4/2013

I N S I D E

! 2013 Round up

! Out-educating Americans

! Smart Driving Licence

! Green Buses in Pink City

! Sunita Narain�s Column: ComeOut and Claim the Road

! Metro Updates

After the recent elections in our state one comes across mischievous instances of defacing the names of former Legislators,

which were painted on the security gates of our colonies. Their nameswere painted because they financed the construction of the gates throughtheir MLA development fund. The question arises that why were theirnames painted at all � after all the money is ours � the tax payers andnot the MLAs. Firstly, the property becomes government property asper law. MLAs and MPs fund such asset building as a bribe to their voters, who do notnecessarily oblige the elected person. Secondly, if at all their names were painted thenthey are entitled to let it remain. So many landmarks and schemes are named after oneor the other politician in our country and do not get removed after they have movedon. It is another story that the Nehru-Gandhi family names are used for countlessnumber of schemes and projects in our country. An RTI query was made by an activistto find out about the exact number, but the authorities could not give a definitiveanswer.

Speaking about defacement, one serious problem we see in Jaipur and elsewhere isthat posters are stuck on road signs by many, many of them are by student leaderscontesting elections including advertising for other goods and services. Thus trying tofind the location or directions to steer us to our destinations becomes a nightmare.Our inertia ridden local authorities do not take any action at all to prosecute theoffenders in spite of provisions in the Indian Penal Code, which includes fines andprison term. Other than enforcement, the city government can also provide dedicatedspace to stick posters, as in Bangkok. Moreover, to try and educate at least studentleaders to stop defacing signages. Further, to publish notices regularly on the spotswhere the posters get stuck, so that people get forewarned, and encourage whistleblowers to inform the nearest police station. Finally, to strengthen the law that theadvertiser invites prosecution along with the ones who stick up these posters. Then theadvertisers will take care that their publicity is not used as defacing materials. We justneed some imagination and will to ensure that our signages remain functional.

I have not spoken about our walls, which too are not spared by publicityannouncements of all sorts. Even though they do not obstruct any signs, they are aneyesore. While most of the walls are privately owned, a large number belong to apublic body, and serve as public urinals also. As parliamentary elections are around thecorner, we will soon see parties competing with limited space on our walls. In WestBengal, political parties reserve the wall spaces for a period of time with markings andthe poor owner dare not entangle with the party goons.

Another nuisance is the use of advertising through �No Parking� signages on allgates: house or the colony gates. As if they are doing some service to the owners of thegate. Some gates have more than dozen of such no parking signs, which too are aneyesore and lose their value. As it is the traffic or civic sense of vehicle owners in Jaipuris abysmally low.

If our dream and aspiration is to make Jaipur a world class city, it is high time westarted paying attention to these issues.

Defacing Signages

www.google.com

Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary General

No parking signage on gate

Election Campaign

Wall Posters

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Implantable Chip to Lose WeightScientists are developing a computer

chip that could be implanted in an obesepatient�s arm to help them lose weight.Biotechnologists skilfully combineddifferent genes that produce particularproteins and reaction steps. Theyimplanted the construct in human cells,which they then inserted into tinycapsules.

After the capsules with the generegulatory circuit had been implanted inthe animals the obese mice stoppedeating and their body weight droppednoticeably, as a result.

The animals ate less because theimplant signalled a feeling of satiety tothem. Mice that received normal animalfeed with a five percent fat content didnot lose any weight or reduce their intakeof food. (ET, 27.11.13)

Medical Negligence CompensationThe Supreme Court has awarded

close to M6 crore to Kunal Saha, anIndian doctor based in the US � thehighest yet in a medical negligence case.Saha had sued Kolkatas�s advancedMedicare and Research Institute, after hiswife who was treated there passed awayin 1998.

In 2009, Infosys Engineer, Prashant S.Dhanaka was awarded M1 crore by theSupreme Court, after a routine operation

at Nizam�s Institute of Medical Sciences(NIMS), Hyderabad, left him paralysed.

