4/2014

Jaipur continues to take baby steps to achieve its dream to become aworld class city, but we need huge mindset changes, which is not the

government�s responsibil ity alone. The Jaipur DevelopmentCommissioner, Shikhar Agarwal, is blazing new trails by removingencroachments in the shape of worshipping places on public roads inthe face of misguided public sentiments. However, more needs to bedone. Our city roads are one of the best in the country and timelyrepairs helps to keep them motorable. In his capacity of the Chairmanof the city�s Traffic Control Board, he needs to address traffic and civic indiscipline withequal vigour.

The other day a friend, Jagdeep Singh, narrated his woes on Facebook of droppinghis daughter to the railway station at 5.30 AM to catch the double decker train toDelhi, when many trains arrive at the railway station. The approach to the station wasabsolutely chaotic and he got caught in the traffic snarl. His daughter had to walk andrun to catch a moving train. Jagdeep took a longer time to unsnarl himself and headback home. There was no traffic constable in sight to regulate the traffic. One wonderswhether having a Police Commissionerate in Jaipur has had any significant impact ontraffic regulation in the city. Zilch, in my opinion. But it is once again not the policewhich are alone to blame.

Our cars and two wheelers zip across redlights as if they have a birthright to do so. Twowheelers ride in a suicidal fashion and manya times they have hit our cars. You will notfind a single car in the city without dents andscratches on their bodies. Most vehicle ownersdo not know even the basic traffic rules, suchas stopping and going while turning in from aside road into a bigger road. Arcing on a turn is absolutely alien to them. Driving onfull beam nonchalantly is commonplace and so on.

Speaking about civic sense, Mumbai is perhaps the best city in our country. Thestory goes that when Morarji Desai was the Chief Minister of Bombay Presidency,before the same was split into Maharashtra and Gujarat, he posted two constables onevery bus stop to ensure that passengers queued up. It was one small step but had asingular impact on people being conscious. I recall one instance in Mumbai when mytaxi got into the right turn lane at a traffic light, the duty constable ensured that mytaxi could not drive straight on the main road but had to turn right and then comeback to the main road after some time. If such a thing happens in Jaipur, then the driverwill engage into a long debate with the constable and hold up the traffic. Consequently,the helpless constable will just allow him to carry on. Worse violations take placeinsouciantly on our road network.

In the ultimate analysis it is we the citizens of this beautiful city who have to take upthe cudgels of dealing with indiscipline through education and enforcement, and askthe authorities to cooperate.

Addressing Indiscipline in JaipurNeeds Public-private Partnership

Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary General

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I N S I D E

! Safety@Safecity

! Golden Tweet of 2014

! Warning to Doctors

! Counter Magnet City

! Metro Updates

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Eaten Alive by an AnacondaPaul Rosolie, a naturalist, wanted to

acquire public attention towards thedestruction of the Amazon rainforest inAmazon basin of South America. So hedecided to carry out a stunt guaranteedto get people watching him.

In this attempt for natureconservation, the staunchenvironmentalist offered himself as a

dinner to an anaconda, which is thelargest snake in the world and usuallysuffocates its prey before ingesting it �and was also prepared to be swallowedalive.

Unfortunately, during the stunt,Rosolie was not exactly ingested by thesnake, disappointing the viewers whoexpected his journey into the belly ofthe deadly beast. Instead, he let theanaconda coil around him before callingthe mission off, fearing that he might getseriously injured in the process.

(RP, 09.12.14)

Liver Giver GirlRajasthan�s first organ transplant

brand ambassador, Simran Sharma, isjust 18 but her fighting spirit is simplyexemplary. She saved her father�s life bydonating a portion of her liver. She alsosacrificed her studies while running frompillar to post for his treatment.

The liver transplant took place inChennai. After hearing her saga, the StateHealth Minister Rajendra Rathoredeclared her as the State�s brandambassador for organ transplant andspoke with the Finance Secretary of theState Prem Singh Mehra to assist thefamily financially.

