BRTS would benefit 25,000 commuters initially

INDORE: The Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) of Indore will be the second project of its own
kind in the country. The project, which was likely to become operational by mid-April, is being
constructed on the lines of already existing BRTSproject in Ahmedabad.

The project, which will cover 11.5 km stretch on the AB Road initially, will have all the eight
elements which the full-fledged BRTS in Ahmedabad boasts of having with itself. These issues were
discussed during a review meeting of the project which was held here on Thursday. The meeting was
attended by all the topbrass officials, attached with the project. The project may be later stretched
upto Super Corridor and Regional Park too. There are very few places in the world where such kinds
of BRTS are running successfully and the biggest among them being at Bogota in Columbia. It is
hoped that 25,000 commuters in the city will take the services of BRTS initially.

Talking to ToI, indore collector Akash Tripathy said, "Beginning from next month, we are planning
to conduct strategy wise trial run of the project for three months. Also, we have prepared a 10-minute
documentary film so as to train and educate the commuters with the new system attached to the
project."

Centre of Excellence in Urban Transport, CEPT University of Ahmedabad, which had successfully
completed the project in Ahmedabad, is hopeful of linking the project with all the basic eight
elements which are already there in the BRTS of Ahmedabad.

Executive director of CEPT, HM Shivanand Swamy, said, "Initially we had planned to have left side
door in the BRTS buses. However, now we have decided to have median doors in all those buses so
as to allow passengers to alight from any side of the bus.

CEO of AICTSL, which is acting as the nodal agency for the project, KVS Chaudhuri, said, "It was a
normal BRTS review meeting. We discussed issues like route, operations and manpower for the
project."

Prior to it, addressing the conference, mayor Krishnamurari Moghe, said, "We have asked all the
government departments concerned to strongly support AICTSL for the successful completion of the
project."

While corridors for the project will be developed by Indore Development Authority (IDA), Indore
Municipal Corporation (IMC) will be responsible for construction.

Managing director of Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation (MPRDC), Vivek Agrawal,
said, "We are planning to engage ex-servicemen to augment traffic police on the BRTS road. Also,
we are planning to approach planning commission for viability gap funding.


Salient features of BRTS

1. Road segregator

2. Special buses

3. Special bus-stops

4. Managed traffic

5. Automatic ticketing

6. Branding

7. Special purpose vehicle to operate the buses

8. Integration with other modes like pedestrian and land use.

A look at BRTS in Indore

1. It has been planned to keep the price of tickets as low as Rs 3 and Rs 5

2. Wireless traffic signal for BRTS will be installed by Centre for Development of Advanced
Computers (CDAC)

3. The testing of the project will be conducted within next fortnight on MR-9.

4. Planning commission may be approached for its grant under viability gap funding (VGF) for the
initial phase of the project.

5. An area measuring 2.5 acre on Old Sehore Road has been identified for Bus Depot of BRTS.

BRTS continues to draw bouquets and brickbats
INDORE: The under-construction bus rapid transit system (BRTS) corridor in Indore continues to
draw bouquets and brickbats and the number is increasing by the day. The suggestions and criticism
made by various individuals and organizations all aim to streamline the city traffic. A suggestion that
is coming reputedly during the public hearing is to identify BRTS region, on the lines of National
Capital Region (NCR) instead of developing a corridor to streamline the traffic.

Harshwardhan Lad, who had come with the suggestion at the public hearing on the project, said that
AB Road is one of the roads having the highest traffic load. "Almost every Indorean uses AB Road at
least once in day. Broadening the road and developing a BRTS corridor on it will not solve the
problem," he pointed out.

To streamline the flow of traffic on AB road, there is a need to divert the traffic to other connecting
roads and it can be done by identifying the BRTS region, Lad said. "Like in Delhi, where planning is
now done for the NCR, we will have to identify BRTS region which should include the other roads to
connect different parts of the city," he said.

The Ring Road was developed few years back to ease the traffic. But due to lack of proper control
and management of traffic, many prefer AB Road. "By making Ring Road safe, traffic from AB
Road can be diverted on it," Lad said.