At present, patients can take medicalnegligence, under the ConsumerProtection Act for deficiency in services.Complaints may also be made to theMedical Council of India. (BL, 24.10.13)

Thumbs up to �Selfie�Oxford Dictionaries announced that

�Selfie�is the 2013 word of the yearedging out some stiff competition from�twerk�. It publishes the mammoth OxfordEnglish Dictionary (OED) styled as thedefinitive record of the English languageand pointed that the usage of the wordhas increased 17,000 percent over thepast 12 months.

�Selfie is defined as ä photograph thatone has taken of oneself, typically onetaken with a smartphone or webcam anduploaded to a social media website�.According to Judy Pearsall, EditorialDirector for Oxford Dictionaries, socialmedia sites helped to popularise the term,

with the hashtag selfie appearing on thephoto sharing website Flickr as early as2004, but usage was not widespreaduntil around 2012, when Selfie was beingused commonly in mainstream mediasources.

�Selfie� is not in the OED but themulti-volume dictionary is currentlyconsidering the term for inclusion.

(TH, 20.11.13)

Aerial technology for drinking waterThe Ministry of Water Resources has,

for the first time, started M41 crore PilotProject to map aquifers, recognising thefact that water scarcity is endemic inIndia and it is important to save water. Itwill use specialised choppers to findclean drinking water. The mappingbegan recently in Dausa near Jaipur andwill cover five more areas.

For the first time, aerial geophysicaltechniques are being used to cover awide area and even inaccessible ones.Using a Danish Technology calledSkytem, a specialised Euro chopper is

hooked below with a 30 m long probe,which has a huge frame of 300 sq. m.The chopper flies low � 3,500 km � andslowly at a speed of 60-80 km/hr, so thatthe frame doesn�t swing too much.

Lars Jensen, Senior Field Manager,SkyTEM from Jaipur informs that thistechnique incidentally has been used tomap half of Denmark. It has been usedin Australia, Malaysia, Antarctica, SouthAfrica and America. (ToI, 17.10.13)

2013 round upIn 2013, Japanese scientists grew

human liver tissue inside a mouse andAustralian researchers used stem cellsto grow a kidney in a lab. Theseinnovations will cut waiting time fortransplants and get around the problemof immune rejection.

Even Google has launched balloonsthat can bring the Internet to people inthe remotest places on earth, while socalled �cloud schools �are gearing up toremotely teach millions of children in thedeveloping world. Such advances havebrought global life expectancy to an all-time high. The average human can nowexpect to live more than twice as longas 100 years ago.

Booming �MyCity�Mckinsey Report on Indian urbanisation claimed that the total population in

Rajasthan�s urban area would be 29.5 million in 2030, which was only15.5 million in 2008. Under such circumstances, the Government and localbodies have a challenging task of dealing with the pressure on public amenitieslike hospitals, roads, police stations, schools, etc. and bringing prosperity.

For engaging citizens and other relevant stakeholders to strengthen the rootsof local self-governance, according to the spirit of 74th Constitutional Amendment,CUTS in partnership with �The Asian Foundation� launched the second phase ofthe successful initiative �MyCity� replicating similar other activities in other eightwards of Jaipur.

This was an emphatic effort towards making the city convenient andprosperous. Jyoti Khandelwal, Mayor of Jaipur said that there is lack ofsynchronisation among the various Government Departments responsible fordelivery of public services.

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Though this sounds like progress but2013 was a year of growing despondency.Wars raged, women and children wereabused and enslaved, people wenthungry and mass poverty persistedglobally. (Mint, 01.01.13)

Know your bossY. V. Reddy, Chairman, 14th Finance

Commission, Chief Guest at the launchof the book entitled�Barons of Banking:Glimpses of IndianBanking History� byBakhtiar Dadabhoy,took a crack at thedebate on theCentral Bank�sindependence.

A former Reserve Bank of India (RBI)Governor himself, Reddy was often askedabout this and he responded: �The RBIis independent. The Governor is veryindependent. And I have taken thepermission of the Finance Minister to sayso�. (BL, 28.10.13)

Out-educating AmericansUS President, Barack Obama,

stressing on the education reforms saidthat billions of people from countries likeIndia and China are striving hard to óut-educate� Americans in Mathematics andTechnology.