Moreover, the department officials areworking overtime to introduce organtransplant facilities in the State. Thedefining moment of her life came onSeptember 27, when 65 percent ofSimran�s l iver was harvested andtransplanted to her father.

�The experience was satisfying andbeyond words. We were waiting for morethan six months for the successfultransplant�, Simran conveyed.

(ToI, 18.11.14)

Boss of Cleaning�Yo�, a Korean is a millionaire investor

with a very peculiar habit for the past11 years. The business-man living inBahrain has been waking up everymorning before dawn to clean up thestreets of his city. He even takes time tosort out and recycle the garbage thathe collects.

On being asked about this routine hesimply answered �because I want to�! Yohas earned himself the nickname �Bossof Cleaning�, thanks to his diligentmorning habit.

Moreover, he seems genuinelyinterested in keeping the streets clean,and making sure that everyone enjoys ahealthy neighbourhood. �There is a lotof garbage, and this makes people sick.It causes problems also�, he explained.

(OC, 06.11.14)

Safety@SafecityEvery woman at some point of time

experiences lack of safety at work place,while travelling or elsewhere but mostlyignores it due to lack of family supportor to avoid hassles, ensuring that theoffenders go scot-free.

The website, www.safecity.in, initiatedby a group of three women in Mumbaican help women across India ascertainthe safety level of a place.

The website started by ElsamarieD�silva, Surya Velamuri and SaloniMalhotra, allows women to share theirexperiences of harassment they havefaced in day-to-day life. The data sharedare computed and hotspots marked ona map indicate the trend in a particularstate, city, street or lane.

�Safecity� is a crowd-map thatconverts individual stories into data,which is then placed on a map as it isthen easier to see a street location-leveltrend. (DNA, 13.11.14)

Vision of Future OfficesToo much of anything can kill you.

The same is true for fried food, alcohol,and presently � researchers are findingout, which is sitting. A study reveals thatmen who sit six hours or more a dayhave an overall death rate that is 20percent higher than men who sit forthree hours or less. For women, it isfound to be about 40 percent.

Prolonged sitting slows calorie-burning to a third of the rate ascompared to standing position.Moreover, excessive sitting reduces therate of metabolism.

Besides, there is a lack of researchdirectly linking standing or treadmill desksto improve health, so any conclusionsthat are made will have to rely onanecdotes and common sense based onother researches. How about a happymiddle, where you spend half your timeat a standing desk and the other halfsitting? (NN, 18.12.14 & www.techinasia.com)

Harry Potter-like Invisible CloakResearchers have brought the magic

of Harry Potter a step closer to realityafter developing an ultra-thin cloak thatmakes objects invisible. University ofTexas researchers have created themagical cover, which is just 0.15mm thinand made out of a new material calledmetascreen.

Without the hair of a Demiguise (apeaceful herbivorous creature that canmake itself invisible) to hand, the teamattached strips of copper tape to apolycarbonate film, making the materialthinner and more flexible.

However, there is an obvious flaw foranyone interested in looking to becomeinvisible anytime soon, as the miniatureversion of the famous wizard�s cloak onlyworks in microwave light. By scatteringand cancelling out incoming waves,researchers were able to successfullyhide an 18 cm tall cylindrical rod fromthe human eye. (DB, 03.10.14)

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Golden Tweet of 2014Twitter has released its 2014 trends

for India and also the world. The biggesttake away fromthe trends is thatPrime MinisterNarendra Modiof India was apower player onTwitter in 2014.His victorystatement wasdeemed as�Golden Tweetfor 2014�, for India.

Modi�s popularity on social media iswell known and he is the second mostfollowed politician after the US PresidentBarack Obama. He was even rankedtwice amongst the top five conversationsin India.

Modi�s victory tweet was retweetedmore than 70,000 times, while it hadmore than 45,000 favourites.

