Delhi Capital

Great news for both shopkeepers as well as shoppers in Chandni Chowk as  the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Wednesday inaugurated a 1,020-car capacity underground multi-level parking lot making parking much hassle free for all. Mayor Rajni Abbi dedicated the parking located at Parade ground, Subhash Marg near Red Fort to the residents of the thickly populated walled city.

The construction for this multi level parking lot took two years to complete and cost around Rupees 52.83 crore. The parking is of multi-level and the three underground level is designed to fit more than 720 cars will the surface parking area will cater some 300 cars. Just within a few days, this facility will be open for the public to use.

An MCD official said that, “Two floors with a capacity of about 250 cars each will be thrown open first. There is still some pending work on the other two floors which will take some time to be operational.“  Speaking on the occasion, Abbi said that the parking will help in easing parking problems. She also said that, “The old city is famous among tourists who come to visit Jama Masjid and Red Fort. The area is also being used as a commercial hub which leads to the movement of large volume of vehicle. However, the scant space for parking was worrisome and therefore, the need arose to go for multi-level underground parking.“  Abbi pointed that around 1000 new vehicle are added on Delhi roads on a daily basis and the problem of parking is a major cause of concern in Delhi. The Mayor said that by March end, as many as five parking projects will be completed. According MCD officials, the parking has been designed for optimum space utilisation and has been made earthquake resistant.

News Source : Hindustan Times

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) ambitious project to sanction building plans online, which was aimed to simplifying the lengthy procedure and checking corruption, has ended up creating a roadblock.  In January, the civic agency started sanctioning building plans online for fresh constructions in authorized colonies in all its 12 zones, and since then the number of plans sanctioned has dwindled. The agency approved just 36 building plans online in January as against about 150 sanctioned manually in December 2011.

At present, MCD is sanctioning only fresh building plans in approved colonies online, under the new procedure. For alterations and any additional constructions, plans have to be submitted manually. Both architects and MCD officials admit that this project has the potential of checking graft and ensuring structurally safer buildings in the city but the decision to suddenly stop accepting applications manually has not been received very well by the general public.

Neeraj Dhingra, an architect empanelled with MCD said that “They should have allowed both manual and online submission initially. People, architects and, most importantly, MCD officials at the zonal level need to get used to the system. It is a big project and technical errors are bound to creep in. They stopped the manual system without streamlining the new system. It is a very time consuming process.’’

The maximum number of applications related to building plans was received from areas like the Shahdara (South), West, South, Central and Rohini  and these zones are the worst hit areas. An average of 40-45 applications we received under the simplified procedure, no plans were sanctioned in the month of January in Shahdara.

One of the reason why general public is not happy with the new system is because there are only 403 architects registered with MCD for online submission and people are having a hard time getting their plans approved. MCD officials say that these architects have hiked their charges arbitrarily.

An MCD official said “Earlier, people could get the building plan made from any architect, but now they have to get it made from the empanelled ones. People are facing a lot of inconvenience.’’ Why are a majority of architects fighting shy of the system? It’s a mix of old habits dying hard, lack of familiarity with the new system and scepticism.

Many architects are also complaining that they are facing serious problems related to the serves, especially while uploading the plans in the website. Munish Pandit, who is empanelled with MCD said that “One has to load and check the plan several times before all the errors are removed. MCD should have a software to check the errors in real time. We can download the software. A lot of time is wasted in uploading the documents several times. Often their server doesn’t work and the applications crash midway.”

Y S Mann, director, press and information, MCD stated that “is Monday, the server was down for three-four hours. “We were carrying out checking of the server to rectify the errors.’’ Officials admit that architects are taking a lot of time in rectifying errors. In some cases, they have had to upload the plan at least 12-15 times. An MCD official with the building department also said that “The software for sanctioning building plan online doesn’t accept any deviation from the building bylaws and Master Plan of Delhi-2021. Even a 0.1% change in any parameter will generate an error.’’

Mann also said that “Not many people would have opted for online had we kept the manual submission open. We are training architects in uploading the plans and rectifying errors.’’ While the plan has to be applied for online, the civic agency demands a hard copy of all the documents, including the plan, to be submitted at the zonal offices. “We can’t sanction the plan until the architect or owner has submitted a hard copy of all the relevant documents in our office,’’ said an MCD official.

