CCTV cameras on govt. buses soon
August 7, 2014
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has said that a process to install Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV cameras) on government buses to prevent possible crimes against women is on.
Nearly 500 busses of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) have been provided CCTV cameras and more buses belonging to other transport corporations of the State would be covered shortly.
He was speaking to presspersons at Gurmitkal town in Yadgir district on Wednesday after inaugurating a bus terminus there.
The bus terminus has come up at a cost of Rs. 2.10 crore in 2.07 acres of land. In view of lack of transportation in rural areas, where people are forced to use private vehicles, Mr. Reddy said that the department has taken action to operate more buses.
Directive
Officials have been asked to continue bus services in such areas notwithstanding the fact that it may cause up to 40 per cent loss in daily earnings.
He said that bus services would be increased during school hours to ensure that students did not suffer due to lack of transportation.
To a question, Mr. Reddy said that work on a new bus terminus at Surpur town will be taken up shortly.
Earlier, inaugurating the bus terminus at Gurmitkal, Mr. Reddy said that work on a new bus terminus in Saidapur in Yadgir taluk and a bus depot in Kembhavi in Surpur taluk would begin soon, as officials have prepared action plan.
More than 4,000 posts, including 3,091 drivers-cum-conductors, 500 mechanics and 489 clerks, remained vacant. A recruitment process to fill these posts will begin shortly, he added.
Mr. Reddy said that 100 new buses would be allotted to Yadgir division, and of these, eight buses will be run between Yadgir and Gurmitkal.
It is part of steps to prevent crimes against women
Source:The Hindu
Delhi to have 8,000 CCTV cameras by 2015
August 4, 2014
By the end of 2015, the city will be placed under the watch of 8,000 cameras, announced Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi on Sunday.
At present, the Delhi Police have just over 4,000 cameras which are installed mainly in busy market areas, traffic intersections and borders for round-the-clock surveillance. The footage captured by these is monitored at the district control rooms by the traffic wing and at the Delhi Police’s Command, Control, Communication, Computing and Intelligence (C4i) centre.
Mr. Bassi was speaking while inaugurating a CCTV Camera Project at Civil Lines under the Delhi Police Neighbourhood Watch Scheme at Shah Auditorium here. Under the project, funded by Residents’ Welfare Association Club Class, 67 CCTV cameras have been installed at various places including the market area, all the entry and exit gates of Civil Lines, and other important points.
What makes this project the first of its kind in Delhi is that the footage captured in these cameras can be viewed at a control room in Civil Lines police station in real time. In all other localities where RWAs have placed cameras, the footage is first recorded and then the recordings are made available to the police on request.
The total cost of the project is around Rs.20 lakh.
Mr. Bassi said the technology used by the Delhi Police is far more advanced and a similar project, if taken up by the Delhi Police, would have cost between Rs.70 lakh to Rs.80 lakh. He also acknowledged that in the past, funds sanctioned for such purposes have never been enough to cover entire Delhi under CCTV surveillance.
He said: “It is good that city residents are coming up with surveillance projects fully funded by themselves. It will be of great help to the police in combating crime in the Capital.”
Source:The Hindu
Now GPS in buses and PDS supply trucks to monitor unauthorised detours in Mangalore
August 2, 2014
Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim on Thursday instructed officials of some government departments to ensure that select public transport vehicles fix global positioning system (GPS) equipment by the end of September.
Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim on Thursday instructed officials of some government departments to ensure that select public transport vehicles fix global positioning system (GPS) equipment by the end of September.
It applied to vehicles transporting rice, wheat, sugar and kerosene under the public distribution system (PDS), vehicles of oil companies transporting diesel, petrol, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), sand transporting vehicles and private and KSRTC buses.
The equipment in vehicles under the PDS system would help monitor the movement of vehicles and to ascertain whether they had delivered the goods to all fair price shops or not. It would also help monitor the parking of such vehicles en route for long time without valid reason.
Deputy Director of Department of Mines and Geology Nagendrappa told the meeting that about 700-800 vehicles transporting sand had the equipment fixed now.
An official of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. said 180 vehicles of the company had the equipment fixed. An official of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. said the company had 80 vehicles for which the process of fixing the equipment was under progress.