Similarly, Old Road that connects eastern parts of the city with the western parts, is not being used
by many due to encroachments. A road connecting Scheme No. 54, Sayaji Hotel area, Bhamori,
Patnipura crossing and passing through Malvia Nagar to reach the Jail Road, is the shortest route to
reach the city airport from Vijay Nagar. But due to encroachments, people prefer to take the AB
Road," Lad said.

Other roads that can ease traffic on AB Road include the road connecting Patnipura Crossing and
Rajkumar Bridge. "The road is so narrow that no four-wheeler driver opts for it. The traffic n this
road can be diverted by widening the road," he said.

By widening the bridges on the road from LIG/MIG to Palasia and Janjeerwala via Nehru Nagar,
traffic flow can be further eased on the AB Road. Moreover, by speeding up the pending works of
Link Road, traffic flow can be eased on AB Road, Lad said.

Reacting to the suggestions, divisional commissioner Sanjay Dubey said that the suggestions were
good and efforts will be made to incorporate them in the plans.


BRTS unsafe: Residents
INDORE: Poor planning, faulty execution, wrong design and inconvenience to people have
disillusioned Indoreans from the BRTS which was quite evident at public hearing on Sunday
organised by divisional commissioner on the directions of high court.

Nearly 300 people registered their objections and suggestion on BRTS and its execution. Nearly 61%
of the people have expressed their views against the 11.5km BRT corridor. Only 9% of the people
have supported the project and 30% are still willing to accept the BRTS with little amendments.
Technical experts termed BRTS 'unsafe'. Most of the people raised objections over the safety
arrangement on the corridor and believed that the way in which the project has been implemented,
has made it quite risky for commuters.

Kishor Kodwani of Vikas Dristi Mitra 2050, said that the existing users of city bus service feel that
BRTS is risky. He stressed that the project has alienated the existing users from public transport and
it has failed to attract two-wheelers and four-wheeler owners as they find it very confusing.
Moreover, there is no arrangement for parking and safe crossing on roads.

Gopal Nema, former MLA cited example of Jaipur and Delhi and said that railings should be
removed and buses on BRTS should be run like normal city buses with bus stops on the side of the
road. He said by putting dedicate corridor for BRTS in the middle of the road and not allowing any
other vehicle on it has made it unsafe and congested. Bus stops have been constructed in the middle
of the road without making any arrangement like foot over bridge or under bridge.

Technical experts have raised questions over the safety of passengers and commuters on BRTS.
Retired chief engineer of Military Engineering Service, Suganchandra Jain said that the stretch from
LIG to Geeta Bahvan is very 'unsafe' and not fit for BRTS corridor. "This stretch is very critical
because of the insufficient width of existing road and very limited space available for private
vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. In addition, if there is any vehicle breakdown on this stretch it will
create complete chaos," he said.

On cycle track, experts said that it is having numerous obstacles and it will not be safe to use.
Administration is in a hurry to start bus service on BRTS but there are no automatic signals at
crossings and pedestrian crossings.

BRTS trial run conducted

INDORE: Even as construction of bus stops for the BRTS corridor is incomplete and work on
installation of intelligent signal system is yet to start, the first trial run of bus for the project was
successfully conducted from AICTCL office to Niranjanpur on Wednesday.

The trail run, conducted with an 'ibus,' covered the distance in 13 minutes -- a pace much better than
expected.

Mayor Krishnamurari Moghe termed the maiden ride as "very comfortable" one. He said that the
completion of work on bus stops and installations of signals is being done on a priority basis.

The trial run checked assimilation and cohesion of the bus with automatic doors installed at bus stop
near Niranjanpur. After getting green signal, 84 automatic doors will be installed at the 21 bus stops
on the 11.5 km long corridor. Each bus stop will have four automatic doors.

On removing the obstacles and problems during the ride, divisional commissioner Prabhat Parashar
said that more trial runs will be conducted for minute inspection of routes and other technical aspects
and necessary changes will be made accordingly.

Collector Akash Tripathi said that the project is all about making transportation rapid. "The trial run
achieved a speed of 28 to 30 km per hour. However, the proposed speed for the actual run is 22 km
per hour."