The year 2014 was clearly an eventfulyear. Not only the Indian Lok Sabhaelections were held but also Brazil hostedthe Football World Cup in June and July.World Cup 2014 was the fastest risinghashtag in India followed by #MH370referring to the missing MalaysianAirlines aircraft, which is feared to belost. (IT, 10.12.14)

Housewife�s Yearly SalaryA state tribunal of Tamil Nadu

created furore after it stated that themonetised value of domesticresponsibilities that home-makersdischarge is M1250 a month. This is themonetised value of domesticresponsibilities that home-makersdischarge 24x7, according to a motoraccident claims tribunal in the State.

The statement came to light when atribunal in Virudhunagar district situatedin south-west of Chennai awarded apaltry M1.62 lakh as compensation forthe accident of a woman, keeping M1.62

lakh as compensation for the accidentof a woman, considering M15,000 as thenotional income of a housewife. Slammingthe tribunal for its narrow-mindednessthe Madras High Court raised thecompensation to M6.76 lakh.

(ToI, 31.12.14)

Living in the MomentThe isolated village of Hogewey

situated on the outskirts of Amsterdam,The Netherlands � is known as�Dementia Village�. All inhabitants of thisDutch village are suffering from a mentaldisorder �dementia�.

At first glance, it looks like any othervillage with shops, restaurants and evena movie theatre. Moreover, Hogewey isa cutting-edge elderly-care facility withonly 152 inhabitants � roughly the sizeof 10 football fields � where residentsare given the chance to live normal lives.

Unlike typical villages, however, thisone has cameras monitoring residentsevery hour of every day. Care-takersbeing in street clothes, and only one doorin and out of the town � all part of asecurity system designed to keep thecommunity safe. Friends and family areencouraged to visit this village.

(TA, 14.11.14)

Warning to DoctorsBihar Chief Minister

Jitan Ram Manjhi hascourted controversyafter threateningthe governmentdoctors that hewould chop offtheir hands if theyare found truant intreating the poorpatients.

�If the doctors will be found truantin treating poor patients, I will chop offtheir hands�I will not waste any timein taking action against them�, Manjhisaid. The Chief Minister also declared thatthere should be no shortage of drugs ingovernment hospitals.

�Since I too come from a poor familyI know the problems and trouble theyface in their everyday life so they mustbe treated properly�, Manjhi stated.Manjhi recently hogged headlines statingthat the marriageable age of boys andgirls should be raised to 25 years fortheir good health. (TH, 18.11.14)

Beware of Social Media AddictionA recent study of University of

Albany, New York, has concluded thatexcessive use of online social networkingcan not only be addictive, but might alsobe associated with other impulse controldisorders, including substance abuse.

Albany University psychologist JuliaHormes has been recently leading a teamof researchers in assessing the addictivenature of social media � specificallyFacebook.

In October, �Facebook� reportedover 1.35bn active users with 800 millionpeople logging on daily. Amongst theactive users, a 2013 consumer reportfound 71 percent people currentlyaccessing social media from their mobiledevice.

(http://www.albany.edu/news/56604.php.09.12.14)

Decline in Wild AnimalsThe number of wild animals on earth

has halved during the past four decades,according to a new analysis. Creaturesacross land, rivers and seas are beingdecimated as humans kill them for foodin unsustainable numbers while pollutingor destroying their habitats, accordingto a research at WWF (world�s largestconservation organisation) andZoological Society of London.

The steep decline in animal, fish andbird numbers was calculated byanalysing 10,000 different populations,covering 3,000 species in total.

This data was then, for the first time,used to create a representative �LivingPlanet Index� (LPI) reflecting the state ofall 45,000 known vertebrates.

(BL, 01,10.14)

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Attest your own documentsIn order to make dealing with

government agencies easy theRajasthan Government, in a circular,has abolished the system of submittingaffidavits and has introduced a systemof �self attestation� of documents.

An official claimed that afterGujarat, Goa, Kerala, Punjab and

Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan would bethe sixth State to adopt the selfattestation system. In August 2014,Narendra Modi had asked unionministeries and state governments tofacil itate self-certif ication ofdocuments.

Moreover, affidavits will only besubmitted if required as per existinglaws and a photograph of a personmaking the declaration should benecessarily affixed on the declaration.

