Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Samir Madan wrote a mail on Yahoo group of Delhi Metro. Since I am a member of the group and have access to the mails, I would like to share his mail in my column. He has raised very pertinent points.

He writes, “It is indeed disappointing to note that all of Delhi's focus on improving transport is focused largely on creation / addition of new resources. More buses, dedicated high-speed high capacity corridors, new bus routes, new flyovers, etc.

“The Metro, of course, is an exception to this rule. Better design of existing roads (read, slips roads, etc. ) grade separator flyovers for busy intersections, too, are an exception.

“But the one point that nobody wants to talk about, certainly not the government officials is better enforcement of existing traffic rules. Better-behaved and better-managed traffic might be akin to having 50% extra road capacity. Better enforcement of vehicle emission standards might reduce emissions by 30-40%, given how poorly maintained so many vehicles are?

“Of course, these are unglamorous and there are no kickbacks involved. So the Delhi authorities don't talk about it.

“Without this, CNG benefits are offset by ill-maintained diesel Sumos and Qualises; new flyovers are offset by killer bus drivers on the rampage, only to get arrested, let off and get another license from the neighbouring states. As also drivers who jump red lights, get fined, the same amount, no matter how many times they jump the signal.

“All over the developed world, traffic can get quite heavy and slow during peak commute hours, but never as dangerous and never AS STRESSFUL as Delhi, because of better enforcement. Trust me, if the cops go off the roads of America, all discipline will go out the windows. It's only the fear of punishment that keeps a large percentage of the drivers in check.

This should be the largest area of transport reform in Delhi, but unfortunately it's not, and is rarely a talking point in newspapers or even excellent forums like this one.

“That said, Mass Transit is very good for Indian cities for these reasons - abject failure of enforcement agencies. Of course, it still has to be run well, like the Delhi Metro is.”

I just hope the authorities take a note of it.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

I received a mail from Arun Shaw who writes, “I am writing to you as a disturbed citizen. My office is in Connaught Place and residence at Vikaspuri. On my way back home I go via Dhaula Kuan then take the RingRoad, turn left from Brar Square to enter Delhi Cantt and then take the Hari Nagar Depot route.

“For the past few months there has been a perennial jam on this route once we take a left turn from Brar Square towards Delhi Cantt. Traffic flow is really slow from Cariappa Vihar roundabout to Kirby Place signal and from Kirby Place Signal to Signal before the start of Delhi Cantt Bridge. Even condition of traffic during peak hours at the Lajwanti Garden flyover is bad.

“There is complete chaos from 6:30 pm onwards to as late as 10:30 pm. There are long queues at the mentioned stretches. It becomes very irritating if one is going back home tired and then on top have to deal with jams, queues, aggressive and undisciplined driving.”

Well, Arun not building an underpass at Station Road-NH8 T-junction by the Delhi government has proved disastrous. In fact, even if the government had taken a decision not to make an underpass, they should have promptly built a flyover with loops at Brar Square and further strengthened the road network at Delhi cantonment area. It is sheer foolishness on part of the government machinery and poor citizens have to pay for it. I just hope Delhi Traffic Police works out an amicable solution to this problem.

Monday, February 21, 2005

It seems everything was not going well in the Delhi Traffic Police department in South district. Few days before Sub Inspector (SI) Mahesh Yadav posted at Defence Colony Traffic Circle committed suicide (on last Friday), allegedly blaming his boss Amit Roy, ACP (Traffic), South district for harrasment, another unsavory incident took place. Sources say there was an ungly spat between Traffic Inspector of Defence Colony circle Neeraj Kumar and ACP Roy over the wireless set. The verbal exchange between the two were overheard by several other officials. Since Neeraj Kumar was immediate boss of Mahesh, sources say, allegation of harrassment against Roy has gained ground in the department.

It is interesting to note that Delhi Police has maintained that no suicide note was found at Yadav’s Hari Nagar residence, but official sources say that Mahesh had written a suicide note. Due to the controversial nature of the suicide note, the Delhi Police thought it best to keep it under wraps. Sources say that Mahesh, in his suicide note, heaped the entire blame on ACP (Traffic/South) Amit Roy.