Tripathi said that issues like less space between the buses and the bus stop ramps will be sorted out
with proper training of drivers. "The company which has got contract for running the buses will start
appointment of drivers this month and they will be given proper training before the actual service
starts," he said.

Talking about the installation of signals, Tripathi said that it will be completed by mid-April. "By
that time, all the glitches in the corridor will be ironed out," he added.


BRTS presentation draws flak
INDORE: The presentation on Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) Corridor by the Atal Indore City
Transport Corporation Ltd (AICTCL) held on Wednesday turned to be a flop after peoples'
representatives and citizens who took part returned frustrated and disappointed and said they were
neither given any chance to express their views or suggestions nor were their complaints given an
ear.

AICTCL had organized a presentation for public to educate them about the BRTS project, progress
made on it so far and how it will help commuters in future. Organized on the directions of high court
by divisional commissioner Prabhat Parashar, the forum was meant to address public grievances
based on which a report was to be filed in the court.

Large number of people had gathered to take part in the presentation at Pritam Lal Dua auditorium
but when they tried to quiz officials over BRTS project, the commissioner ended the meeting saying
it was only a presentation to inform public about the project and not a debate. "Whosoever has any
suggestion or a complaint can give it in writing on Thursday at scheduled hearing over the project,"
said the commissioner adding that this is not a forum where decision can be made and that it was an
exercise to listen to the people. They will make possible changes after going through all the
suggestions and complaints.
Parashar said such a hearing could have been organized before the starting of this project and now it
will not be appropriate to go into why such presentation was organized then. Now they will try to do
only that which is possible at this stage of the project.
City Congress president, Pramod Tandon said presentation was just a formality to fulfill the direction
of HC. "I wonder why they called us, if they don't have to listen to us. No one was given any chance
to express his/her views, which shows how serious they are about the views of the public," he said
adding that BRTS has only become cause of inconvenience to people mainly because of wrong
planning.

"At the time of starting this project, they don't pay any heed to people's suggestions. It would have
been a success if BRTS would have been constructed on Ring Road instead of AB Road," said
Tandon.

Leader of opposition in IMC, Abhay Verma alleged BRTS is epitome of corruption. Initial cost of
project was Rs 90 crores by the time of tender it went up to Rs 120 crores and till date they have
spent nearly Rs 300 crores over it. It was expected to complete by 2008 but it is still under
construction.

Kishor Kodwani, who had filed PIL, said Wednesday's meeting proved that there are hundreds of
people who want to express their views about BRTS provided they were given a chance.
"Administration did not advertise properly about the public hearing and that is why only 12
complaints were received, on Wednesday when so many people turned up they did not allow them to
speak," Kodwani said.
Diesel buses for BRTS violating HC directives
INDORE: Already facing flak from cross sections of the society for shoddy works and
mismanagement, IndoreBRTS is in dock yet again for purchasing diesel buses thereby violating the
environmental norms for public transport.

Bhopal bench of National Green Tribunal has issued notice to collector Indore, RTO, IG and
AICTSL on Tuesday.

Social activist Kishor Kodwani has filed the petition with Bhopal bench of the tribunal pointing out
that diesel buses are being used for BRTS without planting any saplings violating the high court
directives to compensate for the trees cut for BRTS. Hearing of the case is scheduled for May 2.

Kodwani said that around four years back, the high court had ordered to replace all public transport
diesel vehicles with those using CNG. Even Central Pollution Control Board had recommended the
replacement by 2013.

As of now in Indore, all the city buses run on CNG. Nearly 90% auto rickshaws and 100% of magic
vehicles too have been converted to the eco-friendly fuel. However, 50 BRTS buses are set to arrive
in the city out of which three are being used for the dry run.

"When BRTS was introduced, residents were promised that it would reduce pollution. But now, they
are using the high polluting diesel buses for the project. In addition, more than 1,300 trees were cut
for BRTS corridor. As per the HC guidelines, the agencies have to plant five trees of at least five feet
height for every one tree cut and they have to take care of the plants for five years. But nothing is
being done," Kodwani said.