(HT, 25.11.14)

Counter Magnet CityA high-level meeting chaired by

Additional Chief Secretary (ACS),Urban Development and HousingDepartment and Department of SelfGovernance (UDH) of RajashanAshok Jain has directed the officialsto seek financial assistance fromNational Capital Region PlanningBoard (NCRPB) to make Jaipur acounter magnet city.

Two detailed project reportsdemanding M2,200 crore and M1500crore for drainage and sewerage,respectively would be sent to theBoard. The 33rd meeting of the NCRPBunder the chairmanship of formerUnion Minister Kamal Nath had givenapproval for the development of Jaipurinto a counter magnet city.

The concept aims at a superfastgrowth of the city to stop themigration of locals to Delhi and othernational capital region areas forseeking employment. (DNA, 30.12.14)

Consumer-friendly Web-siteThe website of Public Health

Engineering Department (PHED)Rajasthan is set to be more up datedand made consumer-friendly in thecoming days. It will have detailsrelated to the consumers, such as billpayment and details of various smalland big projects of the PHED.

As a result, the people who runfrom pillar to post to get informationon development of any particularscheme in their area, will be updatedby just logging into the web-site.

The decision was taken afterPHED Minister Kiran Maheshwariexplored the web-site of thedepartment and asked to make it moretransparent and informative.

(DNA, 26.11.14)

Year of Road SafetyThe Rajasthan Government will

celebrate 2015 as road safety yearand is planning to constitute aseparate Directorate for it in theTransport Department. The StateTransport Minister, Yunus Khan saidthat people are not sincere aboutroad safety and increasing fatalitiesand this is an issue of big concern.

�To create awareness amongpublic, we would like to take up 2015as road safety year. We will tryto reach out to everyone and tellthem about the issues involved�, saidKhan.

Moreover, there is a proposal toset up a separate division whose

mandate will only be to bring downthe road accidents and fatalities inState, indicated the Minister.

(ToI, 21.12.14)

MyCity: Consultation Series onUrban Governance

A series of the consultations under �MyCity� project of CUTS Consumer Action Research and Training (CART) were organised in Jaipur, to get

the feedback of different stakeholders including elected representatives, officialsand civil society organisations (CSOs). On November 27, 2014 therepresentatives of CSOs took part to discuss the issue of urban governancein the city and role of CSOs to improve the quality of services.

The Consultation was very fruitful in acquiring the feedback from differentorganisations for going ahead in �MyCity� project and was helpful for theparticipants to learn from the views and experiences from the speakers andother CSOs.

Newly elected councilors of Jaipur city were part of another consultationheld on December 30, 2014. Other than the councilors, the representativesof the partner CSOs actively participated in the meeting and interactedwith the councilors. Jagdish Sharma, Senior Town Planner, Jaipur MunicipalCorporation (JMC) applauded the efforts of �MyCity� for creating thespace for citizens� participation.

Drive JaipurAccording to aunique roadsafety initiative�Times TrafficMarshal� byTimes Group,any Jaipurresident havingwitnessed a violation of roadsafety rules by anyone can takea picture of the erring person orvehicle and share with a briefdescription of the event onTwitter@Mytimesjaipur or Emailit to drivejaipur@gmail.com with�Times Traffic Marshal� in thesubject line. (ToI, 05.11.14)

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Phase I Sites InspectedDelhi Metro Rail Cooperation (DMRC) Chief Mangu

Singh has inspected the sites at Badi Chaupar and ChotiChaupar, where the work of Jaipur Metro is underprogress. The first phase of Jaipur Metro will be fromBadi Chaupar to Chandpole and from Chandpole toMansarovar.

Singh inspected the sites at Badi Chaupar and ChotiChaupar in the walled city area where undergroundstations will be constructed. He also visited other stationsfrom in the train. After taking a trial visit to stationsfrom Chandpole to Mansarovar in the Metro heinspected the Mansarovar depot and the yardalso. Besides, he expressed satisfaction at the progressof the ongoing work of the Jaipur Metro. (ET, 27.12.14)

Services from March 2015The Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRC) officials

said that Jaipur Metro phase-1A from Mansarovar toChandpole is likely to commercially run from March2015. The officials also mentioned that Jaipur Metrophase-1A from Mansarovar to Chandpole being underconstruction, its civil work would be completed shortly.The Jaipur Metro recently has also obtained safetycertificate from Independent Safety Assessor.

