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India's First Monorail Tested in Mumbai

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:50:08 +0530

What has Happened so far

An electrical run for the Mumbai monorail was conducted by the MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority), which started from the Wadala station and ended at Mysore Colony. The run covered an entire distance of 4.5 km. The initial phase of the Mumbai monorail that runs from Chembur to Wadala is supposed to be ready-to-go by November 2012. This project is undergoing construction, and it is being managed by the MMRDA.

Other partners in this project are Scomi Engineering Bhd., which owns 42 percent of the contract to build a 19.5 km monorail and Larsen and Toubro. Scomi Engineering will provide the rail cars that are being built in Malaysia.

About the Mumbai Monorail Project

The Mumbai monorail will be the second longest monorail system in the world. Its construction began in the year 2009 January and the first phase of the line will be operational by May 2012. The petition for the Mumbai monorail was cleared by Vilasrao Deshmukh in 13 August, 2008.

A total of eight lines are proposed at a budget of 20,296 crore. As per the present scenario, only the Chembur to Jacob Circle route is the one under construction. It was taken up with the objective to support the suburban railways system and the metro system. The monorail will run on narrow Guideway beams whose wheels are present on either side.

The Current Scenario and Future Prospects

As per top MMRDA office bearers, it will take nearly six months be the commuters can board the train as it there are rigorous tests to be undergone before that. Echoing these concerns, the country head for Scomi Engineering, Kanesan Veluppillai mentioned that many systems like signal, communication, safety and civil arrangements are in the process of being examined. "First, an independent agency will have to certify the brakes on safety standards. Only when all the systems can run smoothly, will the trains be allowed for public use," he said.

The current project involves construction, design, maintenance and operation of the Chembur to Jacob Circle line, which covers the entire 19.56 km corridor and costs nearly INR 2,460 crore. The trial runs on this track are likely to be started by the end of August.

Mumbai International Airport Ranked Third Best Airport in the World

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:39:57 +0530

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport located in Mumbai was rated as the third most well maintained airport in the world as per a report by the Airport Council International. The airport has also been awarded with the Airport Service Quality award for the year 2011. Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport was also named as the second best in India, which handles 25-40 million passengers annually.

This survey was taken across 180 airports in the world. The Managing Director of the Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd mentioned that the award meant that they had improved their services and quality of the airport.

"Last year, we received this award in the 15-25 MPPA categories and again this year in the 25-40 MPPA categories. This further reinforces MIAL's efforts in improving the service quality at CSIA, which has been widely recognized by passengers, on an ongoing basis over the years," he said.

Analysis of the recorded data like day of travel and other services serves as a far better guide for improving customer satisfaction at the airport.

By benchmarking this airport with other similar airports, this poll will help prioritize improving projects and utilize their investments in new ventures and facilities.

Mumbai International Airport caters to more than 2.91 crore travellers between April and March in the year 2011 as compared to 2.56 crore in the same period in the year before.

‘Marshes can be Paradise for City’s Birds, Marine Life’

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:41:29 +0530

A three hour stroll around small walkways in Bhandup wetlands near the Eastern Express Highway left Nidhi Trivedi, a 19-year-old fascinated with the beautiful marine eco-system. “The entire mangrove stretch is so pristine,” said Trivedi, a student of Nirmala Niketan College of Social Work, Churchgate.

As the entire city gets ready to celebrate World Wetlands Day on the coming Thursday, this youngster’s concern sums up the theme for the wetlands: ‘Wetlands and Tourism’. World Wetlands Day celebrates the anniversary of the adoption of a convention on wetlands in the year 1971 in the city of Ramsar in Iran to conserve and protect these spaces. India is a signatory to the Convention.

As per environmentalists, these wetlands can be developed into places of eco-tourism and recreation and also have the right potential to make up for the lack of spaces around the city of Mumbai. In recent years, the massive urbanization has led to the reclamation of wetlands.

“People go near water bodies, be it the sea or a pond, to relax and recreate,” said Rishi Agarwal, secretary, Mangrove Society of India, Maharashtra Chapter.

Agarwal said that designating wetlands into tourist spots would serve a dual purpose. “Firstly, it would help conserve wetlands. That means saving ourselves because they help in various ways such as flood prevention and food security.”

Environment experts said that wetland areas like Navi Mumbai, Bhandup-Vikhroli-Kanjurmarg, Thane creek and Vikhroli house many species of migratory and mangrove birds like Eurasian spoonbills, greater and lesser Flamingos, storks, egrets and harriers.

“If discharge of effluents into creeks is controlled, the wetland will be a paradise for birds and marine life. The state government can designate them as tourist spots instead of letting them go into hands of developers,” said Gabriel.

More Flyers: India Needs 30 More Airports in 5 Years!