The DC instructed that all buses, including private and KSRTC, should fix the equipment, as it would help to know if they were plying on the routes permitted or not. It would also be known if the buses covered the distance allotted or cut short the trips.
Canara Bus Owners’ Association president Rajavarma Ballal said the association had fixed the equipment to all buses under it in 2010-11 at an estimated cost of Rs. 17 lakh. But there was none under the Regional Transport Authority or Regional Transport Office to monitor their movements, hence the system and their maintenance had failed. Mr. Ibrahim said a proper monitoring system would be ensured this time.
Source:The Hindu
MVD’s interceptors turn money-spinners
July 31, 2014
Mobile interceptors of the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) in the district have proved to be money-spinners, these two interceptors in the city have raked in over Rs. 25 lakh in just over a couple of months
Mobile interceptors of the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) in the district have proved to be money-spinners.
Two interceptors have raked in over Rs. 25 lakh in just over a couple of months, with the department laughing all the way to the bank.
Those carried away by the thrill of over-speeding have turned out to be the biggest contributors, with motorists indulging in drunk, rash and negligent driving left not too far behind.
With the speed limit restricted to 30 km per hour (kmph) near schools, the strategic deployment of interceptors near these institutions helps bring in more moolah as hitting even 40 kmph is chargeable.
The drivers of taxis and other transportation vehicles speeding along at 90 kmph along four lane national highways ignorant of the 70-kmph restriction are also trapped by interceptors.
Only private vehicles are allowed 90-kmph speed on national highways.
No barriers for these buses
Private buses plying in the city have the uncanny knack of flouting rules notwithstanding the odds stacked against their actions.
A classic case plays out at Pipeline near Palarivattom Bypass Junction.
Not that long ago, the traffic police put up barriers along the stretch considering the narrowness of the Kakkanad-Palarivattom Road and the haphazard traffic approaching the bypass junction.
The barriers erected down the middle of the road were meant to bring about a semblance of order and more specifically aimed at keeping in check the unmindful overtaking of motorists trying to cross the junction before the signal turns red.
But some bus drivers proceeding in the direction of Kakkanad continue to overtake along the opposite track as if the barriers were non-existent.
This throws traffic on the two directions out of gear besides worsening the ordeal of motorists waiting at the traffic signal.
A breather for taxi owners
The four-month-long anxious wait of taxi and private car owners has eventually come to an end with the State government issuing an order last week easing the payment of tax.
The State budget had directed payment of tax by vehicle owners for five years from April 1 unlike for each year until then.
Car owners, especially, taxi operators found this to be a huge burden as they had to raise more than Rs. 10,000 as against a little over Rs. 2,000. Those who withheld payment of tax proved to be wise as the order has come with retrospective effect.
Source:The Hindu
Police to begin survey of CCTV cameras in Coimbatore
July 16, 2014
The Coimbatore City Police will begin a survey across the city on the availability of CCTV cameras in hospitals, banks and commercial establishments from Monday. Deputy Commissioner (Crime) R.V. Ramya Bharathi added that the condition of CCTV cameras that have been installed at these facilities would also be analysed during the survey.
The survey has been initiated in a bid to bring down thefts and to enable speedy detection of crimes. This step follows the theft of 25 sovereigns gold jewellery from an aged patient by a man in the guise of a doctor while she was admitted in a private hospital, earlier this week.
“There are multi speciality private hospitals in the city with several hundred beds, but do not have CCTV cameras for monitoring their premises. On the other hand, there are a good number of commercial establishments with CCTV cameras, but do n0t have the required backup facilities — which is equally important — for the recorded videos”, the Deputy Commissioner told The Hindu.
About the survey, she said that it would be conducted by a team led by the Inspector of Police in establishments under his jurisdiction, by visiting the premises.
“The study is expected to be completed in a week, after which efforts would be taken for gearing up installation of CCTV cameras at facilities that do not have one and for mending faulty cameras”, she said.
Ms. Ramya said that a communication would be sent to these institutions, urging them to install cameras on their premises.
She added that steps would be taken at the next stage to enhance surveillance by installing more CCTV cameras — to ensure foolproof monitoring and for having proper storage for the recorded videos.
The Police are also planning to conduct a series of meetings for bankers, jewellers and other commercial establishments on installation of cameras.
