The third Raahgiri Day in Delhi saw an equal number of first timers and loyal Raahgirs walking, cycling and dancing on the roads of inner circle in Connaught Place. The initiative is organised every Sunday by the Delhi Police and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) along with Embarq India, and is supported by The Times of India. Regulars also brought their friends and family , swelling the numbers of people in sporty gear and adding to the festive feel.The morning began on a patriotic note with a performance by the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) Pipe and Brass Band. Cyclists and skaters took over the roads in style and the professionals impressed the amateurs and the cheering crowds.

People from all over the city, and even bordering areas like Faridabad, came in large numbers and were seen enjoying the variety of activities being organised. Abhay and Vikas, who had come for the first time with their families from Pitam Pura and Lajpat Nagar respectively , were seen playing the childhood game of `Chain Chain’ in the CP parking lots. Abhay told us, “There is so much positivity in the air, it’s all so relaxing. Chalte hue agar kisi ko dhakka lage bhi toh kisi ko koi tension nahi hai, smile kar ke log aage badh jaate hain. In the 10-15 years that we’ve lived here, we have never seen Delhi like this.“

The high point of the day was a performance by popu lar stand-up co median Papa CJ and his guest p e r f o r m e r, Malaysian comic biggie Harith Iskander. Jokes on Delhiites’ driving skills, our Bollywood obsession and other desi pride qualities made both of them instant crowd favourites. The fans in the crowd had their starry moments and got selfies clicked with both the artistes.

Meenakshi Lekhi, MP from the New Delhi constituency , was there for her third Raahgiri, and this time, got her new bicycle along and cycled till Amar Jawan Jyoti. “It was nice to cycle for a longer distance. We went up till Amar Jawan Jyoti, saluted the martyrs and cycled back. I have got a new bike and from next week, you will get to see more improvisations in the bike. In fact, I plan to cycle in various colonies in the mornings and make cycling a regular part of my routine,“ she said, adding, “The response to Raahgiri has been really good. We want to take Raahgiri to other marketplaces and create more spaces for pedestrians. I would like to tell people that they should not litter around, and should throw water bottles in the dustbins designated for the purpose.“

Muktesh Chander, special commissioner of police (Traffic), said, “Let’s make Delhi roads more pedestri an and cycle-friendly . Let pedestrians com mand respect from those travelling in ve hicles. These are the events where pedes trians and cyclists can reclaim their space.“ The cop also showed off his creative side when he played Tum Hi Ho on his flute. Anil Shukla, joint commissioner of police (Traffic), who had come with his daughter Radhi ka, was also all praise for the event.

Towards the end of the event, after it got extended by an hour and went on till 10am, people were seen planning their breakfast destinations.

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Road ministry has started preparation for a new phase of national highway development to connect every district headquarter with NHs. To be named as NHDP-VIII, this would cover about 7,300 km roads, which would be made at least two lanes.Sources said since these are newly declared NHs, their widening work can be taken up on government funding mode. None of the project is likely to cross Rs 500 crore.

This means the road transport and highways ministry can approve all these projects and thereby fast tracking construction work.“We are going to come out with this new phase. How and who will undertake these works, whether NHAI or state PWDs or the ministry , will be decided later. These projects can take off quickly since land availability for two lanes should not be a problem,“ said an official. At present, there are seven NHDP phases covering different programmes.The progress has been dismal in phase-VI and VII.

Source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com

At 6.30am, dressed in maroon uniforms and armed with hockey sticks, a gang of girls made way into the middle of Connaught Place. Unlike the rest of the crowd, who were there for a bit of fun on a Sunday morning, these members of Jharkhand Tribal Hockey Association were out on a serious mission.“Due to lack of space, we are often practising in parks, playgrounds and sometimes in schools. Raahgiri has given us a place to practise and put  spotlight on the girls who are extremely talented but completely unknown,” said their coach Sushil Kumar Tirke.About 32 teams are part of the association in Delhi of which six are women’s teams.“People from across Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha have made their small teams in the city.  They wanted to come for Raahgiri and we are most happy to showcase the sport. Despite being our national game, very little attention is paid to hockey and this was an opportunity to involve more people,” said an NDMC official.

Passersby called them the  “Chak De girls ” after a popular Bollywood film, but the girls remained focused on the game. Several borrowed their hockey sticks to practise a few shots and the boys’ team hap pily assisted those who needed tips on the game.

Asha Khakha, a 25-yearold from Simdega district in Jharkhand, has been in Delhi for the past 10 years. “There is a lot of craze for hockey in our state and parents encourage children, even girls, to participate. I have played for my state,” she said.

Alisha Vispota, a 13-yearold from Raigarh in Chhattisgarh, said she had left school to pursue hockey. “There is no money and sponsorships but we love the game and are living away from our families to learn the game and get a chance to represent our states and the country.” Several of the girls are studying in government schools while the older ones have low-level jobs in government establishments. “Last year three boys got into the army while a few made it through to CRPF. That is the only way they can sustain themselves as none of them are properly educated. No state government is helping out financially or providing us with facilities to train these children. We plan to come here every Sunday now,” said Tirke.

 A significant number of Delhiites left their bedside to plunge into Raahgiri festivities early on Sunday . The initiative, in its third week, gained further traction as the number of activities and participation went up. In addition to skating, cycling, aerobics and dancing, there were sports like hockey and football. People of all agegroups hopped from one activity to another, not wishing to miss out on anything. Ever since its launch on July 13, Raahgiri, organized by New Delhi Municipal Council and Delhi Police in partnership with Embarq India, has captured the public imagination. The event is supported by The Times of India.