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:03:33 +0530

With the ever-increasing number of air passengers, another 30 airports would be required in India in the coming 5 years and 180 in the next 10 years as per the Planning Commission estimates. The capacity of various passenger terminals in all airports that was touted to be 230-240 million by the end of this year is now supposed to grow to 370 million as per estimates, which was formulated using investment plans of the airport operators.

There are five private airports now at Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Cochin and Bangalore that will handle 60 percent of the traffic. The state-run AAI (Airports Authority of India) that earlier used to cater to the entire sector now handles the rest.

According to estimates that were made by the industry and AAI, these airports would now require a significant investment of nearly Rs 67,500 crore. The 12^th Plan period has a budget of around Rs 50,000 crore that is supposed to come from the private sector.

Noting these projections, the Planning Commission has suggested that support from the state governments to develop airports was "vital" as it would generate trade and tourism opportunities in the respective states.

A working group of the plan panel on the civil aviation sector has also suggested that there was "a greater need to come up with a 'no frills' airport model without compromising on safety and security".

In order to encourage and execute the airport development, the Planning Commission has recommended exemptions on service tax and income tax for developers. "There is a need for the government and the industry to work together and bring down airfares in order to make air travel affordable for middle class population, without at the same time affecting the viability of the airline operations in the country," the Planning Commission working group stated.

Mumbai International Airport's Main Runway to Be Closed For Four Months

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:04:28 +0530

Owing to the construction of the RET at MIAL, flyers at Mumbai airport may have to face delays for the next 4 months. Although inconvenience is expected to be caused due to the closure of the main runway, many positive changes can be seen in matters of flight operations in the future. A MIAL spokesperson said that the RET work will be over by June 1. During this mentioned time period, flights will be operated on the secondary runway (14-32), but the airport officials also mentioned that people should be prepared to face delays of 30-40 as the secondary runway cannot fit as many flights as the main runway. During peak departure hours in the morning and peak arrival hours at night, the runway will be open for operations, and movement of flights during the day will be carried on the secondary runway.

The need for more RETs was felt so that more flights can be accommodated by reducing the aircraft runway occupancy time. As of now, the airport has four RETs and five parallel exit taxiways. As stated by a senior airport official, “RET will help the ATC manage more number of flights per hour and the construction is part of MIAL’s plan to create a network of parallel taxiways and RETs along the two runways. The construction of the entire network will take place in several phases,’’ he added. Although the secondary runway will compensate till the time the main runway is shut, unfortunately, it is not well equipped to manage the same number of flights as the main runway. Worse could be expected if the visibility level drops due to smog. In this case, the main runway will have to be made available for flight operations.

Visakhapatnam Beaches, Mumbai Film City to Entice Tourists

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:41:16 +0530

Projects aimed at developing Vishakhapatnam’s beaches and Mumbai’s Film City are part of the 35 multi-billion dollar projects that are aimed at increasing the influx of international tourists as per the 12th Five year plan. This was announced by Mr. Subodh Kant Sahay on Tuesday.

These projects are supposed to be a major focus of India’s attempts at developing the tourism sector with an aim to lure more than 5 million international tourists and create around 25 million jobs. Private-public partnerships are touted at working towards these mega developments as both the State and Central governments would be investing hugely in infrastructure. All these decisions were taken during a 3-hour interaction between nearly 60 executives from various airlines and Mr. Sahay.

"We need your feedback to progress further on our tourism sector plan and we want to help you grow business along with our plans. Though Mumbai is a major film industry hub, tourism flows remains limited and studios such as state-owned Film City would need to be redeveloped on the scale of Hollywood studios, which are major draws for tourists”, said Sahay, who visited the Universal Studios set up on Singapore's resort island of Sentosa.

He also had a 2-hour meeting with representatives from Sentosa Development Corp and Universal Studio on the development and implementation of Sentosa Island, which is a major tourist attraction in the state.

Sentosa Development Corp and other similar projects could serve as the model for renovating many destinations in India, such as hill stations and virgin beaches in states such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Gujarat. Mr. Sahay also said that Indians travelled a lot within the country to places such as pilgrimage spots and other tourist destinations.

“Investments would be made in building star-rated international class hotels with over two lakh rooms and budget hotels with 26 lakh rooms during the Five-Year Plan as India seek 12 per cent year-on-year growth in tourism. We will have clean facilities to hold international tourists for three to five days, especially the West Asians and South-East Asians who demand the best hygienes," he said, stressing on the importance of facilities for longer stay for family holidays in places with clean beaches such as Visakhapatnam.

