More water, advanced health care, better transport, hi-tech education and accurate weather predictions are some positive changes you can expect next year.
More water, advanced health care, better transport, hi-tech education and accurate weather predictions are some positive changes you can expect next year. Team DNA gives you a glimpse of what’s on the cards
Meeting city’s water demand
Mumbai will get 455 million litres of water daily (mld) extra with the Mumbai IV water supply project becoming functional from November next year.
Under this project, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has proposed to further augment water supply to Mumbai by 455 mld by building the Middle Vaitarna dam between upper and lower Vaitarna storage in Thane district at a cost of Rs2,500 crore.
The water from middle Vaitarna dam will then be released into the lower lake called Modak Sagar in a controlled manner from where it will be drawn for treatment and then supplied to the city.
Mumbai currently receives 3,350 mld of water from Upper Vaitarna, Bhatsa, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Vihar and Tulsi lakes, though it requires 3,800 mld.
“With the completion of the Mumbai IV water supply project, we will be able to meet the water requirement of around 3,900 mld to the city,” said Ramesh Bambhale, chief engineer of the civic hydraulic department.
The Middle Vaitarna dam project was recommended by Chitale Committee in 1993. But, it got delayed as it was awaiting clearance from the Central government. The work on the construction of the dam finally started in 2007.
The civic administration is also studying the prospects of generating hydropower from the Middle Vaitarna dam.
You’ll have more travel options
You will be able to hop into a metro rail and monorail in 2012. Small sections of both the modes should be up and running, if things go well. The metro has been planned between Ghatkopar-Andheri-Versova.
The monorail has been planned between Chembur-Wadala-Jacob Circle areas.
While the section between Versova and Andheri of the metro rail may see trains running by December, the monorail route between Chembur and Wadala is likely to be operational by May 2012.
In June 2006, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the first phase of the metro project. The metro will be built in three phases at a total cost of Rs36,000 crore. The construction work began in February 2008 and the first line of Phase I is expected to be completed in 2012.
The first metro line between Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar has been delayed while work on the Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd line is yet to begin because of protests from people along the proposed alignment.
The monorail work started in 2009 along the Chembur-Wadala-Jacob Circle route. A 108-m test run was successfully conducted on January 26, 2010. The Chembur-Wadala-Jacob Circle line is the only one under construction. The first portion of this line between Chembur and Wadala is expected to be operational in May 2012.
International touch for public transport
The city’s public transport system will get an international makeover in 2012 with the railways, public bus undertaking and taxi drivers planning to induct global brands in their fleet.
While the railways have placed an order for suburban trains from airline giant Bombardier, the BEST undertaking will get Volvos and a new radio taxi operator will ply Toyotas. “The new Mumbai locals that is expected to add to the commuters’ comfort will be manufactured taking into account the city high temperature, humidity and heavy rains, which cause flooding on tracks,’’ a senior rail official said.
Bombardier, which has got a contract for 72 new 12-car trains, will make the electrical engines in Gujarat in consultation with German engineers, transport them to Chennai to be fitted on rail coaches and then deliver them to Mumbai where they will be formally commissioned, he added. The delivery of the equipment will start in the last quarter of 2012.
In 2012, Mumbaikars will also have the pleasure of travelling in better buses and taxis.
The BEST undertaking will complete the procurement of 44 new air-conditioned Volvo buses. Only six such buses have been pressed into service till date. A new radio taxi firm will begin operations and gradually roll out 4,000 Toyota Etios in its fleet early next year.
Kasab appeal SC to pass verdict
Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone captured Pakistani terrorist, has exhausted his last legal option by challenging his conviction in the Mumbai terror attack case in the Supreme Court.
From January 31, 2012, every day the Supreme Court will hear his appeal against the Bombay high court judgment upholding the death sentence handed down to him. “We expect the judgment within a few months as the appreciation of the evidence has already been done by the Bombay high court,” said Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, who will represent the state government in the Supreme Court.
On November 22, 2008, 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives left Karachi port and sailed into Mumbai in the night of November 26, 2008. While eight of them went to their pre-determined locations — Nariman House, Cafe Leopold, Hotel Taj Mahal Palace and Hotel Trident-Oberoi — Kasab and Ismail Khan opened fire on the commuters at CST, and then moved on to Cama hospital, where they gunned down three senior police officers. The police gunned down Khan and apprehended Kasab.
After a year-long trial, the special ATS court convicted Kasab in May 2011 and sentenced him to death for waging war against India, murder, conspiracy to murder and committing terrorist activities. Since his arrest, Kasab has been in solitary confinement in an explosive-proof cell at Arthur Road Jail.
Weather dept to get it right now
Expect better weather predictions next year with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to commission its Doppler radar in the city in June.
The advanced radar system can precisely study the cloud reflectivity and provide data on movement of clouds and their intensity. This will help the IMD accurately forecast how much rainfall will occur in which area and at what time.
“The Doppler radar will help the IMD give accurate forecasts not just during monsoon, but throughout the year. We have already installed the radar, but the official commissioning will be done next year,” said VK Rajeev, IMD director.
The installation of the radar was started in 2010 at Navy Nagar in Colaba a cost of Rs20 crore. But, it was not commissioned then because there were “a few disturbances in the readings”. The officials are currently studying the observations of the radar to eradicate these glitches.
Earlier, the IMD had conventional radar which recorded readings every two to three hours. But, the advanced Doppler radar will automatically record observations in a radius of 500km every 10 minutes and feed the reading.
Shot in the arm for health care
Health care in the city will see a boom in 2012 because new hospitals will be opened and around 1,000 new beds will be added to the existing infrastructure.
Global Hospital at Parel will open to the public in 2012. It will start with 225 beds. It will be the city’s transplant specialty centre and will focus on organ transplant.
Work on Wockhardt Hospital’s project in Mumbai Central is almost complete. SevenHills at Andheri is planning to increase its bed strength.
“The city will see smaller boutique specialised hospitals such as eye care centre, daycare surgery centre and cosmetic centre. In 2012, the healthcare sector in the city will be more privatised and organised,” said Dr Vivek Desai, managing director, Hosmac consultancy services which deals in health care.
He said the city will see a steep growth in the daycare surgery market. The daycare surgery involves lesser pain and patients can go home on the same day. “Mumbai has seen a rush of healthcare providers setting up super-specialty hospitals with advanced facilities. Hospitals are seeking recognition from insurance companies abroad so that the patients can avail health insurance as they would in their own country,” added Dr Desai.
New-look classrooms
University of Mumbai and SNDT Women’s University are both set for a makeover in 2012.
-
Students of the University of Mumbai will get a chance to have their own tablet PCs — Aakash, an android based wi-fi enabled tablet PC with a price tag of Rs1,138. The PC will double up as e-book. Colleges reeling under a series of exams under credit system plan to start online exams for Under Graduate courses. SNDT Women’s University plans wi-fi-enabled classrooms.
-
National Knowledge network will take University of Mumbai under its wings next year. This will narrow the gap between the elite and poor colleges as lectures of top professors will be shown live to students. The virtual network will help the university hold virtual meetings, viva and interviews.
-
Post Graduate students brace up to work harder as credit system will be introduced this year. You can also pursue two degrees simultaneously in two different faculties.
-
The boring syllabi of BA and B Com will also undergo a modern and industry-friendly look. Harvard University officials will come down to Mumbai to train your professors.
-
lAnd then, if you want to believe in rumours, the university’s controversial posts of registrar and controller of examination may be given to IAS officers to overhaul the system.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}