Now, Bengaluru eyes Odd-Even formula to check traffic, pollution

News Network
November 11, 2017

Bengaluru, Nov 11: The Karnataka government also may follow the footsteps of the Delhi government by adopting a plan similar to the odd-even formula to curb the traffic menace and ever-increasing pollution in Bengaluru city.

Speaking to reporters here on Saturday Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy said: "If it works in Delhi, then we'll ask our transport department to roll it out and also discuss it with the chief minister," Reddy told reporters here.

The odd-even scheme, in which odd numbered cars have to ply on odd dates and even numbered cars on even dates, will come into effect for five days from Monday (November 13) in the national capital, where air pollution has reached alarming levels with thick smog engulfing the region. The odd-even scheme was enforced in Delhi twice in the past - January and April.

Reddy, however, said the odd-even scheme alone may not suffice for a city like Bengaluru where the vehicle population has soared through the years. "In 2013, Bengaluru had 54 lakh vehicles. In four years, nearly 12 lakh vehicles have been added. Pollution cannot be tackled unless the number of vehicles is reduced," Reddy, who was earlier Karnataka's transport minister, said.

The government is also taking steps to widen arterial roads in Bengaluru to decongest traffic, Reddy said. "Sarjapur Road, Hennur Main Road and Bannerghatta Road will be widened based on the new Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) rules," he said, citing examples of how road widening helped vehicular movement in Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Reddy added that the problem of haphazard parking of vehicles on the streets can be addressed only if each house has space for vehicle parking. "There's a law to this effect that house owners should be responsible for parking vehicles, but the violation is very high," he said.

Comments

Danish
 - 
Saturday, 11 Nov 2017

Good decision. BJP will loose this time

Kumar
 - 
Saturday, 11 Nov 2017

Great. Along with vertical farming also should encourage under over bridge (on pillers). Pollution+Traffic will be less in future

Sandesh
 - 
Saturday, 11 Nov 2017

Congress copying AAP trick. Do own idea as BJP doing

Rahul
 - 
Saturday, 11 Nov 2017

It will be great to reach on time, if more buses should be allowed along with this plan

Ganesh
 - 
Saturday, 11 Nov 2017

It should implement all over karnataka. But at the same time as similar Delhi govt, relaxation should give to women and grant more KSRTC buses

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Agencies
June 17,2020

Riyadh, Jun 17: Saudi Arabia is expected to scale back or call off this year's hajj pilgrimage for the first time in its modern history, observers say, a perilous decision as coronavirus cases spike.

Muslim nations are pressing Riyadh to give its much-delayed decision on whether the annual ritual will go ahead as scheduled in late July.

But as the kingdom negotiates a call fraught with political and economic risks in a tinderbox region, time is running out to organise logistics for one of the world's largest mass gatherings.

A full-scale hajj, which last year drew about 2.5 million pilgrims, appears increasingly unlikely after authorities advised Muslims in late March to defer preparations due to the fast-spreading disease.

"It's a toss-up between holding a nominal hajj and scrapping it entirely," a South Asian official in contact with Saudi hajj authorities said.

A Saudi official said: "The decision will soon be made and announced."

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, withdrew from the pilgrimage this month after pressing Riyadh for clarity, with a minister calling it a "very bitter and difficult decision".

Malaysia, Senegal and Singapore followed suit with similar announcements.

Many other countries with Muslim populations -- from Egypt and Morocco to Turkey, Lebanon and Bulgaria -- have said they are still awaiting Riyadh's decision.

In countries like France, faith leaders have urged Muslims to "postpone" their pilgrimage plans until next year due to the prevailing risks.

The hajj, a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime, represents a major potential source of contagion as it packs millions of pilgrims into congested religious sites.

But any decision to limit or cancel the event risks annoying Muslim hardliners for whom religion trumps health concerns.

It could also trigger renewed scrutiny of the Saudi custodianship of Islam's holiest sites -- the kingdom's most powerful source of political legitimacy.

A series of deadly disasters over the years, including a 2015 stampede that killed up to 2,300 worshippers, has prompted criticism of the kingdom's management of the hajj.

"Saudi Arabia is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea," Umar Karim, a visiting fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, told AFP.

"The delay in announcing its decision shows it understands the political consequences of cancelling the hajj or reducing its scale."

"Buying time"

The kingdom is "buying time" as it treads cautiously, the South Asian official said.

"At the last minute if Saudi says 'we are ready to do a full hajj', (logistically) many countries will not be in a position" to participate, he said.

Amid an ongoing suspension of international flights, a reduced hajj with only local residents is a likely scenario, the official added.

A decision to cancel the hajj would be a first since the kingdom was founded in 1932.

Saudi Arabia managed to hold the pilgrimage during previous outbreaks of Ebola and MERS.

But it is struggling to contain the virus amid a serious spike in daily cases and deaths since authorities began easing a nationwide lockdown in late May.

In Saudi hospitals, sources say intensive care beds are fast filling up and a growing number of health workers are contracting the virus as the total number of cases has topped 130,000. Deaths surpassed 1,000 on Monday.

To counter the spike, authorities this month tightened lockdown restrictions in the city of Jeddah, gateway to the pilgrimage city of Mecca.

"Heartbroken"

"The hajj is the most important spiritual journey in the life of any Muslim, but if Saudi Arabia proceeds in this scenario it will not only exert pressure on its own health system," said Yasmine Farouk from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"It could also be widely held responsible for fanning the pandemic."

A cancelled or watered-down hajj would represent a major loss of revenue for the kingdom, which is already reeling from the twin shocks of the virus-induced slowdown and a plunge in oil prices.

The smaller year-round umrah pilgrimage was already suspended in March.

Together, they add $12 billion to the Saudi economy every year, according to government figures.

A negative decision would likely disappoint millions of Muslim pilgrims around the world who often invest their life savings and endure long waiting lists to make the trip.

"I can't help but be heartbroken -- I've been waiting for years," Indonesian civil servant Ria Taurisnawati, 37, told AFP as she sobbed.

"All my preparations were done, the clothes were ready and I got the necessary vaccination. But God has another plan."

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 3,2020

Mangaluru, May 3: Dakshina Kannada in-charge minister Kota Srinivas Poojary today announced that there will be partial lockdown relaxations in the district from tomorrow (May 4) from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The district falls under orange zone as per the classification done by the union government to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Mr Poojary said that shops can remain open for 12 hours (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.). However, this relaxation will not apply for malls, restaurants, beauty parlors, saloons and dental clinics. 

Even though bars can remain open, they can only sell liquor. People will not be allowed to consume anything inside the bar. 

In auto-rickshaws only one passenger will be allowed to travel apart from driver and in car two passengers will be allowed apart from driver. 

The relaxations come with strict protocols, which the people need to follow, he said, adding that the relief had been provided to make life easier and not for people to come out unnecessarily.

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News Network
March 23,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 23: Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi cautioned private bus transport services operators, taxis and autorickshaws from exploiting commuters in wake of bus and train services being suspended by the government as precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

In a statement released here on Monday, Transport Minister Savadi said it has come to the notice that private buses, taxis and autorickshaws were misusing the opportunity and exploiting commuters. Inter-district bus services have been suspended in the districts wherein lockdown has been announced to protect the health of people and none should violate the decision of the government, he stated.

Transport and Police Department officials have been asked to taken action against those violating norms and exploiting commuters. Service providers for their profit cannot risk with the health of the people and repeated cases if come to the fore, they will not be spared, Savadi cautioned.

Government has taken measures to prevent spread of COVID-19. Private transport service providers and people should join hands and cooperate to contain it, he appealed. 

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