CHANDIGARH: Motorists in Chandigarh are on the horns of a dilemma over the speed limits of the traffic police. They can’t decide if they are supposed to focus on the road ahead or keep checking the speedometer while driving. The problem with the speed limit is that it is completely at odds with modern cars that can easily go up to 70 to 80 km/hr in a very short time. That being the case, city residents want the administration to reconsider the speed limit.

“I own an Audi A-6 and believe me, most of the time, I avoid driving it in the city because it goes beyond 60 km/hr in no time, which is a violation of traffic rules,” said Robin Mehra, a businessman from Sector 23. Most people argued that if they kept checking the speedometer while driving, they would not be able to concentrate

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

There is good news for the commuters travelling between Sarita Vihar, Kalindi Kunj and Okhla. The much awaited and one of the longest underpasses will soon be made operational here. It will reduce the distance between Sarita Vihar and Okhla. From nine km it will be reduced to one km. The construction of the underpass at Sarita Vihar within the railway boundary is being executed by the Northern Railway on behalf of the Delhi Development Authority. This underpass will connect Okhla Industrial Area with Kalindi Kunj on the Noida side.

“I will benefit a lot as I live in Block J, Sarita Vihar, and my office is in Okhla Industrial Area Phase-4,” says Paramjeet Kaur Juneja, a resident of Sarita Vihar. This is probably the largest underpass being constructed by the advance technique of box pushing. The segments are precast over a horizontal RCC thrust bed, adjacent to the railway embankment. The boxes are then pushed into the embankment one after another with the help of hydraulic force created by jacks. The force of the jacks is transmitted to precast segment and thus it moves forward. There is uninterrupted train movement during the construction. The underpass is being made under the Delhi-Mumbai rail route, one of the busiest in India. About 300 trains pass on this rail section every day.

The underpass is being built on the two-four box pattern. It will have eight lanes for vehicular movement and one lane for the pedestrians and cyclists. Adds Bimal Jairaj, another resident of Block H, Sarita Vihar, “There is a designated space for pedestrians and cyclists on this underpass. Usually, these two categories are left to fend for themselves since there is no provision for them in the design plan.” “Once the underpass is functional, it will reduce the travelling time. The railway track has been continuously monitored and uninterrupted train movement at controlled speed was ensured during the construction phase. The underpass is likely to be functional in the next six months,” says Neeraj Sharma, chief public relations officer, Northern Railway.

The Empowered Committee of the Ministry of Rural Development has sanctioned proposals worth Rs 1,068 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. While intimating the approval of the  committee to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh expressed his displeasure over the slow pace of completion of the infrastructure projects.

“The State is required to enhance its capacity to deliver the desired quality of roads,” the empowered committee remarked.

Advising the State Government to increase the strength of the project implementation units (PIUs), Ramesh said 2,048 road works out of the project sanctioned till March, 2011, have  remained incomplete. “Unless the State enhances its execution capacity, the desired progress with respect to speed and quality cannot be achieved.

Hence, the Ministry has decided to sent the Joint Secretary along with his team to the State to have a meeting with the State officials and the contractors to resolve various issues faced by the State before August end,” Ramesh said.

The MoRD has sanctioned 343 road projects covering 1,184 km at a cost of Rs 584 crore and 140 long span bridges at an estimated cost of Rs 483 crore.

As the quality of roads constructed under the flagship programme is not satisfactory, the Union Minister has suggested that the Chief Minister should institutionalize quality monitoring system in a few selected districts and send the plan to the Ministry by the end of this month.

http://newindianexpress.com

If construction companies were pinning their hopes on a steady flow of highway projects in the current financial year, they might have to wait longer. A report by CARE Research says the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will be able to award only one-third of its current target.

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had set a target of awarding around 9,000 km of road projects in 2013-14. CARE Research expects that road projects with the length of about 3,000 km would be completed.

“The target seems to be unattainable, given the continued impediments faced by the road sector. Delay in obtaining land, forest and environmental clearances, coupled with a slowdown in macro economic conditions continue to hit projects in the sector,” the report said.

Analysts say the state-of-affairs of slow order inflows of the last financial year will continue to the first half of the current financial year as well. Many of them had expected NHAI to award as much as 3,000-4,000 km worth of projects in the first half of the year.

“The first half will see dull ordering but there is hope that the second one would be good. It all depends on how government will process infrastructure projects,” said Viral Shah, senior research analyst-infrastructure, Angel Broking. The broking firm has also taken a conservative estimate of L&T’s order inflow growth. While the infrastructure major guided a 10 per cent growth, the firm expects it to be at around 8-9 per cent, indicating a tough environment ahead.

NHAI’s delayed targets would affect construction companies as 50 per cent of awards were supposed to be on the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model. In 2011-12, awards and road project wins on build, operate and transfer (BOT) mode could not raise debt, as banks became cautious. Many such projects had aggressive bids by project developers.

Some projects which sought bids last year, saw lack of interest from developers as well. “Almost 10 road projects worth Rs.14,800 crore received no bids or witnessed bidding cancellation in 2012-13,” said CARE Research.

However, slow execution of highway projects, might see a pick-up this year. “The execution of already awarded road projects will improve in FY14. The upcoming elections are expected to expedite the execution of road projects in this fiscal. Also, the recent judgment by the Supreme Court, on delinking environment clearance from forest clearance will provide some fillip to the project execution,” the report said. According to estimates, road length of about 2,700 kms would be constructed in 2013-14.

While NHAI’s programme might be slower in the current financial year, state government project awards have picked up pace. The report believes that the annual investment will grow at 16 per cent in the Twelfth Five Year Plan.

Source-http://www.business-standard.com