News Source : Times of India

New Delhi Railway Station won’t be just a place where you would get a train to travel, it will also be a place where art lovers can browse through various art works. New Delhi Railway Station is all set to open its own Art Gallery where one can enjoy glimpse of the history of the Indian Railways through exciting exhibits.

The gallery will exhibit the rich heritage of the Indian Railways which will include exhibits on stations, steam engines, the scenic beauty of hill railways and the royal rail salons used by the English princess and Indian royalty. The railway art gallery is coming up at Platform number 1 of the railway station and entry will be free for authorised railway passengers.

A senior northern railways officer, who did not wish to be named said, “The art gallery will have photographs, painting and prints of Indian Railways. We are hoping to throw it open for our travellers by February 29. “

Many countries such as the UK already have such railway art gallery and with New Delhi Railways Station opening its own, the gallery will bring artists and photographers, who specialize in making rail painting and prints, would be brought under one roof.

A official also said that “The photographs, paintings and prints in the art gallery will be the depiction of the railway scene in all its facets both past and present. The railways for more than 150 years have been a favourite subject among the artists. The gallery will put rail art on the forefront. ” The Delhi division of the northern railways also plans to organise rail art competitions regularly at the rail art gallery. A officer stated that “We will invite professional artists, school and college children to participate in the competition. The staging of railway art exhibitions will also assist in the historical research necessary for various subjects related to Indian railways.”

News Source : Hindustan Times

Meet Marc Bevan, whose grandfather was the loco-pilot for Winston Churchill, whenever he visited South Wales and though his living room in the UK is flooded with pictures of steam-engine trains but he has never boarded one. Now, Marc has persuaded 11 people including his family and friends to buy tickets for the commercial run of a heavy steam engine by the railways after a gap of 16 years.

When Marc Bevan dream of seeing the black beauties chug out of the station, Patram a 85-year-old could barely hold back his tears. Patram was once the senior technician who maintained steam engines at the Rewari loco shed which is now a museum. Retired some 25 years back, when the government decided to phase out steam locomotives, Patram on Saturdays was given the honour of flagging off the maiden commercial run of Steam Express from the Delhi Cantonment station to Alwar. The old man while waving the green flag zealously said, I feel so nostalgic, as if I was reborn today.”

On Saturday at 9.15am, some forty lucky people, including men, women and children enjoy the ride in the vintage steam-run train. Out of the 40, 32 passengers were foreigners—tourists and expatriates—each with their own reason for being on the train. Vikas Arya, senior divisional mechanical engineer (power), Northern Railway, the man behind the entire show said the engine for the run, too, was chosen after much deliberation. “It is a 1965-make WP class engine manufactured by Chittaranjan locomotives and decommissioned even before the Saharanpur loco shed shut down in 1987. A Pacific class model with a 4-6-2 wheel formation, it has 1,460 horsepower. It can touch 110kmph and was used to haul the fastest Express trains during its heyday.” He also said that the heritage run will take place “at least” twice a month for the next two months. “We will gauge the response before taking the run forward. At present, we are charging Rs 10, 200 per passenger for two days and one night that includes a return journey to Alwar, a stay at Hotel Tiger Den run by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation, a Safari at Sariska, and sightseeing.”

Mac Bean, a UK national whose father was in the British Army and drove trains at Berlin and David Colenutt has been visiting India for over five times and has travelled in almost all the famous routes in the country and for them the trip is not so much for its novelty but getting in touch with their roots. “We are a team of rail enthusiasts from the UK, Australia, the US, and of course, India, who love train journeys and discovering the country. We have formed ourselves into the Darjeeling Tours and keep seeing each other when we come here,” said Colenutt.

The children’s traveling in that train, for them it was the sheer grandeur of the engine that has captured their imagination. “It’s my first journey on a steam engine-run train. I had heard a great deal about them, but will now ride one,” said Zoe a ten year old kid. Andrew Cartwright and Saowamas, a couple who arrived at the station almost 70 minutes ahead of departure—even before the railway officials showed up—for them the trip was to relive the “romance they had experienced while taking a similar heritage trip in Scotland five years ago”. Amartya Chowdhury and Saurabhi Das Chowdhury another couple also said that it was the “uniqueness” of the occasion that spurred them to spend thousands. “We hope it’s a weekend we will always remember.” The railways, too, hope such rides will become a permanent feature of their calendar. “You can now book the entire train for Rs 4 lakh. We hope the Rewari Steam Locomotive Shed & Rail Museum gets a good response through such runs,” added Arya.