He added that if workforce is noteducated enough, it will be left behindand find it hard to get a job that pays aliving wage. Being in a global economy,jobs can go anywhere. Companies arelooking for the best educated people,wherever they live, and they will rewardthem with good pay.

Obama stressed that America needsa budget that is responsible, fiscallyprudent, closes wasteful tax loopholesthat do not create jobs and free up

resources to invest in things that actuallyhelp in growth of things like educationand scientific research and infrastructure.

(FE, 26.10.13)

Rising Legislators� assetsInflation may have affected the

common man, but it seems to have leasteffect on the elected Legislators� assets.The movable and immovable assets ofMLA�s have only increased. The averageassets of the re-elected 67 MLAs has shotup from M1.69 crore in 2008 to M3.89crore in 2013, according to a reportprepared by Rajasthan Election Watchin Association for Democratic Reforms(ADR).

The average asset growth of these67 re-elected MLA�s is 130 percent orby M2.20 crore. Fifty eight elected MLAsof BJP have shown an average assetincrease of 130 percent or M2.36 crore.Assets of six Congress MLAs grew by144 percent or M1.68 crore.

Leading the pack among re-electedare Ashok Parnami, the BJP legislatorfrom Adarsh Nagar who has registereda staggering growth of 627 percent inassets from M3.66 crore in 2008 toM22.95 in 2013. (ToI, 15.11.13)

Being right Vs. being happyWhat is better for a healthy married

life: to be right or to be happy?To decode the effect of being right

vs. being happy on a couple�s quality oflife, researchers at the University of

Auckland, New Zealand involved amarried couple living in their own homefor their study.

The authors decided that the femaleparticipant would prefer to be right andthe male participant would prefer to behappy. So the man was asked to agreewith his wife�s every opinion and requestwithout complaint. Even if he believedthe female participant was wrong, themale was informed of the interventionwhile the female participant was not.Quality of life was measured on a scoringscale of 1 to 10.

After 12 days, it was found that themale participant�s quality of life score fellfrom 7 out of 10 at the start of the studyto three on day 12. However, the female

participant�s quality of life increased from8 to 8.5 on day six. It seems that beingright is a cause of happiness, and agreeingwith what one disagrees with is a causeof unhappiness. (BL, 18.12.13)

Banyan tree transplantedChennai Metro Rail Limited, in

association with other state agencies hassuccessfully transplanted a huge 120year old banyan tree in the premises of

the Government Kilpauk MedicalCollege. The tree was uprooted duringthe recent rains in the city.

A huge pit was dug with a 15 metrecircumference and five metre depth.Unfortunately, heavy rain filled the pitwith water. Fire service personnel helpedin draining out water from the pit,according to K. Elanthiraiyan, PublicRelation Officer of Metro Rail.

Moreover, the tree had a girth of 11metres and weighed 20 tonnes afterremoval of branches. (ET, 25.10.13)

More FIRs against agentsThe noose is tightening around some

agents from Jaipur, Kerala and Mumbaiwho were accused of sending 82 Indiansto Saudi Arabia allegedly on fake papers.After an FIR was registered in Jaipur,more police complaints were filedagainst agents in Delhi and Devali townin Tonk District in Rajasthan.

Half a dozen labourers approachedDelhi Police�s economic offences wingrecently and gave a complaint inwriting.

The complaints are being registeredby some of the 82 labourers whoreturned after going through four monthsof ordeal in Saudi Arabia. They weresent allegedly on forged documents onthe promise of lucrative jobs. Onreaching the destination, they came toknow that the company they weresupposed to work did not even exist.

(ToI, 15.10.13)

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Citizen Forum FormedNoose is going to be tightened

around engineers and UrbanDevelopment Corporation (UDC)against any negligence during roadconstruction work. Now during roadrenewal, names of the concerned

engineers, their contact numbers willbe displayed for the convenience ofthe people.