Source: The Hindu
Sunita Narain: Come out and claim the road
November 15, 2013
We have built city roads only for cars to move. Cars rule the road
I write this column from my bed, recovering from an accident that broke my bones. I was hit by a speeding car while cycling. The driver fled the scene of the accident in the car, leaving me bleeding on the road. This is what happens again and again, in every city of our country, on every road – as we plan without care for the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. These are the invisible users. They die doing nothing more than the most ordinary thing like crossing a road. I was more fortunate. Two cars stopped, and strangers helped me and took me to the hospital. I received treatment. I will be back, fighting fit.
And this is one battle that needs our combined attention. We cannot lose the space to walk and cycle. Since my accident, relatives and friends have berated me for being so reckless as to cycle on Delhi’s roads. They are right. We have built city roads only for cars to move. Cars rule the road. There are no dedicated lanes for cycles; there are no sidewalks. The little stretches that do exist are either dirty or taken over by parked cars. Roads are for cars. The rest don’t matter.
But cycling and walking are difficult not just because of poor planning. It is also because of the mindset that only those who move in a car have status and road rights. Anyone who walks or cycles is considered poor, wretched and destined to be marginalised, if not obliterated.
This is what must change. We have no option but to reinvent mobility, as I keep repeating. Toxic smog in Delhi recently reached a new peak. Last month, the World Health Organisation declared air pollutants a human carcinogen. We must realise that this pollution is not acceptable. It is killing us, and no longer softly or slowly. But if we are serious about combatting air pollution, we have no option but to think about restraining the growth of cars. Learn how to move people, not cars.
When the Centre for Science and Environment began its campaign against air pollution in the mid-1990s, it did everything conventional. It pushed to improve the quality of fuel; improve emission standards of vehicles; and to put the inspection and maintenance systems for checking tailpipe emissions in place. It also pushed a leapfrog solution: the transition to compressed natural gas (CNG) for grossly polluting vehicles such as diesel buses and two-stroke autorickshaws. That made a difference. There is no doubt that the quality of air would have been even worse, even more deadly, without these steps.
But this is not good enough. Pollution levels are rising again, inexorably and inevitably. All research points to one cause and one big solution: building transport systems differently. We also have the option of doing this. We still haven’t motorised; nor have we built every flyover or four-lane road. Most importantly, much of India still takes the bus, walks or cycles – in many cites as much as 20 per cent of the population bikes. We do this because we are poor. Now the challenge is to reinvent city planning so that we can do this as we become rich.
For the past few years, this is exactly what we have been working on – how to bring back integrated and safe public transport options to our cites, so that even if we own a car, we don’t have to drive it.
But the keyword is integration. We can build a metro or get new buses, but if we do not have last-mile connectivity, then it will still not work. It has to be seamless and effortless. This is why we need to think differently.
This is where we are failing. Today there is talk of transport, cycling and pedestrians’ needs. But it is empty talk. Every time there is an attempt to convert a part of the road into a cycle track, the proposal is virulently opposed. The argument is that it cannot be done because it will take away space from cars and will add to congestion. But that is exactly what we need to do – reduce lanes for cars and add space for buses, cycles and pedestrians. This is the only way to get out of the ever-growing car bulge on roads.
This takes courage of conviction. On our overcrowded and chaotic roads, planning for cycle tracks and keeping sidewalks clean and clear will take lots of effort. I have absolutely no illusions that this will be easy to plan or to implement. But why should that deter us? The rest of the world has learnt successfully to rework road space so that it provides dignity and accessibility to cyclists and pedestrians. It has learnt to restrict space for cars and yet build extremely liveable cites.
Just think of the double bonus: getting rid of the most noxious source of pollution will result in clean air; and having the option to get some exercise while commuting will mean healthy bodies.
This is what we have to fight for. And we will. I hope all of you will join us in making the right to cycle and walk with safety non-negotiable.
PS: To the strangers who took me to the hospital and to the extraordinary doctors at the AIIMS trauma centre who saved my life, thank you.
Residents want barriers and traffic signal on road
September 5, 2013
Hindustan Times (Delhi) /Vibha Sharma MANOJ KUMAR / HT PHOTOS
Narendra Yadav, estate officer, Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), visited Sector 27 recently. The residents raised the matter of installing barriers and a traffic signal on the main road of Sectors 27 and 28 with him at that time.
