Saturday, June 16, 2012

Survey by UMTC begins

A team led by Ms Ishita of UMTC has been in New Town since the last couple of days. Yesterday morning I met them and told that we were looking for transport solutions that were always ahead of the development. Infrastructure ahead of Development - is a concept that I'd learnt during my World Bank sponsored visit to Singapore a year or so earlier. Here is a report that appeared in today's Anandabazar based on a brief discussion that I'd had few days ago with Arja Bhatta Khan:
A PRT is like a horizontal lift
* * *
The new Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh met me yesterday at Hidco. We talked of few things of common interest. I informed them her that we were ready to allot land to the Bangladesh DHC but we'd need NOC from Ministry of External Affairs, GoI for this.
(L to R): Me, HE Ms Abida Islam, DyHighCommissioner of Bangladesh
and Mr Abu Nasar, Counsellor, Bangladesh DHC
* * *
We invited Shri Jogen Chowdhury to advise us on Rabindra Tirtha. He spent a considerable time with us, advising us on many aspects including the way we could set up the exhibition rooms. Here is a photo at Hidco conference room, soon after we returned from the field inspection:
Jogen Chowdhury in Hidco Confrerence Room on Friday

6 comments:

  1. Sir,
    1. I have seen that in Brussels, each and every bus stop has a list containing bus routes and timings. Even in Turnhout (a small town in Belgium), these facilities are available.
    2. In India, a small town like Mysore has GPS operated bus-service that predicts possible time of arrival (say, ETA on Bus Rt. 123 - 5 mins.) on an electronic notice board on bus-stop.

    I sincerely request you to equip the bus-stops of NewTown with similar modern facilities like map of the bus-route, route details, timings etc. along with possible time of arrival for the next bus (would be much more useful than laminated photographs of Ray/ Tagore that currently are seen in front of DLF bus stop). A person who is new in town would find these information very handy. These small things would contribute in making NewTown a 'futuristic smart city'.

    Thanking you in anticipation....

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    Replies
    1. I agree with whatever Sonali is saying. This is the need of the hour.

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  2. +1 on the above comment. Modern facilities are the need of the day in NewTown. Bus stops should have the above information in neat/clean and aesthetically pleasing format - not like the dilapidated notice boards we see in parts of Kolkata.

    I would also like to share an animated advertisement promoting group transport - maybe HIDCO's creative team could use that to popularize it's transport facilities...

    http://youtu.be/5I849pIHbrQ

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  3. In any case, PRTS will be an awesome idea. Great Work Sir !!!

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  4. Yesterday (20 June) Engineers India Ltd met me with a proposal for a monorail from 3rd Rotary (in AA-I) to AA-III. I've requested them to come up with a concrete proposal in the PPP mode.

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