Classical Musicians to Help Save Mumbai's Heritage

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:27:19 +0530

On the 7^th and 8^th of January 2012, the city of Mumbai is all set to play host to a classical music festival Mumbai Sanskruti. This festival aims to highlight the cause of saving the heritage structures in the city. It will be held at the historic steps of the Asiatic Library or the Town Hall. The festival has prominent vocalists like Shubha Mudgal participating in it. Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, a famous Santoor maestro is also performing in the festival.

This music festival is an initiative of the IHS (Indian Heritage Society) and has no entry fee. The seating arrangements for the music lovers will be made under the open sky on the other side of the road. This festival celebrates Mumbai’s rich heritage through live music.

Classical Singer Shubha Mudgal will perform on the first day along with famed table maestro Aneesh Pradhan. Day two will feature Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma playing the Santoor along with Mukundraj Deo on the Tabla and Bhawanishankar on the Pakhwaj. An emphatic Shubha Mudgal spoke on the Mumbai Sanskruti in the year 2012. “What makes the occasion even more special for me is the venue, a heritage site, and one that overlooks the inspiring Asiatic Society building, another landmark of the city,” she adds.

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma says, “Mumbai has always supported classical music events and Mumbai Sanskruti will be a beautiful combination of classical music and our rich heritage. It’s sad that we lost venues like Banganga and Rang Bhavan and I sincerely hope we find a way out without disrespecting the SC. Classical music is known to soothe hearts and should not be considered ‘noisy.’ I hope we can perform at all important heritage monuments in India.”

Tabla maestro Aneesh Pradhan stated that these heritage sites made a huge impact on him as a performer for they represent our rich history and culture. “They are tangible symbols of previous eras, just as music is an intangible representation of the cultural contexts it has found itself in over centuries”, he says.

'Maha Feast,' Food Festival to be held on December 24-25, 2011 in Mumbai

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 17:40:43 +0530

MTDC (Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation) and the Department of Tourism have joined

hands to support, ‘Maha Feast’, which is an outdoor food fiesta to be organized at the Gateway of India

in Mumbai.

This fest is to be conducted on the 24th and the 25th of December, 2011, and it is entirely conceptualized

by Idea hub. One can relish savories from the 20 odd food stalls present in the fest that bring together

some of the best exponents in the trade. The Maha Feast will showcase the thriving and vibrant Marathi

culture.

Talking about this event, Dr. Jagdish Patil, the Managing Director of MTDC, said ‘Mumbai, the capital

city of Maharashtra is proud to host India's biggest and only outdoor food festival. We are happy to

announce Maha Feast, as an annual Food and Culture event, which is sure to make its mark’. The

organizing team of Idea Hub also plans to promote ‘Maha feast’ as a larger event by increasing the

number of people participating every year.

The further plan to take this food event to other cities in India too; hence, this event has a tie up with

Falafels, Busaba, Mad Over Donuts, Swati Snacks, Mocambo, Food Box, Café Mocha and many more.

‘In an attempt to make it a food cum cultural festival, the décor of “Maha Feast” will highlight the

traditions and culture of Maharashtra. Food will be showcased as the primary factor that brings people

together. We will make sure that visitors get to know more about Maharashtra through culture and food,’ stated Nirupam Sonu, the Director of ‘Maha Feast’ and Idea Hub.

Festive Spirit: Mumbai is Feeling X-Massy

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 14:43:38 +0530

This time of the year is best to spread happiness and cheer, and the city of Mumbai knows how to that. There is a Maha Feast that is organized by the Department of Tourism in Maharashtra yesterday near the Gateway of India. An indoor amusement park for kids is organizing ‘the Christmas Carnival’ during December 24 to 25, which has activities such as carnival parade, dressing like Santa, kiddy Santas, entertainment rides, caricature paintings, jugglers, free hand paintings and more.

‘Children relate to Christmas and its symbols like snow, Santa, reindeer. So we thought we should offer everything under one roof to give them a real Christmas feel,’ says Nimish Kenia, Director of Happy Planet. The Crossword Bookstore at Kemp’s Corner is organizing a workshop to educated kids on how to cut out snowflakes from a single long strip of paper. ‘We are doing games, Santa visits, singing carols, story reading, Christmas special art and craft activities like making a snowman, stockings… all in the festive spirit,’ informs a spokesperson from Crossword.

And then there’s a Pomegranate Christmas Special, which is being celebrated on the 24^th of December, in which children between the ages of 6 to 14 are encouraged to make Christmas comic strips and come up with Christmas-related stories and other themes.

‘We wanted to make things fun while making it a learning experience. So to commemorate the birthday of Quentin Blake, illustrator of Roald Dahl stories, artist Sonie Thakkar will teach children how to illustrate stories, and illustrator Chaitanya Modak will introduce children to the art of making comic strips. The kids thereafter will create their own original narratives. The approach is to show you the how and you give us the what’.

Apart from these festivals, there are other events at Shastri Nagar Grounds and Lonavla.