(( (There is a demand to install a traffic signal and barriers at this point.)
Considering that the main road of Sectors 27 and 28 and the main road of Sector 43 are one way, vehicles go past at a high speed. It is very difficult for pedestrians to cross these roads. People also find it difficult to take a turn towards their colony or come out of it. The circumstances also increase the chance of accidents. To overcome these problems the RWA members requested Yadav to arrange for the installation of barriers on the road and also a traffic signal.
Says Harish Ahuja, secretary of the Sector 27 RWA, “There was a major accident here last month. Installing barriers is important to avoid accidents.”
Yadav spoke to Arun Dhankar, executive engineer, electric wing, HUDA, for the installation of barriers in the next one week. He asked for two months time for the installation of a traffic signal on this stretch. The residents also demanded installation of signboards in the area. “Ideally, signboards mentioning the sectors on this road and mentioning it as one way road should be installed at the beginning of the road. But the absence of such signboards causes a lot of inconvenience to a person coming here for the first time,” adds Ahuja.
The residents also raised the matter of poor maintenance of the parks in the area. “In a majority of the parks, the trees have been planted haphazardly. These have been planted in the middle of the parks leaving no space for the children to play and visitors to sit. There is absolutely no planning. The bushes and the plants are overgrown and need pruning. No one ever comes for maintenance. Similarly, the infrastructure facilities in the parks are not up to the mark. The water valve is missing in some places,” adds MC Gulati, RWA member. The residents have suggested that the parks be developed as model parks. After discussing the matter with the officials of the horticulture wing, HUDA, Yadav agreed to develop one park as a model park.
Says VK Nirala, executive engineer, horticulture department, HUDA, “We have received the instructions and soon we will be developing one park as a model park. We will do the designing and beautification work by setting stones at the entrance and inside as well. Since the maintenance of a model park is an issue as we have to arrange for guards as well, plans are on to convert one park into a model park as if now.”
Nirala accepted the fact that the parks have no space for people to sit and children to play. “I agree that trees are planted unevenly in the middle of the parks and this causes inconvenience to the visitors. But we can’t do anything or cut the trees. These have been planted like this since the establishment of sector,” he adds.
Regarding the regular cleaning of sewerlines, Yadav also instructed the concerned officials to arrange for proactive cleaning. “Rather than waiting for the residents’ complaints about the overflowing of sewerlines, it is important for officials to arrange regular cleaning,” said Yadav.
Source-http://paper.hindustantimes.com
CHAOS AT SOUTH EXTENSION-1 BUS STOPS
September 5, 2013
Hindustan Times (Delhi) /Garima Vohra
It is an ordeal to wait for Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses in South Extension-1. To begin with, there are too many bus stops within a few metres. “The drivers halt the bus according to their will and there choice of bus stop. One has to run from one bus stop to another to catch the same bus as the buses do not halt at the designated bus stops,” says Srikh Mandal, a resident of South Extension-1. Adds Jyotsana Marwah, a college student, “We keep signalling the driver to stop but the bus stops only when they want. None of the drivers follows any rules. If there is already a bus, the other drivers halt either a few metres away from the bus stop or in the middle of the road.” “The ACs of many buses do not work though the passengers have to pay more fare,” adds Harpreet Singh, a resident of Andrews Ganj. “Two bus stops have been removed due to Metro construction. But buses still stop at that place. As a result, passengers have started waiting for buses at these points. Since there is no bus stop, during rush hours, passengers come up to the middle of the road to catch a bus,” says Singh. “Many drivers and conductors have been challaned for turning up for duty without proper uniform. Currently, the biggest challenge for the DTC is to get homeguards. Around 89 night buses were given homeguards for safety but not a single one
Source-http://paper.hindustantimes.com
Traffic police to crack down on DTC buses
September 5, 2013
Subhendu Ray | hindustantimes.com
Police say they will start impounding DTC buses to end ‘killing spree’
NEW DELHI: Deviating from their earlier ‘softer’ stance, Delhi Police have decided to start impounding DTC buses for dangerous driving — a major reason for fatal accidents on city roads.
