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Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008
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New Delhi

Inside delhi

Special checking drives

How many times does it happen that just when one is done with waving out our final good-byes at the railway station and the train finally begins to pull out of the platform, it comes to a grinding halt confirming that irksome feeling of some passenger having pulled the alarm chain. Aimed to come to the rescue of passengers in an emergency situation, alarm chain pulling is many times resorted to as a prank delaying the train and hassling passengers unnecessarily.

However, deciding to act in the matter and take action against any such violators, Northern Railway launched a special checking drive here this past month.

The drive also included booking people for various other offences including travelling without or with improper ticket, carrying un-booked luggage, unauthorised hawking, trespassing, travelling on train roofs and footboards among others.

Interestingly, the drive conducted on trains and stations under the Delhi Division led to the arrest of over 1,800 passengers by the Railway Protection Force and the checking squad.

These people were arrested for committing various offences under different sections. 1,775 passengers paid fine of over Rs.3.96 lakh, 107 arrested persons were under trial and 11 persons had been sent to jail.

Manisha Jha

The poor man’s vehicle

As an environment friendly mode of transport, the humble bicycle gets a commendation every now and then.

There is no dearth of numbers when it comes to paying lip service to how cycles need to make a comeback on the congested roads of the city.

But when it comes to implementing the very least that will encourage the use of bicycles, inertia takes over interest.

The concern for cyclists remains confined to the National Urban Transport Policy, 2006, that emphasises the use of public transport and pedestrianism and calls for switching to non-motorised vehicles.

The suggestions spelt out by the policy, including building roads that have designated cycle paths and flyovers that should be so designed to allow the movement of pedestrians and cyclists are conspicuous by their absence.

What’s more, in the city where big cars are the bellwether of an individual’s accomplishments, the cycle is the poor man’s vehicle. An aberration is the Delhi Metro railways recently started rent-a-cycle service, because cycling within the university campus in itself is a statement.

As for the rest of the city, the cycle remains infra dig. This explains the reason why when a rashly driven luxury car near Lutyens’ Delhi almost rammed into a cyclist the other day, the passers-by including the traffic cop chose to berate the cyclists for “coming in the way.”

Smriti Kak Ramachandran

A man with a mission

Rajpal Singh Chouhan is a man with a mission. He wants to bond with the common man in Pakistan and China through his own unique way.

“I will travel to the two neighbouring countries on my cycle to promote people-to-people friendship and camaraderie,” said the 51-year-old Rajasthan Administrative Services officer at Rajasthan House here on Monday.

Stating that the cycle evoked a lot of sympathy from the local people, Chouhan says: “This is why I have chosen this eco-friendly means of transport. I want to strike an emotional chord with the common man on the streets of Islamabad and Xian.”

Chouhan will start off from the historic Golden Temple in Amritsar on Wednesday. “I will enter Pakistan through the Wagah border and celebrate Independence Day of Pakistan at Atchison College in Lahore with students and other dignitaries. From there I will cycle to Islamabad and then cover the Karakoram Highway. I will take the ancient Silk Road route and travel to a number of cities in China,” adds Chouhan, who called on President Pratibha Patil at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday.

Madhur Tankha

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