Meanwhile, the Vigilance had started the enquiry into the allegations against Roy. All five traffic Inspectors of South district were asked to give their statements. Mahesh was found hanging from the ceiling fan on Friday morning at his Hari Nagar residence. His wife, Kavita, whom he married in 2000, had alleged in a written complaint to the local police that ACP used to humiliate Mahesh quite a lot. She said that ACP used to put pressure on Mahesh to raise a money everyday. She also said that Mahesh was looking visibly disturbed for the past few days and used to have long discussions about the unethical practices prevailing in the force.

There was a huge controversy regarding after this as the family members of Mahesh Yadav refused to claim the dead body. The family wanted that a case of abetment to suicide be registered against ACP Roy. Only after full assurance of a proper vigilance enquiry given by Commissioner Dr K.K. Paul on Saturday, did the family members claim the body.

Sunday, February 20, 2005

It’s nice to see the Delhi Traffic Police now focussing towards truck drivers. On Friday, All India Motor Transport Association with Delhi Traffic Police organised a health check-up camp for truck drivers at Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar. They even distributed 1,000 spectacles to drivers whose eyes were weak. In fact this is a welcome sign by the cops as most of the accidents in Delhi happens at night and mostly truck drivers are responsible for these accidents in some way or other.

DCP (Traffic/North) H.P.S. Virk, addressed the truck drivers and asked them to concentrate on three important aspects of driving which can considerably bring down the accident rate. First, he said, is that drivers should stick to their lanes. Secondly they should avoid overtaking from wrong side. Thirdly, they should avoid over-speeding.

I have driven a lot at night and it is a nightmare to drive between those giant trucks. Situation is worse on GT Karnal Road and even NH8 at Gurgaon border as road space is less there.

Virk also had some instructions to the owners too. Everyday there are breakdowns of trucks and trailers, which have a massive impact on traffic movement during the daytime. So he asked the owners, who were also present on the occassion, to regularly check the engine of their trucks. Tyres should be roadworthy and the owners should also take care of maintaining the body of the trucks. Owners should also direct their drivers not to carry excess load on the trailers and trucks. Virk says, “Lot of our traffic problems will be solved once these trucks are kept in fine running condition.”

On Saturday too road safety exhibition was arranged by the traffic police at Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar for these drivers. I appreciate the efforts being taken to educate these drivers by traffic cops, as they are the most neglected among the lot of drivers. And it is necessary to educate them because they are the ones who virtually govern our lives. If they drive perfect, we car drivers and car passengers are safe. But if they don’t obey rules then we are gone.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

ELEVATE!

If you jump from your seat when a bomb explodes on the cinema screen, this is not the place for you. But if you like butt-kicking music and shake a leg, you will get addicted to it. Elevate, definitely the best sounding nightclub in this part of the world, doesn't defy Newtonian physics, but will do a thing or two to your bod, because the music here goes into you and not just comes at you. Three levels of sonic heaven, situated five floors above the ground, and yes you have to take the elevator.

What makes this place get such puffy lines from a newspaper as blatantly trashing everything as TODAY? Well, we love that Bodysonic Buttkicker (yes, it's called that) dance floor. What on earth is a bodysonic dancefloor? Well, it's dancefloor made of really capable low-frequency speakers. The floor has 46 bass transducers capable of delivering 1,000 watts each, and each with its own power amp. So all the deep, low sound is connected to your body and every throbbing bass riff travels from your ankles, through spine, to your inner ear. It rocks.

"The wooden floor is totally isolated from the building. Had it been attached to the eight-storey mall, the whole building would've shaken," says Dave Parry, the man who set up the system and continues to be here to oversee its operation. Alternate layers of rubber and neoprene do that separation.

