Sunday, October 30, 2005

 

Emailnews Issue 10/2005






Let the spirit of Diwali prevail
Wish you a
Happy & Prosperous
Deepavali






Bangalore Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) lack foresight

Xerxes Desai, worked for the original concept for New Bombay has written letter to Chief Minister of Karnataka about Bangalore Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) stating that the plan is a prescription for unmitigated disaster.
Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) of Bangalore has been prepared as per
Karnataka Town and Country Planning (KTPC) Act 1961 which has been enforced since
1965. The KTPC Act requires that CDP be revised every 10 years. The Bangalore
Development Authority (BDA) is entrusted with the task of preparing CDP-2015 as per
the Act. As per BDA the CDP is only a revised CDP of 1995 however the Draft
Master Plan-2015 is powered by the state-of the-art technology consisting of an innovative robust spatial data infrastructure at the metropolitan level; it comprises Geographical Information System (GIS) and Management Information System (MIS) and is the third in arrow i.e. 1st CDP-1985 2ndCDP-1995 3rdCDP-2015.The draft Master Plan-2015 contains sets of maps and documents in five volumes based on the ward boundaries, the city is divided into 47 Planning Districts (PDs) to implement the Master Plan.
Xerxes Desai in the letter expressed that Bangalore Urban Plan(Comprehensive Development Plan) is based on the assumption that it must grow as fast as it possible considering this Bangalore will grow into a hideous megapolis, further he expressed that not only Planning group ignored the principles of town planning adopted by it but also not heeded to recommendations by experts .
  1. Experts typically recommend against the deliberate creation of monolithic megapolises, where as Bangalore planners wish to pursue such an objective with megalomania
  2. Experts recommend satellite towns and polynucleated cities with multiple work nodes easily accessed by surround residential communities, where as Bangalore planners wish to create a large and dense central business district
  3. Experts wishes to minimize soul destroying urban crowding, where as Bangalore planners wish to double the existing built form and population densities resulting in degradation of microclimate.
  4. Experts wishes to minimize private vehicle traffic, where as Bangalore planners choose to provide for what they believe is an inevitable explosion of vehicles. Pollution is already unacceptably high and plan proposals will make bad situation much worse.
  5. Experts seek to make commercial enterprises provide for parking to visitors and employees but Bangalore planners made unrealistic provisions in an unscientific manner.
  6. Experts seek to avoid lining arterial roads with shops and offices on either side since that impedes traffic flow; where as Bangalore planners wish to make every arterial radial road a commercial corridor, referred to as “transformation zones” “mutation corridors” and “commercial axes”. The result will be nightmarish traffic jams, great fuel consumption and more pollution.
  7. Experts seek to increase the green areas, whereas the planners of Bangalore are savagely reducing the areas under parks, playgrounds and open spaces in each and every planning district of Bangalore.
  8. Experts seek to create distinct work and living environments juxtaposed to minimize motorized transport, whereas Bangalore planners wishes to create mixed uses where work place can metastasise like cancers just about anywhere in residential neighborhoods and which have already so mushroomed even before changes could be made to land use laws.
  9. Experts see the need to provide for the urban poor who constitute a majority of residents of cities and who provide a host of essential services to the middle and upper classes, whereas Bangalore planners has provided for an unaffordable site space forsing them to grab land and create slums in the absence of any real alternative. Cities fail when they fail to deliver land to the poorest sections of society on terms that they can afford.
  10. Expert wish to learn lessons from their past mistakes, whereas Bangalore planners wishes to accept what they call “ground realities” and have invented expression like “flexibility” and “structured continuity” for a process where de facto becomes de jure, where the law sanctions what the lawless have chosen to do, where a fait accompli is the citizen’s fate.
  11. Expert also seek to learn from common citizens and public and private institutions who are users or providers of civic services, establish popular acceptance and financial feasibility, build in performance metrics for the implementation process and devise measures for effective enforcement. There is no trace in this document.
Resulting in unscientific development of Bangalore city due to lack of foresight to planners of Bangalore. He concludes that with right people and right attitudes India has all the ingredients needed for outstanding city planning. What is wanting is political will.
Times of India Dated 19/10/05 Page7
Draft Master Plan-2015 broacher
www.bdabangalore.org

The Operation Tree Planting (OTP) a record in planting “Casurina” saplings at Pushpavanam, Nagapattinam District (Tamil Nadu).