Moreover, after getting the approval from ChiefCommissioner of Railway Safety, Lucknow, rolling stockfrom Railway Board has to be obtained. Thereafter, theentire system will be checked by the Commissioner ofMetro Rail Safety, Mumbai. After completing all theseprocesses, Metro rail could be commercially started fromMarch 2015. The officials of the Corporation also saidthat JMRC has invited tenders from e-rickshaw, four-wheelers and minivan etc. for feeder services. (HT, 31.12.14)

Exploring Investment PossibilitiesThe possibilities of investment on Public-private

Partnership for the phase 2 of Jaipur metro wereexplored in a discussion between the Singapore teamof experts and the officials of Rajasthan Governmentand JMRC.

As the phase 2 is a project having estimated cost ofM10,000 crore, the meeting was fruitful as the Singapore

team acquired the detailed project report and woulddiscuss with the various investors in their country.

The Singapore team has shown immense interest afterChief Minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje visitedSingapore and had a meeting with the authorities of LandTransport Authority of Singapore.

Moreover, on being asked about the possibility ofinvestors from Singapore for the phase 2, a senior officersaid, �The team will brief the land development authority,Singapore, which is a government body and later willalso brief about the detailed project report of phase 2�.

(ToI, 20.11.14)

One Lakh Smartcards for Metro RunAnticipating huge rush on Jaipur Metro�s inaugural

run, which is expected in March 2015, JMRC hasprocured nearly 1 lakh smartcards for the commuters.For smart access, Jaipur Metro will have various amenitiesfor them.

While the patchwork at the four stations is in progress,JMRC is aiming to complete the work by December 31,2014 and expecting maiden run by March 31, 2015 theofficials are burning midnight oil to chalk out �passenger-friendly� ticket fares and make ticket collection systemeasier.

Ashwani Saxena, Director (Project), JMRC indicatedthat a few runs will be organised before the maiden runto get people acquainted with the usage of smartcardsthere would be many in Jaipur who have never usedsmartcards as automatic fare collection system to travelin a Metro. (ToI, 11.11.14)

Metro Updates

Flying Start to TourismSoon, seaplanes would be seen

taking-off and landing in the lakes andrivers across Rajasthan. It soundsunbelievable but Union TransportMinister Nitin Gadkari announcedthis on the first anniversary of RajeGovernment in State.

�Next month I would be holdinga meeting with the companies

bodies. This will boost tourism sectorin State�, Gadkari added.

�Such planes can land on 100metre-long water stretch. Thus no biginfrastructure of airport will berequired for landing of planes. Prioritywould be given to Rajasthan tocommence this service as it is a toolto enhance the tourism sector�,Gadkari added. (DNA, 14.12.14)

manufacturing such planes. If theproposal goes well then landing ofseaplanes would be possible on water

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CityMattersCityMattersCityMattersCityMattersCityMatters is a quarterly newsletter published by Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS), D-217, Bhaskar Marg, Bani Park, Jaipur 302016, India,Phone: 91.141.2282821, Fax: 91.141.2282485 Email: cuts@cuts.org, Web site: www.cuts-international.org, and printed by Jaipur Printers P. Ltd., Jaipur, India.

CUTS offices also at Kolkata, Chittorgarh and New Delhi (India); Lusaka (Zambia); Nairobi (Kenya); Accra (Ghana); Hanoi (Vietnam); and Geneva (Switzerland).

