loaded trucks to the desired point. While it is true that determined terrorists can strike any target, the fact is why should they strike alert targets when there are plenty of unprotected ones? In India every other place is vulnerable barring a few VIPs.

Also it is important to note that presence of NSG cannot prevent terrorist attacks. Delhi has been hit any number of times with the complete NSG nearby. What is important is Intelligence and prevention. Had the NSG reached in, say two hrs what would have been the number of casualties? In all attacks maximum casualties take place in the first half hour.

Terrorists always strike the undefended, weakest targets killing unarmed innocent, civilians whereas the Insurgents strike the strength of the state such as police stations, Army posts, convoys etc and protect the unarmed civilians. We must understand the difference. The terrorists would never have opened fire on the ATS car in Mumbai if there was the slightest chance of retaliation.

What is the answer?

States must remain responsible to deal with terrorism. What is the difficulty in training existing police offrs and men to form (NSG like) units in their states? The Police have their Intelligence. In addition each district, each Police station must be responsible to gain its own Intelligence in its area of responsibility. If need be another police offr can be posted to each district, under the SSP for this task. The existing Intelligence setups may continue to please the political masters, as hither to fore.

The high level training needs to be given to only about a company worth of commandos in each state to be increased, if required. But it can be called a commando unit of the police. Though 200 NSG personnel came to Mumbai, we saw that very few were actually used. Even with 500% reserve we don't need too many commandos. These must be the elite not used for protection of VIPs. Black colour uniformed personnel must never be used for VIP protection. They must only be used to deal with terrorists.

The Army can help in imparting training. We also have enough reserves of personnel who have served in NSG and returned to units. Some can be absorbed in state police forces, if the Army agrees to release them.

I do wish, in the interest of our countrymen, that the authorities analyse the problem before taking the usual Home Ministry action of raising a new force after every crisis. Unfortunately their advisors are the DGs of CPOs who have no experience of handling any crisis. If any of you can do something about it, do it.

Lt Gen KK Khanna
Former Commandant IMA

Amachi Mumbai

A City where everything is possible, especially the impossible .

Where telephone bills make a person ill,
Where a person cannot sleep without a pill.

Where carbon-dioxide is more than oxygen,
Where the road is considered to be a dustbin,

Where college canteens are full and classes empty,
Where Adam teasing is also making an entry,

Where a cycle reaches faster than a car,
Where everyone thinks himself to be a star,

Where sky scrapers overlook the slum,
Where houses collapse as the monsoon comes,

Where people first act and then think,
Where there is more water in the pen than ink,

Where the roads see-saw in monsoon,
Where the beggars become rich soon,

Where the roads are levelled when the minister arrives,

Where college admission means hard cash,
Where cement is frequently mixed with ash.

This is Mumbai my dear, But don't fear, just cheer, come to Mumbai every year!

VA Subramanyam
Brig (Retd)