Parry, who sound-designed London's hip superclub Fabric, is obviously a bass-freak. The corporate head of Most Technical has put Martin Audio's WSX monster sub bass units (each with an 18-inch drive on a 7ft S-shaped folded horn) just below the DJ's high ground. Eight of them, just like Fabric. In fact Elevate came into being after Wave Cinema's Monty Chadha experienced the throbbing bass at Fabric and wanted to bring that experience to Delhi. Well, Noida is Delhi.

A hell of a shaking for the poor DJ's equipment? Not at all. The WSX monsters are directed towards the dancefloor, so that the playing DJ gets as little vibration as possible. But in a room with 120,000 watts of music, any vibration is enough to trouble the DJ console. Parry has found a cheap solution for that: the whole equipment set-up is separated from the console table by tennis balls between them.
"The tennis balls have vacuum inside them which prevents the vibrations travelling up. Otherwise the vibrations are such that it would have been impossible for DJ to play here," says Parry.

The DJ has a couple of monitors, the reference-standard Martin Audio Blackline F12s, on both sides, and Parry has designed it in a way that cancels out all noise in the DJ's own little kingdom.

There are nearly a hundred speakers in all sizes filling the three levels of the club and that's a nightmare for a sound man like Parry. When you move from one place to the other, you should get the same level and quality of sound, your position should not affect the sound you hear. So at least Martin Audio W8C compact enclosures hang in a quad array around the dancefloor. And the set up is repeated at all levels. This man sure loves Martin Audio. "It's necessary to have match speakers so that the sound they deliver stays one" in its tonal balance.

Already planning to shuttle around the world on Linkin Park's world tour, Dave is busy training an apprentice who can handle 'tough-but-easy-looking' sound system and lighting in his absence.

And he's simplified it all. All the speakers, their amps, crossovers are controlled by a Soundweb programme designed by Parry. He has also designed touch button controls and the DJ doesn't have to worry about that.

He does worry about the DJs. The best DJs from India play here and Elevate has been getting the best from West too. He is worried about the lot that plays MP3s. "MP3 format has the lowest bandwidth," he explains and its compression weaknesses, though not discernible on lesser systems, get exposed on a system designed to reproduce every note, low or high.

And like all audiophiles, this man still loves the analogue day fidelity. But in today's digital era, he has found the middle path, the best of the both worlds. He has digital amps but added analogue valves filters to them.

It'll be criminal to add it all and estimate the cost of the system. It's very, very expensive proposition. "And the experience is worth more than that," an Elevate fan in our office jumps in.

"Such exorbitant amount of investment in a nightclub in Noida is madness," says an analyst on conditions of anonymity. "Perhaps, such a club in Mumbai would have been justified. I don't know what is their revenue model?"

Elevate is only open on Fridays and Saturdays. On Friday, they play international. Saturdays, it's the popular music and that includes Bollywood remixes. "Every nightclub has to play commercial music. It is the only revenue generator," says Parry.

We recommend a Friday!

Cover charge: Rs 500 per head (reimbursed against drinks)
Timings: 10:00 pm - 4:00 am
Club capacity: Over 1800 people
ELEVATE
The Centrestage Mall
L-1 Sector 18
Noida
Tel: (From Delhi) 95-120 - 2513904

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

This is the third and final of the three-part series of my column on initiatives taken by Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) to improve its coffers. DTC has launched public-private partnership scheme for cleanliness and maintenance of public facilities at bus terminals and washing of buses. The scheme has been introduced on an experimental basis and results are encouraging. Expansion of the scheme is in pipeline.

The corporation has also introduced a concept of Route Profitablility Index to have a realistic evaluation of different routes. The index, besides simultaneously focusing on route wise Expenditure Per Kilometre (EPK) and working Cost Per Kilometre (CPK), is also a rational indicator of requirement of buses on a particular route and as such provides indicator of requirement of buses on a particular route and as such provides a pragmatic basis of rescheduling of operation to optimize the load factor.

DTC is also in the process of procurement of Automatic Ticket Issuing Machines for city buses to control leakage of revenue has been initiated. The expressions of interest for equipping the fleet with Automatic Vehicle Tracking System too have been invited.