Sources: DB: Dainik Bhaskar; DNA: Daily News Analysis; ET: Economic Times; HT: Hindustan Times; IT: India Today;NN: Nafa Nuksan; OC: OddiCentral; RP: Rajasthan Patrika; TA: The Atlantic; TH: The Hindu; ToI: Times of India

OpinionOpinionOpinionOpinionOpinion

Rajasthan: Weaving Magic towards a Promising FutureRajasthan: Weaving Magic towards a Promising FutureRajasthan: Weaving Magic towards a Promising FutureRajasthan: Weaving Magic towards a Promising FutureRajasthan: Weaving Magic towards a Promising Future

Rajasthan being rich in natural resources enjoys aunique strategic location and market access. From

its colour charged cities to the luminous splendour ofits desert with bountiful resources and excellentconnectivity the State has systematically created policyenvironment. Likewise, it also holds vast pool of trainedmanpower, with policy environment for business to growand is undeniably progressing towards a bright future.Some of the focus sectors that contribute in RajasthanGovernment�s vision of growth and development include:

Urban InfrastructureA number of ambitious infrastructure projects have

been undertaken in the recent past. Bus Rapid TransitSystem and Metro Rail project are already beingimplemented in Jaipur. Rajasthan has the second largestnetwork of National Highways in the country with atotal highway length exceeding 7,310 km. The totalroad length in the State is approximately 195,850 km.The length of railway routes in the State at the end ofMarch, 2012 was 5,822.28 km. Furthermore, the Stateis aggressively building an extensive network of majordrinking water projects across the the same. It hassanctioned 109 large drinking water projects, which willbenefit 83 cities and more than 18000 villages.

Industrial PowerWith firm steps to augment availability of power for

industrial, commercial, domestic and agriculturalconsumption, Rajasthan has arrived at a total powergeneration capacity of over 15000 MW with over 23percent from renewable energy sources. To fuel industrialdevelopment, the State plans to add another 6500 MVin generation capacity, over the next five years.Recognising the role that business can play and valuingpartnerships in growth the Government of Rajasthanwill be organising the �Resurgent Rajasthan PartnershipSummit� on November 19-20, 2015 in Jaipur. In addition,the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will beorganising its flagship international investors meet � �ThePartnership Summit 2015� in association with the Ministryof Commerce and Industry, Government of India, inJaipur from 15-17 January, 2015.

IT Enabled ServicesThe State offers a number of competitive advantages to

Information Technology (IT) and IT companies. It has over 1,300technical educational institutional with an annual intake capacityof over 2.2 lakh students. The State Government has also setup the Rajasthan Knowledge Corporation Limited to promoteIT literacy on a large scale. The State accounts for highestnumber of India�s financial professionals: Chartered Accountants(CAs), Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICWAs). TheGovernment has also set up the Rajasthan KnowledgeCorporation Limited to promote IT literacy on a larger scale.

Financial ServicesRajasthan is known to produce proficient and skilled finance

and accounts professionals like chartered accountants, costaccountants, cost accountants and company secretaries, in largenumbers. This coupled with low cost of operations makes theState an attractive location for setting up back office operationsin accounting and finance and financial services. Numerousfinancial Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) including ICICIbank and Deutsche bank are already operating in the State.

TourismDotted with rugged forts and beautiful palaces, lakes, wildlife

and bird sanctuaries, charming cities, fairs and festivals andcolourful culture, Rajasthan is one of the most favoured touristdestinations in the country for both, domestic and foreigntourists. �Lonely Planet� Magazine selected Rajasthan as the bestCultural Destination at the Lonely Planet Magazine IndiaTravel Awards in 2013. Moreover, in 2013, over 31.73 milliontourists visited Rajasthan.

Quality of LifeThe cities of Rajasthan have excellent educational institutions

including public and convent schools affiliated to Central Boardof Secondary Education (CBSE) and Indian Certificate ofSecondary Education (ICSE) Boards. In addition, undergraduateand postgraduate colleges and technical colleges offer a varietyof traditional and new age courses. As far as the healthcare isconcerned Rajasthan offers opportunity for private sectorinvestment in medical and healthcare institutions and medical,dental and paramedical colleges.

� This feature has been abridged from the journal �Rajasthan is Ready� published by the Bureau of Investment Promotion, Rajasthan