The traffic cops and organizers put the turnout at 10,000-12,000, a big leap from the first two weeks. Many new faces could be seen. Having missed the first two occasions, they made it a point to come this time. “My friends who came last week were full of praise for the initiative.

This time, five of us came together from Noida. After aerobics, we cycled around Inner Circle, where we were joined by strangers. It didn’t matter because it was so much fun,” said Ankita Singh, a college student.

Organizers said Raahgiri was becoming the city’s hotspot on Sundays. “The response is phenomenal. Our endeavour is to make Raahgiri more interesting by coming up with newer activities.

Right now we have zumba, yoga, cycling and skating but we would like to have offerings for people of all ages.

Raahgiri is here to stay,” said

NDMC secretary Nikhil Kumar. Sarika Panda Bhatt, an urban planner with Embarq India, said they were working on expansion plans for the next Raahgiri Day . “This Sunday , we had anticipated a bigger crowd. We freed up the Inner Circle for cycling, skating and walking and kept the Middle Circle for cycling on ly. Zumba, yoga and other activities were moved to the radials, so we could spread the crowd evenly . Raahgiri owes its growing appeal to the idea of reclaiming the streets. The thought resonated with the participants.“New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi made her third appearance to promote the spirit of the event. “Raahgiri is not about losing weight, then gaining it, only to lose weight once again. That’s a fruitless exercise. Our aim should be to stay fit. Seeing the response we may look at other centres for Raahgiri. All market areas should be converted likewise. Increase in footfall will only mean more busi ness,” she said before joining a cycling rally to India Gate and Rashtrapati Bhavan accompanied by traffic police.

Muktesh Chander, special CP (traffic), who wowed people with his flute performance, said, “Traffic police have been batting for pedestrians. Raahgiri is the best way to promote this. More

than 50% of road fatalities involve cyclists and pedestrians. We have been writing to departments for ensuring footpaths without compromising on the road width.’’ The day began with a cycle rally and a performance by 140 members of the CRPF pipe and brass band. The National Anthem followed. Across the venue, cyclists cheerfully jostled for space with dozens of skaters. Parents skated with their tiny tots to instil confidence in them.In another section, a crowd enthusiastically followed the aerobics and dance by the Delhi Academy. Comedian Papa CJ and Malaysian comedian Harith Iskander had their own fan base. Their jokes comparing Delhi to Mumbai left the audience visibly tickled. Hockey players and footballers pulled in the sports enthusiasts. NDMC officials said they were planning to bring in bodybuilders to multiply the fun next time.

Ambulances, police vehicles and fire tenders often get stuck. “The area needed for parking vehicles is now double of what is taken up by slums in Delhi. The social inequity , shrinking of common areas and unhealthy environment will only get worse,“ said Anumita Roy choudhary , executive director, CSE.

To tackle this problem, some RWAs have restricted entry of cars, others have proposed parking lots beneath the parks. Many are using colony parks and vacant plots to squeeze in their cars. “Anyone can buy any number of cars without showing parking space. There is no policy,“ said Manjeet Singh of South Extension part-I RWA.

Another reason for the mess is the commercialization of residential roads.
Banks, nursing homes, gym and departmental stores are essential but daily fights over parking outside houses are also taking their toll. Deflating tyres, towing and damaging cars has become common.

Since 2005 civic agencies have been collecting conversion charges from these areas.
“Not a single parking lot has come up. Where has the money gone?“ said Rajiv Kakria of GK-I RWA. Of the 41 parking lots planned by the corporations since 2007, only three have been completed.

Unauthorized colonies as well as congested areas like Karol Bagh and Walled City are worse off. “We need a policy or more people will be killed over parking rows,“ said B S Vohra of East Delhi RWAs Joint Front. Experts had suggested charges for street parking but political pressure put them in cold storage. “Public transport needs to improve to reduce reliance on cars,“ said Ashok Bhasin of North Delhi Residents Welfare Forum.

Source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Parking is a big problem in west Patel Nagar.

The roads here are always choked by haphazardly parked cars, and people lose their cool quite easily because of that. It’s even worse at block 28, say residents, where Rajender Bhatia lived.People living in Baljeet Nagar, an unauthorized colony nearby, park their vehicles in the spaces allotted to the block. “We have protested against this a lot of times with the police and the civic bodies but they tell us there is no way out,“ said Ahuja.But N K Ahuja, a neigh bour of the Bhatias, says the problem is also due to the fact that “every house has at least three cars that occupy spaces allotted to other residents“.

“There are days when we have to park our cars outside the colony because of that. I have filed several PILs to this end but all came to nought,“ Ahuja added.

Subhash Gulati, who has been living in the area for over 25 years, says, “The colony was originally designed to have one car per family . But with time, every house in this area became an apartment.
Now, there are at least seven cars for each house,“ he said.

Gulati also complained that the colony once had an RWA, but it was disbanded a few years ago. “I had requested all the residents to park their vehicles responsibly but to no avail,“ Gulati added.

Vikas Chaddha, an immediate neighbour of the victim, said Bhatia himself owned two cars, one of which he parked right outside the gate and the other on somebody else’s slot. “No one speaks about the parking issue since the spaces allotted for all the plots are being controlled by the property dealers in the area who run a racket,“ Chaddha added.