4ovember 2008

Thanks : The Hindu
‘Traffic improvement plans taking shape’
COIMBATORE: Traffic and transportation improvement plans for Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai are taking shape. Short, medium and long-term plans have been received from these cities and these may be finalised in a month, Chief Secretary L.K. Tripathy told presspersons here on Sunday.

The sub-committees comprising district administration, corporation and transport officials and also experts have submitted good suggestions to improve traffic engineering and also modes of transportation.

The Chief Secretary reviewed the study of the requirements of Coimbatore city by the sub-committees. The Government ordered the formation of the committees in these cities after they had been chosen by the Central Government for infrastructure development projects under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. Collector Neeraj Mittal, City Police Commissioner C.K. Gandhirajan and Corporation Commissioner P. Muthuveeran took part in the review meeting.

“The picture is getting clear. There are certain missing links in the road network in Coimbatore city. There are proposals to complete the link for improving the traffic system.

Flyovers and road overbridges and parking facilities were the other important measures planned for smooth flow of traffic on city roads. “By the end of this month, we will get a final shape of what is to be done in all the three cities,” Mr. Tripathy said. Some of the schemes such as improving the geometry of traffic junctions could begin immediately as they involved only decisions at the local level and did not require clearance by the Government.

“You can see a lot of development taking place in your (Coimbatore) city,” he said. The Government was keen on improving all the roads across the State. The National Highways were also into widening the roads. On charges of low schedule of rates (for construction materials) fixed by the Public Works Department holding up development works of local bodies, Mr. Tripathy said: “We are trying to find out how to index it to the current prices.”

Thanks: The hindu
Sri Lanka frees fishermen

NAGAPATTINAM: All the 97 Indian fishermen, detained by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly straying into the island nation’s waters, were released on Sunday. The release follows a request from the Centre to the Sri Lankan government.

Thanks : The Indian Express
Young India raring to build homes, says a survey
NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 4: While it may have taken the earlier generation a lifetime to own a brick and mortar place to call home, the age-ownership gap is increasingly narrowing, reveals a study conducted by Assocham.

The boom in real estate activities may not have brought housing for all as yet, but their average buyer’s age has come down by nearly 20 years. This development, says Assocham, can be attributed to the intensifying desire in youngsters to own dwelling units and save money on high property rentals. An analysis carried out by the chamber on ‘emerging age trends for buying dwelling units for self-use’, reveals that from 2000 onwards, the age group for property registration for personal use in majority of cases is ranging between 30 and 38. The study was based on the feedback received from real estate developers like DLF, Prasvnath, Omaxe and Unitech.

However, 15-20 years ago the housing ownership pattern was between 55 to 58. The factors responsible for the emerging trends include high rentals, non-sustainable lease agreements between property owners and those of tenants, rising income levels as a result of eruption of opportunities and easy availability of finances. Assocham president Venugopal N Dhoot said that the pervasive impression is that due to high interest rates, number of aspirants for home loans have declined but the fact remains that the effective interest rate on a loan of Rs 15 lakhs works out to 6.1 per cent upon an interest rate charged at 11.25 per cent. “This rate of 6.1 per cent is effective after home loan seekers has availed of all tax benefits and this is one solid reason which encourages youngsters between age group of 30-38 to register properties in their name for self-use,” said Dhoot.