National Green Tribunal was established in 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 for
effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of
forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment
and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property.

Datia collector asked to inspect BRTS Indore
INDORE: Adding up to the numerous inspections and reports over BRTS, now social
justice,panchayat and rural development ministerGopalBhargava, who is also guardian
minister ofIndore has asked Datia collector to inspect and prepare a report about BRTSIndore on the
points raised by social activist KishorKodwani.

During his last visit to Indore, Gopal Bhargava had termed the project as a ghost expressing his
displeasure over the state of affairs at BRTS corridor.

On April 1, social activist Kishore Kodwani had written a letter to Bhargava requesting him to
inspect BRTS. He had expressed his concern over 52 points including safety, location of bus stops,
position of railing and economic feasibility of project.

Now, the minister has written a letter to collector Datia, a copy of which was sent to Kodwani as
well. , to inspect and prepare a report on BRTS and submits to minister.

Datia collector Sanket Bhondve, talking to TOI over phone said "As of now, I have not received the
letter, so it would not be appropriate to comment on it."

Meanwhile, AICTSL on Friday conducted dry run of BRTS i.e. a trial without passengers onboard.
Early in the morning two BRTS buses, 'I Bus' ran on corridor with mayor, collector and other senior
officials on board.

Collector Akash Tripathi said work on corridor from Rajiv Gandhi Crossing to Shivaji Pratima is
complete, while some works is pending between Shivaji Pratima and Niranjanpura Crossing.

He said that the dry run is first phase of trial where in buses without passengers on board will be
operated on the corridor. The purpose is to accustom drivers. "Taking turns and driving in 30 m
section of corridor is a little challenging and dry run will train drivers before actual trial and it will
also help in identifying other technical problems, which will be rectified," he said.

Second phase of trial would consist of a free travel opportunity on board to the citizens to help them
experience the bus, its stops and its system and point out deficiencies so as to give authorities time to
improve on them.


Indore BRTS corridor: HC seeks report in two days
INDORE: The Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh high court has given two days time to thedivisional
commissioner to submit his report on the BRTS corridor.

The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for April 18.

The bench comprising justice Shantanu Kemkar and Justice U C Maheshwari were hearing a petition
on BRTS corridor filed by social activist Kishor Kodwani.

The court also directed divisional commissioner to provide a copy of his report to Kodwani a day
before submitting it to the HC.

Kodwani had filed a petition in HC arguing that there were number of flaws in the BRTS corridor
and if they were not rectified the people of the city would suffer and it would pose risk to the
commuters.

On March 1, the court had directed the divisional commissioner to hear objections to BRTS corridor
from Kodwani and any other citizen who had to say anything on it and then submit its report.

During the next hearing, other respondents in the case which includes traffic police, Indore
Development Authority and Indore Municipal Corporation are also expected to file their replies.

Now, BRTS on Facebook to reach out to youth
INDORE: Facing criticism from people for delay in completion of BRTS project, the
administration has decided to seek suggestions and views of people on a networking site
ahead of proposed trial run from April 19.
Residents can now post their views on Facebook of BRTS - facebook.com/indorebrt as
informed at a review meeting of BRTS on Tuesday. Divisional commissioner has already
instructed AICTCL to brief people about the project and address their queries every working
day from 12 noon to 1 pm. Now efforts are being taken to reach out to youngsters and tech
savvy people through public networking sites.

AICTCL CEO, Sandeep Soni said there is much confusion and lack of awareness about the
project. They are trying to brief people about the project but it is not possible to reach
everyone, public networking sites is the best platform for getting connected to people.
People spend at least few minutes on such networking sites daily.
BRTS corridor has been given a new name 'Ahilya Path' and around 50 traffic wardens have
been appointed for its bus stops for guidance and streamline flow of people.
Trial of BRTS is expected to start from April 19 and administration is racing against time to
finish the pending work. Collector Akash Tripathi said installation of automatic doors will
be completed by March 30 and remaining work on bus stops will be completed by April 10.
Bus drivers have been appointed including a lady driver.
In order to popularize BRTS, initially groups of students, teachers, doctors and people from
different walks of lives will be given free ride.