DTC has introduced some cost cutting measures with the cooperation of the staff. These include a total ban on overtime, weekly off after six days of work and no compensatory off in lieu of restricted holiday or gazetted holiday. Well, a good step though, but I am still not sure how the sarkari babus will take to this.

The Delhi government is aiming to have an intelligent transport system in Delhi by 2009, and tall these measures are aiming towards that. According to an official, about 10,000 low floor Air-conditioned buses are on the anvil by 2010. I will talk about what we are expecting in 2010, in my future columns.

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Continuing from my previous column, today I will speak on the issue of Memorandum of Understanding done with the depot managers. This has been done to instill cost-consciousness among depot managers. Incentives aligned with targets set for cost reduction (viz. cutting down working expenditure by minimum 10 per cent from the existing level) are proving to be encouraging.

Another good thing that the DTC has done is to focus on the issue of vehicle maintenance. Various measures have been taken to strengthen depot workshop activities, with special focus on the night shift. Officers to ensure high degree of maintenance standards are carrying out regular checking. The core activities like fleet, inventory and human resources have been seamlessly integrated. This has proven to be of great help in reducing the downtime of vehicles in depot workshop in day shift thereby leading to an improvement in vehicle productivity apart from making the operation regular and punctual. The cost associated with CNG consumption too has declined from a level of Rs 5.67 per kilometre in 2003-04 to Rs 5.60 during the current financial year.

Another issue is of outsourcing of DTC drivers to mitigate shortage of about 2000 regular drivers. According to the report, this decision has helped in reduction of staff cost with no long-term liability on the corporation. However, I am against it. Many a times I have traveled in DTC buses driven by these drivers. They drive like blue-line buses and hardly stop on the designated stops. These drivers also don’t care about traffic violations and a conductor told me that in case the vehicle breaks down, they just leave the bus in the middle of the road and run away. It is poor conductors who then have to take care of the bus. Well, this situation is sad. A senior traffic police official once told me, “These drivers are worse than blue-line bus drivers. Accidents related to DTC buses are increasing because of them.”

I think this particular issue of outsourcing drivers needs some attention from the authorities.

Monday, February 14, 2005

Recently there was a press conference where the Delhi Transport Corporation gave a report on the working of the corporation. According to the report, some positive changes have happened in the corporation. The DTC has worked out a comprehensive strategy to revitalize the organization. I want to share the report with readers as it has been reported in the media only in bits and pieces.

To begin with, each DTC depot has been declared an independent cost center by way of signing of an internal MoU between Depot Managers and Corporate office, effective from November last year. The strategy focuses broadly on four things – total operational efficiency, cost consciousness to stabilize the bottom-line, new management practices and customer orientation. As a result of the integrated approach, supplemented by depot-wise MoU, working deficit has come down to Rs 19.50 crore during December 2004 (from an average of Rs 22.58 crore per month earlier) showing thereby an improvement of Rs 3.08 crore during the month.

For the remaining gap of Rs 19.50 crore, DTC plans to rationalise city bus fare structure, which will have an impact of Rs 3 crore. Reimbursement of social costs being borne by DTC in the form of consessional travel facility offered to various sections of society would have an impact of Rs 6.08 crore. Property development and publicity/advertisement plan for its depots and terminals located at prime locations is expected to have an impact of Rs 4.5 crore. Augmentatiojn of city bus fleet with addition of 600 buses will raise Rs 3.5 crore for the corporation.

These recent changes and restructuring of DTC happened during the short tenure of former DTC CMD & Transport Commissioner Rajeev Talwar. Now since he has left, I just hope work now doesn’t stall here only but it only continues from here. Regarding the other initiatives as part of restructuring DTC, I’ll talk in my next column.

Thursday, February 10, 2005

I received a mail from Anil Rajpal who writes, “I would like to draw your kind attention to the traffic chaos which is a perpetual problem at the round about of Pusa Rd, Shankar Rd and S.R. Krishnan Marg. The roundabout is a junction where five roads meet and there is a very heavy traffic at that point especially during peak hours in the mornings and in the evenings. Pity is, in spite of DMRC employees who are supposed to be managing the traffic (since lots of Metro Rail construction work is being carried out in the vicinity) and, also, the traffic police supposed to be doing the same job are not even present at the point to control the traffic. In the evenings, at about 7.45 p.m., there is a total chaos, the traffic from all the points merge at that round about without any proper signalling, resulting in lots of accidents.