Despite spending 600 crore Rs onroad repair and construction everyyear one rain washes away the roads.These instructions were given by theAdditional Chief Secretary, G. S.Sandhu to JDA, and concernedHousing Board Officers. He also saidthat the renewal work will not beaffected by the code of conduct.

Another initiative in this directionis that before laying the coal tar layer,an estimate of the traffic load will alsobe conducted. For this, three levelexamination comprising BenkelmanBeam Deflection, Excel Load Test andTraffic Survey will be done.

(DB, 1210.13 & RP, 27.10.13)

Smart Driving LicenceAfter issuing registration certificate

like smart card, the dealers of the citycan allot only a number and not theregistration certificate (RC) to the

owners of thevehicles. Onthe basis ofthe number,R e g i o n a lTr a n s p o r tOffice will

print RC like smart card, which willbe sent to the owners through post.On the RC, there will be digitalsignature of the DTO (DistrictTransport Office). Thus ownerswill get rid of giving file charge to thedealers.

This system is being practiced inAndhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,Maharashtra, Gujarat etc. This will

be helpful in controlling fake licenceand RC.

The Smart Card licence will haveinbuilt hologram and 64 KB chip.Address, date of birth, blood groupand mobile number of the licenceholder will also be there on thelicience. (DB, 31.12.13)

Sudden Spurt in CrimesThere is a sudden rise in petty

crimes from pickpocket to robberssnatching away cash bags, hand bagsand other valuables in and aroundJaipur. The poor inter-district policecoordination and lethargic patrollingis the reason of the rise in crime rate.

In October itselfat least 100 vehicleshave been lifted whileat least 50 cases oftheft have beenregistered in variouspolice stations in thecity.

Various DCPs (DeputyCommissioner of Police) on beingasked about the increase in the rateof crime said that the PCR (PoliceControl Room) vans were mobile,especially during the festive seasonsand according to Ravi, DeputyCommissioner of Police (West), theirfocus is to keep their PCR vansmoving in order to cover a largerdistance. (ToI, 24.10.13)

Automated Bill MandatoryTo sort the

issue ofproviding lesspetrol to thecustomers, thesystem of �NoPrint No Delivery� (NPND) has beenintroduced. Under this system, anautomated bill has to be issued afterfilling petrol in one vehicle then onlyother vehicle can be dealt. After takingthe bill from the NPND disposingmachine, it is essential to take a printof the same.

Moreover, for monitoring theworking of the petrol pumps, in 10months the Industry Department hasscrutinised on an average, 109 petrolpumps that also only once. Every nowand then, there are consumercomplaints regarding less supply ofpetrol but according to the statistics

of the Department, this has beenproved at one petrol pump only.

(DB, 01.11.13 & 29.10.13)

Pvt. Schools LividThe private schools in Rajasthan

are up in arms against the StateEducation Department forconsidering only tuition fees forreimbursement for the studentsadmitted, under Right to EducationAct (RTE), 2009.

Currently, the EducationDepartment teams are conductinginspections of private schools withregard to admissions, under theAct. During the inspections, the teamshad refused to consider fees charged,under heads like development, sports,library, examination and cautionmoney.

B. L. Natiya, President of VidyaBharti Society said that the EducationDepartment has refused to reimbursethe charged fees, under different headsother than the tuition fees. That wasunjust as the schools would be in bigfinancial trouble if the Departmentdoes not change its stand. (DB, 22.10.13)

Green Buses In Pink CityTo promote green technology and

attract passengers to make use ofpublic transport, the Jaipur CityTransport Service Limited (JCTSL) willsoon introducearticulated andhybrid (batteryoperated) busesin the city.

According tothe officials, a total of four buses,including two articulated and twohybrid buses, will be procured in thenew fleet of JCTSL. For this,Jawaharlal Lal Nehru NationalUrban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)has sanctioned 286 buses for the city.The Union Ministry of UrbanDevelopment has made directions topromote these buses as they will be

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Trial Deadline CrossedThe Jaipur Metro rail is set to miss its extended

November 2013 deadline for trial runs on account ofDiwali. The Metro trials were scheduled to be conductedby the Research Design and Standards Organisation(RDSO) between Nov 11 and 26.

