======================================= Fortnightly News Bulletin (September 18, 2012) ========================================
This fortnight, Sunita Narain's editorial on our penchant for opting for short-term solutions to clear the traffic logjam in our cities comes against the backdrop of a court order which puts the Delhi BRT (bus rapid transit) back on its track for the moment. Soundly reviled and railed against -- mostly by users of private cars -- the BRT had recently suffered a serious setback in law courts. Just scroll down for the editorial and a Down To Earth web special... Among the other things that we bring you in this issue, there is our campaign against junk food, which will be taking another giant stride -- this time with a 'Junk the Junk Food' Quarterthon, being organised in Delhi on October 14, 2012. To join in the run, do check our website for details... =============================================================================================== To subscribe to this newsletter, or any of our other newsletters, please click on http://cseindia.my2.in/cseindia/?p=subscribe To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just click http://www.cseindia.org/content/please-enter-your-email-id-unsubscribe-cse-newsletter If you have any questions or concerns about newsletter subscription, please contact Vikas Khanna at [email protected] ================================== EDITORIAL: Temporary solution, permanent jam by Sunita Narain ================================== I write this stuck in traffic. Nothing unusual. But my location makes me realise, once again, how our highway route to progress is going nowhere. The road I am using is newly commissioned and expensive. It is the 28-km Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, which was built just a few years ago to take care of the explosion of traffic between the two cities. It is access-controlled, with a 32-lane toll plaza, and was to provide easy access and a fun ride. The concessionaire—built as it is under the famous public private partnership model—took all steps to keep it prized for cars. “Slow-moving” traffic like motorcycles, bicycles and even three-wheelers were banned on it. It did not last long. Soon traffic snarled up at the toll plaza became an everyday event; commuters decried the daily nightmare and the courts stepped in to fix it. Last month, the Punjab and Haryana High Court banned the collection of toll charges for 15 days, saying it was not satisfied that all efforts were being made to make travel easier. Cars could now speed past and not wait to pay toll. But all is not well. Cars speed past the toll and then come to a dead halt at the next junction—this is where I am stuck on my way back to office from the airport. And then it hits you how this highway is going nowhere. Every time a new expressway or a flyover is built, the point of traffic congestion just shifts; it does not disappear. Roads become a parking lot. How do we move ahead then? In this case government agencies still think they will crawl out of the traffic mess by doing more of the same. Pushed by the judiciary, they are considering adding toll lanes to accommodate more cars. But they do not stop to think that this will not work. In 2008, when the expressway was commissioned, roughly 0.1 million vehicles crossed the toll plaza. In just four years the number doubled. Now 0.2 million vehicles pass through the toll gates each day. More toll gates are built and more roads and flyovers commissioned. The solution is temporary but the jams are permanent. This is the point we miss. In Delhi, an experiment for the future options has gone horribly wrong because the city failed to understand its imperative. The bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor was conceived to provide fast movement to public transport vehicles. The idea was that bus transportation needed reliability, and this needed fast track corridors to move people, not vehicles. The plan was to build 14 corridors adding up to some 200 km to make the bus transportation network a real option for commuters. This combined with the metro train system would give Delhi a scaled up alternative for mobility. But from the very start the corridor ran into trouble. Car owners hated it. They said space had been reduced for their travel. The road space left for buses was envied. Once again, the judiciary came to the defence of the powerful. In this case, the Delhi High Court passed interim orders, destroying the corridor by allowing cars to move into spaces reserved for bicycles and buses. The report of the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI)—commissioned specially for the court—added to the frenzy against the bus corridor. More importantly, it showed just how blinkered the view of premier road planners is in the country. The institution can see roads, but not people. In the study, CRRI spoke to car owners to establish that speeds were down and concluded that the corridor was not working. It needed to go. But what it glossed over was its own figures that show in peak hours the traffic is not better or worse on BRT than on the non-BRT road taken as a control in the study. But what is better in BRT is that many more people get moved in this road space than in the control road, Aurobindo Marg. At a crowded junction on BRT—Chirag Delhi—some 22,000 passengers cross during peak hours. On the control road at the AIIMS crossing, only 11,000 passengers cross during peak hours. In a 16-hour day, some 200,000 passengers cross this point at BRT; less than 100,000 cross the crowded junction on non-BRT. The key difference is the capacity of the road because of the way people travel. On BRT, at Chirag Delhi, some 50 per cent passengers are moved in buses; cars move 26 per cent. At the AIIMS crossing cars move 43 per cent of the passengers; buses only 31 per cent. Cars use more space; crowd the road