News Source : Times of India

It’s a dream come true for Delhiites to get a Delhi Development Authority (DDA) flat. The process, work and the effort that had to be put in order to get a DDA flat is a nightmare. On October 25, 2010, DDA Housing Scheme was launched and some 16,000 flats located across Delhi were on offer. For the first drawn which was held on April 18, 2011, DDA received over 7.56 lakh applications.

Some 12,000 of the successful allottees have received demand letters for their flats but still the remaining 4,000 allottees are still in the quest from pillar to post to get any information about when they would get their flats. DDA has stated that the remaining demand letters would be issued shortly but the allottees are still not sure when the promised day would come.

Sunita Khanna (name changed on request) sait that “Visiting the DDA headquarters regularly for the demand letter has become a part of my life and is affecting my office work.“ She also said that “DDA officials had earlier promised to issue the letter by January but I’m not sure if I will get the letter even in February. It has already been one-and-a-half years since DDA launched the scheme but I don’t know when exactly would I be able to move into my own house. “

The deadlines set for issuing the demand letters by DDA has been missing and the reason why the 4000 allottees are still not getting the letter is because the flats are still not completed. Vasant Kunj D-6, Jasola Sector 9A, Dwarka 18B and Rohini Sector 29 are some of the areas where the demand letters for allotments are made for flats. A senior DDA official said that “Work on flats in these areas is yet to be completed but it would be done shortly. “ One main problem why these flats are still not completed is because DDA is facing problem installing elevators. Though elevators have been put in place, they are yet to be made operational. According to some DDA officials ‘Apart from construction work, which is lagging behind, another reason for the delay seems to be the fact that most of these flats are located in multi-storied buildings. “There is a problem with installation of elevators in these buildings.’’

Only once the elevator starts working and after the completion of construction, the demand letters for all the locations will be raised. The allottees of these flats have received an intimation letter, instead of a demand letter. After they get the demand letter, allottees can make the payment for the flats. The process of taking possession of the flat would take two months after payment.

News Source : Hindustan Times

Forget the 12-15 floors that came up in east and west Delhi in the early 90s, now Delhi is also set to get skyscrapers.

Today, there are many developers who are building 15 floors and plus residential towers in Delhi and the tallest project. ‘Raheja Phoenix’ till now is set at 51 storey which will be build by Raheja Developers.

The Capital Greens project under DLF has 29 floors which are being constructed in Moti Nagar, while the Kings and Queens Court project in Greater Kailash II will have eight floors. In civil Lines, Parsvnath Developers has planned to build over 10 floors for its La Tropicana project. Projects launched by private developers and those in the pipeline will generate about 4,000 units in the national Capital.

Raheja Developers project ‘Raheja Phoenix’ is part of a redevelopment project that is proposed to come up in Kathputli Colony near Patel Nagar. This will be a joint-venture with the Dubai-based Arabtec Construction, who has built the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest tower in the world.

Navin Raheja, chairman and managing director, Raheja Developers Limited said  “We are planning 170 highend units in this project. Raheja Phoenix will be 190 metres tall and will exceed the tallest building in Delhi -the 112-metre Civic Centre. The project envisages the creation of 2,800 2BHK units for displaced slum dwellers in 14-storey structures.“ He also stated that “We are technically qualified for 23 such redevelopment projects in and around Delhi, mainly in Old Delhi, and if we qualify as the highest bidder, we will build over a lakh houses. We will naturally go vertical as there is no other option.

The search for land in Delhi is on for the Supertech Group, which is building the 300-metre, 80storeyed Supernova project and the 255-metre, 60-storeyed North Eye project in Noida.  R K Arora, CMD of the company said “We are considering several options in zones under MPD2021 in Delhi. We hope to launch tall buildings in the Capital, following the overwhelming response we received in Noida. Going forward, tall buildings are the only option available due to scarcity of land.