“The traffic policemen are seen chatting among themselves at a nearby police booth and the DMRC employees are also seen behaving in the similar manner, whereas, both the parties are supposed to be managing the traffic. It seems that they are paid for chatting instead of doing their respective duties.

“Had there been a proper handling of the situation, things like accidents, chaos etc. would not take place. The public, as such, would not be harassed un-necessarily. You cannot even imagine the harassment that the motorists face at that junction.

“Under the circumstances, it is strongly suggested that the matter should be taken to higher authorities and surprise checks should be carried out for smoother flow of traffic at that point. It's in the interest of the public.”

I don’t agree with you regarding mornings, but definitely during evenings, all these marshals are missing. In the morning I have seen traffic marshals provided by DMRC working on that particular roundabout, but the traffic cops are seen sitting or standing on one corner. They are either challning motorists or chatting among themselves. Evening I agree there’s a total chaos.

Another thing that I have noticed is these traffic marshals are responsible in some ways for creating traffic hurdles also. Actually they act as messengers to blueline bus drivers. In return, I guess the blue-line drivers pay them some money for parting away with information. Suppose a bus on route number 851 is going and the marshal tells them that another 851 just went five minutes before them, then this particular bu on route no 851 will have a prolonged stopping on the next bus stop. This prolonged stopping congests the movement of the traffic. Very frequently I have seen them stopping at the much-congested Pusa Road bus stop. I think these marshals need to be changed frequently from their place of duty.

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

I received a call from a Greater Kailash Part II resident who didn’t want herself to be named. She says, “I am a member of the RWA and am a resident of S Block, GKII. There’s a colony road, which passes through E block and S Block of GK II in which buses ply. Although motorists use this road as the main road for going toward Alakhnanda, it bisects through the colony. There are literally no proper speed breakers on this road and recently an old lady died during her morning walk when a speeding car hit her. A few months back an old man also died in a similar kind of accidents. Something should be done about it.

“Another problem that we face here is of few vegetable and fruit hawkers who have encroached over public land. They disrupt the movement of traffic as people park their cars near these hawkers and this disrupts the movement of traffic. A particular case is of a fruit hawker who stands outside S-208, GKII. Presently the house here is under construction and these hawkers take benefit of that. This small patch has become like a subzi mandi. This is unsafe for we residents here and something should be done to move these guys from here. We have lodged complaint but nothing has happened till now. Recently robberies in this area have also increased.”

The problem of encroachment is everywhere and it’s true that such kinds of hawkers also are obstruction to free movement of traffic. I think local police should take some action. Regarding the question of speed breakers, traffic police should do something about it. Maybe, if possible, a central verge can be a solution. I have noticed people don’t drive that fast on roads with central verge.
But it’s a serious issue and should be addressed to immediately by the authorities.

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Sunday’s Sting concert was a successful one in more than one ways. Apart from people getting ‘stung’, the concert was greeted by a much a sober crowd and the traffic arrangement was also brilliant. I spoke to H.P.S. Virk, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), “There were around 3,000 cars parked at the venue and still there were no traffic hazards. To my surprise even the crowd was very decent and we had no problems in handling them.”

In fact, the backdrop to the concert was also very good. “With the Pitampura TV tower, Metro line and commercial complexes as backdrop to Sting’s concert, it looked as if the concert is happening in abroad. Delhi can be compared to any big city abroad,” he said.

Perhaps he was in the opinion of making Pitampura, a permanent venue to such concerts. Even I second it. I have seen shows happening at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium. It’s totally maddening. Apart from the usual traffic snarls, it’s also not wise to use a sports infrastructure for such events. Pitampura has an edge. That is it has Metro. Sunday’s concert lasted exactly two and a half hours. Which means people could have easily boarded a metro to watch the concert as it was already over by 10 pm.