and move far fewer people. If our educated road planners count people and not vehicles they will learn what works and what does not. This is not to say BRT cannot work better. There is no doubt this corridor, the first of the many that were never built, can be improved. It must provide for even better access for pedestrians, spend more on buses and improvise to ease the most congested spots. But the bottom line is our cities cannot accommodate present and future car populations. Doing more of the same is not the way ahead. The only way is to find big ideas for big mobility transition. The problem is that people do not matter in our cities; cars do. In this situation, BRT becomes the hate symbol while people waste time in traffic jams. This is not the future we seek. I hope. Post your comments on this editorial online at http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/temporary-solution-permanent-jam ========================= MORE FROM DOWN TO EARTH ========================= - Cover Story: Universal health scare In the 12th Five Year Plan, the Planning commission is considering an insurance scheme, which will allow a major role to private players. 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Down to Earth magazine is now available on your iPad too. For more information and ordering please visit us at : http://www.magzter.com/IN/Society-for-Environmental-Comm/Down-To-Earth/Technology/ Down To Earth is also on Google+. Please "+1" at https://plus.google.com/106293307783638713083 Down To Earth is on Facebook and Twitter. Do follow us, share, comment, and discuss and stay in constant touch with our reporters on www.facebook.com/down2earthindia and twitter@downtoearthindia. =========================== Web DTE =========================== - Nuclear protests: Down To Earth presents a selection of articles that chronicle the battles fought over the nuclear power facilities: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/kudankulam-protests - Photo Gallery: An ordeal by water http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/389 - Blogs: Diesel price hike: no scope for roll back 'Not raising diesel prices would harm economy much more' http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/diesel-price-hike-no-scope-roll-back - Blogs: High court restores BRT lane to buses Segregated traffic movement to be in place till court pronounces final verdict on whether BRT corridor should be retained http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/high-court-restores-brt-lane-buses - Blogs: The beauty & beast of malnutrition Lack of governance, not figure-conscious girls, behind undernourished Gujarat http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/beauty-beast-malnutrition =========================== On India Environment Portal =========================== FREE ALERT SERVICES ON THE India Environment Portal (IEP) IEP team regularly identifies and sources new studies and reports on environment and development. To remain updated, do subscribe to this free service http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/reports-documents/rss Also subscribe to the exclusive Daily Environment News Service here http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/daily-news-bulletin/rss Contact: Kiran Pandey (kiran@cseindia,org, [email protected]) -------------------------------------------------------------- New on the Renewable Energy Portal - Photo essay on the 'Solar Trick' A number of solar mission projects are operational only on paper. The government has decided to act tough with 14 companies which did not commission their solar power projects in time (http://re.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/feature-article/solar-trick) --------------------------------------------------------------------- CSE Photo Library presents a selection of photos on environment and development by Anil Agarwal and Sunita Narain http://www.flickr.com/photos/csepictures/sets/72157628728282841/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/csepictures/sets/72157628849514621/ ---------------------------------------------------------------- India Environment Portal is now on Facebook and Twitter. Do follow us, share, comment, and discuss and stay in constant touch with us on http://www.facebook.com/pages/indiaenvironmentportal/228015872817 and http://www.twitter.com/indiaenvportal For more details or any assistance, contact Kiran Pandey at [email protected], [email protected] not what you do not know. Don't expose your ignorance before others. ============================================= LEARNING WITH CSE Courses offered by Anil Agarwal Green College ============================================= Managing Urban Air Quality: Focus on Clean Vehicle Technology and Fuels An orientation programme for policy makers Date: September 25 – 27, 2012 Course content: - Pollution challenge of urbanisation - Understanding air quality, trends and monitoring in Indian cities - Why vehicles are a special challenge? - Meeting national ambient air quality standards - Vehicle technology and clean fuel roadmap - Gaseous fuel programme – emissions and safety management - Vehicle technology and fuel economy - Challenges of in-use vehicles and transit traffic - Vehicle inspection system in India and ways to improve it For details contact: Priyanka Chandola [email protected] Course details: http://www.cseindia.org/content/orientation-programme-managing-urban-air-quality-focus-clean-vehicle-technology-and-fuels-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sustainable Buildings -- Policy & Practices for Architects and Engineers of CPWD October 3-5, 2012 New Delhi CSE is orgainisng a training programme exclusively for the CPWD officers from different technical backgrounds. The three day programme aims to deepen the understanding of existing policies, their potential and constraints in promoting efficient use