Metro in the Ditch ?

DNA ( 14 Aug ) reports :

In 3 years ( between June 2014 and June 2017 ) Mumbai’s METRO 1 has ,

·         Earned….. Rs 664 crores

·         Spent……  Rs 1572 crores

Construction of this 11.4 km line was started in 2007 and got completed in 2014

Original estimated cost of Rs 2356 Cr ballooned to Rs 4321 Cr

Metro 1 is jointly owned by Reliance Infrastructure and Maharashtra Govt company , MMRDA ( 26 % )

Reason advanced for this loss :

·         Was expected to carry 4.3 lakh commuters per day

·         Is actually carrying only 3.8 lakh commuters per day

There is a court case going on between the Govt and MMOPL ( owner of Metro 1 ) re the fare structure, with Reliance Infra claiming it has all the legal rights to fix the fares

All of this must provide INPUTS to the following MASS RAPID TRANSPORTATION proposals just cleared by Niti Aayog :

6 proposals involving Mass Rapid Transportation Technologies , such as Hyperloop , Metrino, Pod Taxies , Stadler buses , Hybrid buses and Freight Rail Road, with a condition that the Transport Ministry conducts trial run of all these technologies ( - under experimentation even in advanced economies )

From where will Transport Ministry find funds for these “ Unproven “ systems , requiring thousands of crores of rupees , and little assurance for “ Profits “ ?

Then there are NPAs ( valued at Rs 10 lakh*crore , in Coal based power plants / Telecom etc ), haunting the banks !

Banks reeling under these NPAs , are unwilling to lend for :

·         Untried / Untested / Un-proven technologies ( even in other countries )

·         Restarting of hundreds of “ Stalled “ projects

·         Take over by the private sector of Govt projects ( divestment ) , with accumulated losses of thousands of crores , making “ Reverse BOT “ , a difficult proposition ( even if government writes off debt and give VRS to employees )

No wonder , Shri Arun Jaitleyji is complaining that the Private Sector is not investing enough in the Infrastructure Projects

14  Aug  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Karenge or Karke Rahenge !

For his Independence Day speech tomorrow , Shri Modiji invited citizens to send in their suggestions , as to what he should talk about

His office ( PMO ) has received some 8,000 + suggestions – which, it is busy reading / sorting / short-listing / incorporating in Shri Modiji’s speech !

Now , no one should expect Shri Modiji to personally go through all those 8000 messages

News reports say that PMO is also trying to figure out ,

·         What promises did Modiji make during his last speech

·         What is the ( implementation ) status of those promises as of today

PMO has identified specific promises made last year , as follows :

·         Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

·         Energy-rich India

·         Farmers’ Welfare

·         Healthy India

·         Saluting Freedom Fighters

·         Saluting Tribals

·         Giving an identity to every Indian

What would , however surprise the listeners ( - and pleasantly , too ) , if Modiji declares from the ramparts of the Red Fort , tomorrow :

“ Before 15^th Aug 2018 , government will find an amicable settlement of Babri Masjid / Ram Mandir dispute through negotiations with all concerned and start at the disputed site , construction of a “  WORLD  PEACE  COMPLEX “ , as outlined in :

Reach  Out Time  ?  ( 20 Sept 2013 )

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2013/09/reach-out-time.html

14  Aug  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

70 / 79 / 72

70 years after India attained independence from the British rule , 79 children died in a Gorakhpur Hospital , for want of Oxygen supply , within 72 hours

For their parents , Gorakhpur turned into Horrorpur  !

And , as expected ( - literally “ scripted “ in government manual in such crisis situations ) , CM Yogi Adityanathji announced following “ Exemplary “ punishments :

·         Set up a high-powered committee to investigate what caused these deaths - since UP government says : Deaths did not occur due to lack of Oxygen !

Expect the Committee to write a 300 page report in 3 months to say : Deaths occurred due to stoppage of brain – due to stoppage of heart !

·         Announce a compensation of Rs 5 lakhs to the parents of each dead child

·         “ Suspend “ the Principal of the Medical College ( to be reinstated when the report of the high powered committee gets released ? )

I don’t think anyone expected Yogiji to resign like Lal Bahadur Shastriji , who resigned by taking responsibility for a train accident !

Apparently , Yogiji was too busy to visit the hospital for next 2 days !