The DMRC was planning to complete all the civilwork before December 2012 for RDSO to conduct thetrials but due to various setbacks, the civil constructionis not expected to be completes within the stipulatedtime period. The DMRC official also indicated thatinitially the train will run only between Mansarovar andRailway Station. (ToI, 06.11.13)

Wiring on RampThe coaches of the fourth train reached Jaipur from

Bangalore and were boarded on the Depot tracks.According to Atul Gadgill, Metro Chief General Manager,the ramp and the elevated corridor will be chargedtogether with 25000 volt current soon after theirelectrification.

All the preparations for trial runs have been made.A day before the instructions from Jaipur Metro RailCorporation (JMRC) are received, metro will be boardedon elevated corridor. The task of ramp overheadelectrification from Mansarovar Depot to Station hasbeen completed, after examining the wiring. (RP, 07.09.13)

Metro to Run by Jan.Already lagging behind from its target, Jaipur Metro

is also far from its commercial execution. The trial runwas held on the elevated corridor on September 18and it was then estimated that by the end of December,Metro will start giving its services.

On account of incomplete work from Shyam NagarStation to Ram Nagar, the oscillation trial has also beenpostponed. After getting a nod from Research Designand Standards Organisation (RDSO), the JMRC also has

to get an approval from the Railway SecurityCommission, Mumbai. Only after acquiring this assent,people can travel in the Metro. Under suchcircumstances, Metro is expected to run by January end.

(RP, 15.11.13)

Uniform Designs ReleasedThe JMRC has unveiled the uniform designs for its

staff, laying emphasis on �gender equality�. The uniformswill have a dash of pink, the colour attached to theidentity of the city.

The JMRC Chairman and Managing Director, NihalChand Goyal released the designs prepared by Jaipur-based Arch Academy of Design, at a ceremony in KhanijBhavan. He said that the male and female junior engineers,maintenance staff and train operators will look �almostalike� in their uniforms. (TH, 16.11.13)

environment friendly and have toreplicate the metro experience in thebus transport sector.

One articulated bus can carrynearly 150 passengers. It has a single-deck design and comprises two rigidsections linked by a pivoting joint.The approximate cost of these buseswould be around M1.5 crore.

(ToI, 19.12.13)

Campaign against AdulterationThe Health Department will be

launching a campaign againstadulterated food items during theDiwali festival. If any person is found

involved in selling or manufacturingadulterated food items will faceaction, under Food Safety andStandard Act 2006.

The officials are being asked tokeep an eye on the food items madeof milk and dairy products as they

Metro Updates

may be adulterated. Moreover, theDepartment officials will also check ifduplicate items of reputed companiesare being sold in the market.Action will also be taken against theowners who keep their shops in anunhygienic condition.

The Department has also directedthe officials in each district to inspectat least 8 to 10 shops and restaurantsdaily and send their reports. TheDepartment will be more alert indistricts like Alwar, Bharatpur andDholpur, which share boundaries withother states.

(ToI, 14.10.13 & 26.10.13, RP, 28.10.13)

CityMattersCityMattersCityMattersCityMattersCityMatters is a quarterly newsletter published by Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS), D-217, Bhaskar Marg, Bani Park, Jaipur 302016, India,Phone: 91.141.2282821, Fax: 91.141.2282485 Email: cuts@cuts.org, Web site: www.cuts-international.org, and printed by Jaipur Printers P. Ltd., Jaipur, India.

CUTS offices also at Kolkata, Chittorgarh and New Delhi (India); Lusaka (Zambia); Nairobi (Kenya); Accra (Ghana); Hanoi (Vietnam); and Geneva (Switzerland).