of resources and minimizing waste in buildings. The programme explores the scope of harmonising the policy-driven and market-driven approaches to accelerate the adoption of resource-efficient practices in buildings. Please contact: Sakshi Dasgupta at 9811910901 / [email protected] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- CSE’s short-term training programme on Social Impact Assessment Date: October 8-10, 2012 Last date of application: October 1, 2012 Course Module: - Exposure to aspects of SIA, from theory to applications - Integrated approach for addressing SIA and EIA process - Knowledge on review of SIA reports and identification of strengths and weaknesses - Post SIA monitoring - Procedure for institutional strengthening and capacity building - Experience sharing on national and international best practices in SIA For details contact: Swati Singh Sambyal [email protected] Mobile: 9910496283 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EIA training programme: Understanding EIA -- from screening to decision making Date: October 29 - November 2, 2012 Last Date for Applying: October 22, 2012 Course Module: - Exposure to all aspects of EIA, from its theory to the practical – such as better understanding regarding - Better understanding of the EIA process – from screening, scoping, data collection to impact assessment as well as the role of public consultation - Better understanding of the environmental and social impacts of the industrial and developmental projects - Better ability to review EIA reports and identify its strengths and weaknesses - Increased ability to play active role in post-EIA monitoring. For details contact: Swati Singh Sambyal [email protected] Mobile: 9910496283 Website: http://cseindia.org/content/eia-training-programme-understanding-eiafrom-screening-decision-making ================================= UPDATES FROM OUR PROGRAMME UNITS ================================= - Release of study on industrial pollution in Sonbhadra September 28, 2012, Lucknow CSE's Pollution Monitoring Laboratory has carried out an extensive analysis of water and soil samples and biological samples like blood, nails and hair of people. The focus area for the study includes Anpara, Shaktinagar, Obra and Renukoot. Pollution in the area is not new and has been talked about for many years, but no action has been taken to check it. This has led to long term health impacts which have now started to show up in the population of the region. For details, get in touch with Sugandh Juneja at [email protected] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - Media workshop for Marathi journalists Goa, September 27-28, 2012 CSE, and the Marathi Journalists Association of Goa, are organising a workshop for regional journalists on environmental issues and their reportage. For details, please get in touch with Papia Samajdar at [email protected], or call her at 09811906977 -------------------------------------------------------------- - CSE's South Asian media briefing on climate change The annual media meet, open to journalists from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, is scheduled this year on November 16-17, 2012. For details, please check http://cseindia.org/content/south-asian-media-briefing-workshop-climate-change-2012 To apply, just write to Papia Samajdar at [email protected] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Third National Research Conference on Climate Change Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru November 3-4, 2012 CALL FOR ABSTRACTS Deadline for call for abstracts for the Third National Research Conference on Climate Change extended by a week. Submit your abstracts by September 22, 2012. For more information, go to www.icrn.in or contact Indrajit Bose at [email protected] Details: http://cseindia.org/content/third-national-research-conference-climate-change or write to Indrajit? ---------------------------------------------------- - RainWater Harvesting Technical Support Every Friday between 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm, CSE provides detailed technical guidance to interested individuals, RWAs and institutions to implement rainwater harvesting. This technical assistance is provided at CSE’s office at 41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi. For details, see http://www.cseindia.org/content/catch-rainwater-solve-your-water-problems ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Technical advice: Decentralised wastewater treatment systems Every second and fourth Friday, meet our experts at CSE, 41, Tughlaqabad Institutional Area for guidance on planning and designing these systems. For details, contact Deblina at [email protected] or call her on 9899596661. ==================================== The CSE Store ==================================== Into the Furnace: The life cycle analysis of Indian iron and steel industry The latest publication from CSE -- a report of the green rating of one of India's key industrial sectors. For details and to order, just go to http://csestore.cse.org.in/books/environment/into-the-furnace-1.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Food as toxin “All substances are poisons; the right dose differentiates a poison and a remedy.” Modern food regulation is about determining what is that right dose in our daily diet. How is food safety defined? What are the global systems that regulate food safety? What does ‘Acceptable Daily Intake’ (ADI) mean? Why do we have to accept pesticides in our food? If you are also troubled with questions like these and some more, you are not alone. It concerns the health and well being of every family, and that's why we did a careful in-depth research and came out with this revealing new book, which will give you all the answers. For more details please contact us at [email protected]. -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________