This year, DTC buses have already claimed 50 lives in the Capital.
On Tuesday, violence erupted in Govindpuri area in south Delhi after a DTC bus killed a 15-year-old student. Sixteen DTC buses were damaged after students went on the rampage.
Anil Shukla, additional commissioner of police (traffic), said, “Enough is enough. We cannot sit idle and let people die under the wheels of DTC buses. We will soon start impounding such buses for dangerous driving and accidents.”
Following a direction from the Delhi High Court early this year, Delhi Police had adopted a strategy of not impounding DTC buses unless they were involved in major accidents. The court had said impounding buses would cause major inconvenience to thousands of commuters.
The traffic police issued challans to 8,590 DTC drivers this
(*till September 3) year of which 3,704 were fined for dangerous driving. they impounded 299 vehicles and arrested 569 drivers so far.
“Indiscipline among DTC drivers while driving is increasing. We will take up the matter with the high court,” a senior traffic police officer said.
On Wednesday, DTC authorities suspended SC Sharda, manager, Srinivaspuri depot. A bus (DL-1P-6475) from this depot had mowed down a student on Tuesday. The transport corporation said they had suffered damages worth R6 lakh and were going to lodge an FIR for damaging government property.
‘Prayer on our lips, craters below, we crawled’
August 26, 2013
Rumu Banerjee & Durgesh Nandan Jha, TNN | Aug 24, 2013, 02.27 AM IST
A nightmare awaited us at Paota, 173km from Delhi. A small town, it’s a halting point for private vehicles and trucks. Two flyovers are being constructed here, within 5km of each other. There are diversions but no signages. Vehicles have to be carefully manoeuvred around waterlogged potholes with deceptive depths. Slow moving vehicles hold up traffic even as shops and other commercial outlets come in the way. Ramavtar Singh, traffic-in-charge at Paota, says, “The village population has increased and the local traffic often spills over to the highway. On weekends, after 1.30pm, vehicles barely move along this stretch. Accidents are also common.”
Luckily for us, it was a Monday and we had crossed Paota before the trucks took over. With some luck, we managed to cross Kotputli in 20 minutes but the good feeling didn’t last long. Behror, located 133km from Delhi, was a killjoy. It is bigger than Paota and a midway point. Three consecutive flyovers – all under construction – have turned the stretch into an obstacle course.
The absence of a proper road for those on the way from Delhi to Jaipur to go to the midway means that all such vehicles – cars, buses, motorcycles and trucks – take a slip road below the flyover, that is an uneven stretch with large boulders, to go to the other side. They, obviously, then come in conflict with the traffic coming from the Jaipur side. Getting through this stretch took us more than half-an-hour. By this time, it was dark and we were praying for beating therush of trucks.
But trouble loomed ahead as we reached Neemrana – hundreds of trucks had taken over the road, several just parked on the wayside. The service lane seemed to be our only hope but it didn’t go all the way, forcing us back into the impregnable phalanx of trucks. The bustling industrial areas of Neemrana were, meanwhile, disgorging their own vehicles on to the road.
It was 7.30pm and Gurgaon was still 90km and two toll booths (Manesar and Gurgaon) away. The highway was illuminated only by the headlights of the vehicles and we had to constantly watch out for potholes and craters. At Asalwas, the lack of signages ensured that we almost missed a diversion, since only half the flyover had been completed and that too was closed. Now we were just weaving around trucks as if in a videogame.
At Dharuhera, things took a downward spiral. Many trucks were stuck, some having broken down along the way. The traffic just grew and grew with the Sohna road joining NH-8 at this point. Heavy waterlogging had only worsened the situation. Rooted to one spot for 45 minutes, we saw no hope. Our car, an Etios, swerved into a service lane when suddenly the SUV in front seemed to tilt very sharply. At the end of the lane was a massive crater. The SUV survived it and we simply prayed. Ten minutes and some gentle steering later, we had passed the test. Not yet. Over the next hour-and-half, Bilaspur and Manesar came back to haunt us.
By the time we reached the Manesar toll booth, it was 11pm and there was a long line of trucks and other vehicles. We spent 15 minutes here and were ready for more ahead. Miraculously, the traffic seemed to get better as we approached the Gurgaon toll booth. We reached Delhi at midnight.
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