Sources: BL: The Hindu Business Line; BS: Susiness Standard; DB: Dainik Bhaskar; ET: Economic TimesFE: Financial Express; PTI: Press Trust of India; RP: Rajasthan Patrika; TH: The Hindu; ToI: Times of India

OpinionOpinionOpinionOpinionOpinion

Come Out and Claim the RoadSunita Narain*

I am writing this column lying in bed, recovering from anaccident that broke my bones. I was hit by a speeding car

while cycling. The driver fled from the scene after theaccident in the car, leaving me bleeding on the road. This iswhat happens again and again, in every city of our country,on every road � as we plan without care for the safety ofpedestrians and cyclists. These are the invisible users. Theydie doing nothing more than the most ordinary thing likecrossing a road. I was more fortunate. Two cars stopped,and strange helped me and took me to the hospital whereI received the treatment. I will be back, fighting fit.

And this is one such battle that needs our combinedattention. We cannot lose the space to walk and cycle. Afterthe accident, my relatives and friends have berated me forbeing so reckless as to cycle on Delhi�s roads. They areright. We have built city roads only for cars to move. Carsrule the road. There are no dedicated lanes for cycles; thereare no sidewalks. The little stretches that do not exist areeither dirty or taken over by parked cars. Roads areexclusively for cars and the rest hardly matter.

But cycling and walking are difficult not just because ofpoor planning but iIt is also because of the mind set thatonly those who move in a car have status and road rights.Anyone who walks or cycles is considered poor, wretchedand destined to be marginalised, if not obliterated. This iswhat we must change. We have no option but to reinventmobility, as I keep repeating. Toxic among in Delhi, recently,reached a new peak, Last month, World Health Organisationdeclared air pollutants, a human carcinogen. We mustrealise that this pollution is not acceptable as it is killing usand no longer softly or slowly. But if we are serious aboutcombatting air pollution, we have no option but to thinkabout restraining the growth of cars and learn how to movepeople, not the cars.

When the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)began its campaign against air pollution in the mid-1990s,it did everything conventional. It pushed to improve thequality of fuel; improve emission standards of vehicles; andto put the inspection and maintenance systems for checkingtailpipe emissions in place. It also pushed a leapfrog solution:

the transition to compressed natural gas (CNG) for grosslypolluting vehicles, such as diesel buses and two-stroke autorickshaws. That made a difference. There is no doubt thatthe quality of air would have been worse, even more deadly,without these steps.

But this is not good enough. Pollution levels are risingagain, inexorably and inevitably. All research points to onecause and one big solution: building transport systemsdifferently. We also have the option of doing this. We stillhaven�t motorised; nor have we built every flyover or four-lane road. Most importantly, much of India still takes thebus, walks, or cycles � in many cities as much as 20 percentof the population bikes. We do this because we are poor.Now the challenge is to reinvent city planning, so that wecan do this as we become.

For the past few years, this is exactly what we havebeen working on � how to bring back integrated and safepublic transport options to our cities, so that even we owna car, we don�t have to drive it.

That is where we are failing. Today, there is talk oftransport, cycling and pedestrians �needs. But it is emptytalk. Every time there is an attempt to convert a part of theroad into a cycle track, the proposal is virulently opposed.The argument is that it cannot be done because it will takeaway space from cars and will add to congestion. But thatis exactly what we need to do � reduce lanes for cars andadd space for buses, cycles and pedestrians. This is the onlyway to get out of the ever-growing car bulge on roads.

This takes courage of conviction. On our overcrowdedand chaotic roads, planning for cycle tracks and keepingsidewalks clean and clear will take lots of efforts. I haveabsolutely no illusions that this will be easy to plan or toimplement. Just think of the double bonus: getting rid of themost noxious source of pollution will result in clean airand having the option to get some exercise while commutingwill mean healthy bodies.

This is what we have to fight for. And we will. I hope allof you will join us in making the right to cycle and walkwith safety non-negotiable.

* Excerpts from Director General CSE, New Delhi, Sunita Narian�s Write up in Business Standard Nov. 10, 2013

On our overcrowded and chaotic roads, planning for cycletracks and keeping sidewalks clean and clear will take lotsof effort. I have absolutely no illusions that this will be easyto plan or to implement.