‘The challenges of going tall in India are the same as the challenges faced in all other countries,’ said GC Christofides, CEO, Arabtech Construction LLC. He also said ‘The easy challenges are utilising the correct systems to allow for the right quality and speed while at the same time handling efficiently the logistical problems specific to tall construction’.

News Source : Hindustan Times

As a rising economy, India has developed a curving for the better things in life and various luxuries. For Delhi, imported liquor seems to be one of the most common indulgence. The demand for imported alcoholic beverages has double since last year in Delhi. In 2011, more than 10.08 lakh bottles of imported beer was sold compared to the year before. Some 3.46 lakh bottles of wines were sold, when only some 1.94 lakh were sold the year before. The increase in demand for imported whiskey has also increased to 3.87 lakh when it was just 2.34 lakh bottles for the year before.

A senior excise department official stated that  “Buying and serving expensive liquor in parties has become a status symbol. The Delhiites’ buying capacity is increasing and they don’t shy away from spending big bucks on expensive imported liquor,“ There are some 32 shops in the city which sell imported liquor. Last year, the excise department collected a revenue of R1,240 crore. This figure has gone up to R1,540 crore this year.

There has been an increase of over 17 percent in the sale of imported liquor in Delhi and the revenue generated has also increased to over 24 percent as according to officials.  A excise department official said “We are expecting the sales to go up further because of the festive season. Generally, people consume more liquor to beat the cold.“

In Delhi there are some 423 government-run, 90 private and 16 mall-based liquor outlets in the city. Delhi government had also recently drafted a proposal to allow microbreweries in Delhi restaurants and pubs. The proposal has framed the rules and regulations which will act as eligibility criteria for such pubs, for instance, the minimum space required and the volume of beer which can be produced.

News Source : Hindustan Times

Famous for its extreme weather, Delhi weather can be very ruthless. This winter, the cold has claimed many lives and most victims are the homeless. 118 unidentified bodies have been found this month, according to Delhi police figures and 60% of the death is because of the cold.

According to the report, around three persons lost their live everyday because of the cold. A certain area in North Delhi with a huge number of homeless has lost 31 person to the cold while Central Delhi has lost 17 so far. Though government has set up night shelter, hunders of people die of cold.

In simple figures, this means that around three persons have died due to the cold in the city every day so far in December. The maximum number -31 -is from North Delhi district, an area that has the highest number of homeless people. The figure for central Delhi is 17.

Paramjeet Kaur and Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan who works for the homeless in a NGO said that “The government sets up shelters every year, but no one is doing anything about the occupancy,“

A proposal to the urban development department has already been send by the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation to build a transit home for labourers and construction workers in Kanjhawala. Kaur said,“No homeless person will ever move to Kanjhawala. Location is very important when it comes to getting the homeless to sleep inside a shelter. This plan will simply not work.”

News Source : Hindustan Times

If there be paradise on earth, this is it vaunted Diwan-i-Khas in its prime and when King George V arrived for his Durbar 100 years ago the State Procession that followed his entry hurried the king away from the hall, out of Delhi Gate and into the city. George V had time merely to mark the fort’s sparse grandeur and discrete pavilions, and wonder why it had been called the noblest palace in the world for so long. What he probably didn’t know was that most of the ‘Exalted Palace’ travellers raved about for two centuries had been swept away. The sparkling canal that divided the very road he took out of the fort, Houses of the salatin (royal descendants) had made way for the new lawns to his right. Razed palaces, arcades and cloisters had left behind the long, empty brackets of space to his left were all gone.

What George V witnessed was more like a poem with most of its lines missing. With most of its glory missing, it’s very difficult to visualize Red Fort in its prime but thankfully a new book offers a glimpse into the palace of the last Mughal and the surrounding city that Zauq and Ghalib loved and lived in. JP Losty’s Delhi 360º (Roli Books) reveals the Red Fort and Shahjahanabad of the Mughal dynasty’s dying years through artist Mazhar Ali Khan’s panorama, “A Picture of the Imperial City of Shahjahanabad Drawn from the Lahore Gate of the Exalted Fort”. Acquired by the British Library at a country auction in 1981, the painting is signed November 25, 1846 , and is an important historical record.