The operation Tree planting was flagged of by District Collector Dr.Radhakrishna in the presence of Sudeep Jain District Collector Dharmapuri, who is also the convener of the Tsunami Rehabilitation Trust (Bitsunam) and the volunteers of Wipro Care (Funded the OTP) on Saturday 1st October 2005 which began at 3.41pm.The event concluded at the same time the next day i.e. Sunday 2nd October 2005; with a record number i.e.2,54,462 of casurine saplings planted; outdoing Guinness Record made by their neighboring village Naluvedapatta in December 2002. The casurine trees served as the sea wall during tsunami disaster and saved thousands of lives. There were 6065 deaths recorded in Nagapattinum District. Of these, Naluvedapatty recorded seven. Most of the people were saved by the row of trees the villagers planted earlier.

More than 300 villages in Pushpavanam ploughed the sands along the cost of Bay of Bengal to plant the casurine saplings. As the OTP began emotions ran high and thousands of people living in and around the village assembled along 1.08 km stretch where the event was held. Cheering squad, music band and snacks did the rounds as the planters were busy digging and sowing the casurina saplings. During the OTP; spells of rain showered; those in the field decided to brave it. “It is the race run. This event will inspire them to plant many more trees” said Sandeep Jain.

“Casurina tree will grow fast. It serves as an excellent wind barrier and also generates revenue in terms of timber” said forest officer Akash Deep Baruah. Each of the trees would be dedicated to those who were killed by the Tsunami disaster said Dr.Radhakrishna “We are going to plant more in costal belt. At least another 2.5 million saplings along the 187 km stretch of costal line in the district” he declared.
Times of India/2nd October/2005/Page8
Times of India/3rd October/2005/Page8

Southern Railway will run trains on Bio-fuel in about three years

Feather in the cap for non-conventional energy.
Six years from now, India might not have to face energy crisis. The Ministry of non-conventional energy plans to bring in an alternative system for fuel: bio-diesel. The Botanical survey of India has identified at least 400 species of plants, excluding ‘Pongam’ and ‘Jetropha’ to produce bio-fuel, said non-conventional energy resource secretary A M Gokhale.

Research projects will be given to various universities and institutes, including IISc Bangalore and IIT Chennai to identify the potential of each plant he pointed out.

Southern Railway has already started planting Jetrophas. Several hectares of land in Tamil Nadu are being used to cultivate these plants. Trains from the Southern Railway will increasingly depend on bio-fuel in about three years he added.

The Ministry has struck a deal with the petroleum Ministry. “Presently, all oil companies will accept bio fuel from the producers and to market it. It will be popular for its availability and accessibility, besides the low cost”, he said.

The Ministry has been extensively pushing for research to help electrify remote villages as part of Village Energy Security Project of the five year plan.
Times of India 11th October 2005/Page8

You can join unique course “Astrobiology” at MP Birla Institute of Fundamental Research Bangalore.

A three week course in Astrobiology will be conducted at the MP Birla Institute of Fundamental Research, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Race Course Road, Bangalore-560001.

The course is open to all. Preference will be given to the students of Biology at BSc (2nd and 3rd year) level. Seats are limited to 30. Admission will be done on first come first served basis.

The course will start from November 8th to 25th November 2005 and classes will be conducted on every Tuesday to Friday from 5pm to 6.30 pm. There will be a total of 12 sessions of 90minutes each.

Contents /Topics addressed:

For further details contact: MP Birla Institute of Fundamental Research, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Campus, Race Course Road, Bangalore-560001. Telephone:22385956/56959780.

The Institute is conducting 100-hour certificate course in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the students of Engineering/ the students of BSc (I year and II year with Physics as one of the subject). They also conduct summer school in Astronomy and Astrophysics for PUC I and II year students to have an exposure to the field.

Deccan Herald/DH Education/12th October 2005/Facing Page

Times of India/Education Times/26th September 2005/Page-2





# posted by Visweswara. M. S. email:msv2000@gmail.com @ 10:25 AM 3 comments

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