Although Shaggy too performed at Pitampura and his concert ended up late. All the people rushed towards metro station and found they had missed the last train. I think during such international concerts, DMRC should run some special service for the commuters. Meanwhile, it was surprising to see music fans coming from Punjab, Bombay and as far as Himachal. And according to an official, “There were around 3,000-4,000 people from surrounding areas of Pitampura. Lot of foreigners too came for the show.”

However, the best part of the concert was the crowd was refined. No trouble happened at the spot. It seems Delhi is changing.

Monday, February 07, 2005

“At worse Open Secrets can be treated as the first open confession of an intelligence operative,” says author Maloy Krishna Dhar, IPS (Retd.) and former Joint Deirector, Intelligence Bureau (IB). With “the first attempt to break the taboo of guarding the intelligence fraternity under the permanent veil,” M.K. Dhar has not only raised the issue of bringing accountability in IB but has also questioned the top brass of IB which has become a haven for IPS officers.

“We need high level of professionalism now. There are many areas, which cops cannot address. We need to bring in experts from different fields,” says Dhar during his book launch function where the chief guest was former J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah. The controversial book, which has caused a furore in the political hierarchy of the country, throws light on the period when the Naxal movement was in take off stage. It contains author’s foray into the North East. The litany of bad governance of the state and neglect of its people has been candidly exposed. But the most interesting part is author’s tenure in Delhi.

The narrations of certain intimate stories about Indira Gandhi and her family members are not new, but these have thrown enlivening lights on the gritty character of Indira Gandhi. Very few officers have professed their liking and disliking for personalities like Indira Gandhi, Sanjay and Maneka Gandhi, Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi, R.K. Dhawan. These names evoke extreme reactions – some palatable and other repulsive. He also has given the ISRO espionage case in detail. He also talks about Babri demolition case, which he says, was planned in advance.

Chief guest Farooq Abdullah, who has just “read 318 page of the book out of 519”, said, “It is not easy to come out with secrets. I don’t know what is going on in his head. People only want chamchas (psychophants). The minute you try to change the line, they’ll disown you. Once you write a book you need to be honest and Dhar has done that.

“I wasn’t really impressed after I read two autobiographies. In one of them, written by a former Prime Minister who is no longer living, he knew much more than what he wrote. If you decide to come out with such a thing, better be honest. Similarly, Giani Zail Singh’s book is totally changed in print. Either the book’s content has changed or something happened." Well, the book is worth a read. Priced at Rs 795, the book has been published by Manas Publications (Tel: 23265523, 23260783).

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

I received a fax from U.S. Rana who writes, “This time, I invite your attention to a parapet wall on the central verge, which is made of cement mix and is about one metre high and half a kilometre long. It separates two land marks: The Chankyapuri Police station and the Indonesian Embassy on one side and upcoming Police memorial and International Youth Centre on the other side. This central verge is of no earthly use; if anything, it is a major traffic hazard. Pedestrians cross it by simply jumping over it and risking their own lives if anyone of them is hit by the fast and heavy traffic on either side. This is not all. Cyclists, scooters and even sometimes four wheelers coming out from Police Station wanting to reach Teen Murti Roundabout, go directly towards it, meeting the traffic head-on. Similar is the situation on the other side too. Something should be done immediately regarding this. I suppose seriousness of it will come to light only when, god forbid, there is a serious accident.”

Even I have noticed people jumping that central verge. I think if the motive of putting such a high central verge was to stop pedestrians from crossing the road, then the parapet should have been made taller so as to refrain people from jumping it. Although I like the idea of having a raised parapet on the central verge, because during night the driver doesn’t get disturbed by the lights of the oncoming vehicles on the other carriageway. Sometimes at night the lights just blind you.

Regarding this problem of pedestrians jumping the parapet, the authorities should take it seriously and find a solution to it. Regarding the drivers driving on the wrong side, what can one do? Delhi drivers are just a crazy bunch. They just give traffic rules a damn.