During the Mutiny of 1857, the British had cleared a large swathe of the city that lay within firing range (450 yards) of the fort walls. Most of the palaces and buildings within the fort were also demolished in the name of security. So, Khan’s panorama captured the fort and the city in their swan song, and in massive detail. Measuring 66.5cm high and 490.8cm wide, the panorama is the equivalent of a 455-megapixel shot when printed at 300 dots-per-inch photo quality. The only way to produce such a photo-real historical record in the 1840s was by faithfully recording every line of street, roof and pillar with brush and paint.

From Khan’s observation deck under one of Lahore Gate’s chhatris (cupolas), Khan swept his gaze first north (towards the ticket counters) and then clockwise, till he had traced a unique 360º view. The roughly 5-metre water colour panorama was painted on five sheets and pasted together as a scroll longer than an average apartment bedroom.

More than its age, the panorama is important for what it shows. The fort is fully built up. It is no longer true to Shahjahan’s aesthetic, but a living, thriving space nonetheless. Outside, the city is more orderly built and leafy than what you see today. Trees ring it from the north all the way to Fatehpuri Masjid on the west. There are trees even on Chandni Chowk’s median. Of traffic there is little, and squalor none, but the last may be the artist’s disinclination to sully his canvas. It nothing less of a wonder. From the painting at first glance, nothing but the fort’s august gates is recognizable. There is so much between them that no living person has seen. The very intricate decorations of Chhatta Bazaar’s walls. They are now lost under layers of white paint. Immediately to the right is a spread of houses for the salatin. Towards the Naqqarkhana has a large, enclosed court with three-arched gateways to the north and the south. In fact, gates, arcades and cloisters regularly frame, link and also curtain the fort’s different quarters. Another surprise is the white Diwani-Aam beyond Naqqarkhana. The hall’s pearly plaster finish was stripped off early in the last century, exposing its red sandstone.

The painting also shows Shahjahanabad in relation to the older relics. Monuments such as Kotla Firoz Shah, Humayun’s Tomb, Purana Qila, and the farthest, Qutab Minar, are duly marked out. Studying Khan’s panorama will leave you a little wistful, for the lost splendours of Red Fort, the city’s easy pace, its leafy environs, the Yamuna’s wide expanse — and the horizon. Once upon a time, earth and sky met all around Delhi.

News Source : Times of India

Mohinder Singh, chairman, Noida authority said, SURVEY Authority points out need for mass transport system, curbing growth of personal vehicles ( Rapid commuting between Delhi and Noida has been possible because of the construction of roads and bridges. ) A railway link for Noida has been proposed, which will connect the city to Tughlaqabad in south Delhi at one end and to Dadri at the other end.

According to a study conducted by the Noida authority, around 80% of the city traffic falls along the Noida-Delhi corridors. During the morning hours higher volumes enter the city, while evening hours traffic leaving the city increases. As per this study shows increase in the number of workers commuting from neighbouring areas to workplaces in Noida.

As per the study incorporated in the latest master plan (2031) says personal vehicles (i.e. cars and two-wheelers) have a significant role (40 to 50%) in the traffic volume. The study shows integrated inter-city public transport system is required to reduce the burden of personal vehicles in Noida, Delhi and other neighboring urban areas.

Mohinder Singh, chairman, Noida authority also said that Emerging travel characteristics of the city suggest transitional changes. Initially conceived as a self-contained township, the city has transformed itself into an extended suburb of Delhi. “Rapid commuting between Delhi and Noida has been possible because of the construction of roads and bridges,“

According to the master plan, there is a need to contain the growth of personal vehicles. There are about 60,000 cars registered at the Noida regional transport office alone and some 850 cars are registered every month here.

Noida has no railway station with Hazrat Nizamuddin as the nearest station which is some 25 kilometers away from Noida. Besides the Metro, which does not also cover most part of the area, road becomes the only linkage with the area. “A railway link for Noida has been proposed, which will connect the city to Tughlaqabad in south Delhi at one end and to Dadri at the other end,“ said Singh.The plan says major corridors are full to capacity. There is an increase in per capita trip rates and trip lengths. “We’re working on a dedicated transport system for Noida. We’re building elevated roads and underpasses across the city.

News Source : Hindustan Times