Namma City most congested
Bengaluru is the most congested city in India, says the Traffic Quality Index (TQI), which gives a snapshot of road conditions. Bengaluru scores high above 800 in the extreme congestion category. It is followed by Mumbai (787), Delhi (747) and Hyderabad (718).
Even 9,000 AI-powered CCTV cameras, from which data collected feeds into map-based services, find it difficult to develop solutions. Traffic management is daunting, especially during rush hour and the monsoons.
Score: Deccan Herald
Green War Room to fight Delhi air pollution
A 24×7 ‘Green War Room’ to control air pollution was launched by Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on September 30th. As part of the state government’s 21-point Winter Action Plan, the ‘Green War Room and Green Delhi Application’ will take on seven tasks: Analyse data from NASA satellite on stubble burning, drone mapping and 24-hour AQI monitoring stations; conduct real-time source apportionment studies; resolve complaints through the Green Delhi App and ensure inter-departmental coordination.
The app will act as a platform to submit pollution-related grievances.
It was launched in October 2020, designed for residents and agencies. It also records complaints from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the public works department, the Delhi Development Authority, the Delhi Jal Board and the Irrigation and Flood Control Department. About 88% of the 80,473 complaints filed through the App, have so far been resolved, said Rai.
An eight-member team of environmental engineers, led by a member from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), will control the War Room.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) removed over 6156.94 metric tonnes (MT) of silt, construction and demolition waste in the last 10 days. Lieutenant-Governor V K Saxena on September 20th had directed launch of an anti-dust drive. He said it was a major contributor to pollution.
Source: Indian Express, Hindustan Times
Delhi govt inspects roads for repair
Delhi government’s ministers, including Chief Minister Atishi, along with public works department officials and local MLAs, spread out across the city this week, marking potholes and checking their breadth, length and depth. A report on the condition of the road and action to be taken on them would be submitted to the Assembly.
Atishi said that repairs would start in three to four weeks. Over the past several months and after a prolonged monsoon, the condition of roads in Delhi deteriorated, even though many stretches were revamped before the G20 Summit last year.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of Mission Amrut, the new phase of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. It will further improve urban sanitation with modern water and sewage treatment plants, ensuring cleaner and more sustainable living conditions.
Source: Deccan Herald, Business Standard
Read More: Tale of a lost road: Urban expansion saga of Sarjapur neighbourhoods
Office space leasing up by 31% in 6 cities
The gross leasing for office space has risen by 31% in the July-September quarter across six major cities, according to real estate consultant, Colliers India. The leasing rose to 17.3 million square feet in July-September from 13.2 million square feet over a year.
The demand for office space in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai was almost as much as the 2023 demand levels in the first three quarters this year. Bengaluru and Hyderabad accounted for more than half the leasing activity. Bengaluru registered its highest-ever leasing at 6.3 million sq ft, up 85% from 3.4 million square feet. Hyderabad had a 16% increase to 2.9 million square feet from 2.5 million square feet.
In Pune, gross leasing rose to 2.6 million sq ft from 1 million square feet, in Mumbai and Chennai the leasing remained at 1.7 million square feet and 1.4 million square feet respectively. In Delhi-NCR, the office demand fell 25% to 2.4 million square feet in July-September 2024 from 3.2 million square feet in the previous year.
Colliers said that technology drove about one-fourth of the overall office space demand in the July-September quarter, followed by BFSI occupiers and flex space operators.
Source: Business Standard, Business Today
Mission Mausam: Urban radar networks for 4 metros
Urban radar networks for improved weather forecast will be provided for Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata, on the lines of a similar network unveiled for Mumbai last month by the Ministry of Earth Sciences. It has launched six X-band weather radars and covered nearly 50,000 sq kms in Mumbai.
The scheme will be part of Mission Mausam, with the government aiming to install 50 doppler weather radars pan India, to improve weather forecasting services. The network will deliver real-time data every five minutes, to identify clouds responsible for extreme rainfall and thunderstorms. It will be integrated to give a real-time overview of weather systems in the cities.
Source: Business Standard, Financial Express
Read more: Extreme weather, migration and what else to expect due to ocean warming
Wearing down waste
The Thiruvananthapuram City Corporation on October 2nd opened three additional material recovery facilities, apart from the aerobic bins placed. Aerobic bins have been added by the civic body over the years to proces biodegradable waste at the community level. Recyclable waste material get segregated and resent to recycling facilities.
While inaugurating the new facilities, General Education Minister V. Sivankutty pointed out that the recovery facilities and aerobic bins have changed the mindset of the public to waste management, have brought down the load on waste treatment facilities and the amount of waste being dumped into public spaces and waterbodies. The Corporation’s drives have also improved public awareness, he added.
Meanwhile, to deal with expired and unused drugs, the Haritha Karma Sena launched a door-to-door collection. Lacking a system to dispose of these, they are now meeting stakeholders to devise a plan to collect and dispose of household medical waste.
Source: The Hindu, The New Indian Express
[Compiled by Revathi Siva Kumar]