If readers want to know WHO, WHEN and HOW can stop the recurrence of such “ Murder by Negligence “ , there is ONLY ONE answer , viz :

·         When a Start Up invents ( - and the Supreme Court orders mandatory implementation by all State and Central Government ) , a TECHNOLOGY whereby the Electricity and Water Supply to the homes and offices of the Ministers ( of the concerned / responsible government ) STOPS AUTOMATICALLY , the moment Oxygen Pressure in any hospital falls below 50 % of the optimum level

And , please do not insult our Start Ups by saying : You cannot find such a solution  ! 

Till such time expect to see such headlines in morning newspapers , every 2 years , covering varied incidences of “ Murder by Negligence “

14  Aug  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs  

Claim is Credible , but ….

Hindustan Times ( 11 Aug ) carries following news report :

“ BMC’s incredible claim : Can build homes by recycling  95 %  of construction waste “

Mumbai’s municipal corporation has made an incredible claim — that it will recycle most of the 1,200 metric tons (MT) of construction wastes generated daily into building material.

Next year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s solid waste management (SWM) department plans to recycle 1.140 million tonnes (95%) of this waste into clay, bricks and sand.

Construction experts said they were sceptical of the claim as the recycling process may not generate sand and bricks. They however added that it can convert C&D waste into aggregates — finer forms of concrete bricks — that can be reused by industries.

The BMC has issued tenders seeking bids for the project. “We expect the tendering process to be completed over the next six months. The project should start by early 2018,” said a senior SWM official.

According to the CPCB, India generates 14.7 million tons of C&D waste a year. This is expected to increase in the future

Claim is credible but “ successful and timely implementation “ , could be a different matter !

And then there is a question of BMC’s ability to :

·         Buy / collect those 1200 tons of construction waste from hundreds of construction sites , scattered all over Mumbai

·         Find buyers to whom it can “ sell “ the re-cycled material at good prices

·         Do , both of these without lining the pockets of decision-makers involved !

A better ALTERNATIVE would be to :

Invite WinSun Decoration Design Engineering Company of China , to bring its 3D house printing technology to India , by setting up 100 factories for pre-fabricating 3D printed houses

Then leave it to thousands of small builders to " Assemble "  on site , a few thousands houses each, on a " Rate Contract " basis

Both , in " Pre-fabrication "  and in " On site Assembly " , mass production is the only foundation !

Why   WinSun  ?

#    On 29 March 2014 , WinSun constructed TEN , 3D printed houses ( 200 sq meter each ) in Shanghai , each costing $ 4,800 ( approx Rs 3 lakh ! )

#    On 17 July 2015 , using its 3D printing technology , WinSun built a 2 storey villa , in just 3 HOURS  !

#    WinSun holds 98 patents for construction materials

#    For 3D printing of houses , WinSun , mostly uses,

      recycled construction materials

#    3D house-printing technology saves,

      *    30% -60 % of building materials

      *    70 % of production time

      *    80 %  of construction cost

#   Egypt Government has placed on WinSun , an order for supplying 20,000 pre-fabricated , 3D printed houses

#   In Egypt , WinSun will establish 12 Dream Factories ( to build pre-fabricated houses ) , within 2 years

     These factories will mostly use desert sand as its main construction material , which was found ideal for 3D printing of houses !

#   In next 3 years , WinSun will set up ( in JV with local parties ) , similar factories in 20 countries , including Saudi Arabia , UAE , Qatar , Mexico , S. Korea , Russia , Morocco , Tunisia , and USA

To find the latest on WinSun , look up :

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170810005505/en/Global-3D-Concrete-Printing-Market-Grow-CAGR

And if you want to see the actual photos of 3D printed houses , look up :

http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2093914/we-could-3d-print-trumps-wall-china-construction

It is time to leapfrog the 21^st Century  !

12  Aug  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

=======================================================

A Pen – Ultimate Solution

Economic Times ( 10 Aug ) carries following news report :

“  Aadhar May Become the Gatekeeper to D Street Soon “

Aadhar may soon become mandatory for buying shares and Mutual funds

The Government and the SEBI are planning to link Aadhaar to financial market transactions to try and curb sharp practices such as , CONVERSION OF BLACK MONEY INTO WHITE , through the stock market

It is not clear whether Aadhaar will replace PAN as the sole identification number for financial market transactions

DNA MONEY ( 13 Oct 2016 ) has following screaming headline :

" Rs 30 lakh*crore black money in stocks : I-T

I welcome this initiative

But if the government wants, not only to extinguish the existing stock of BLACK MONEY but also put a  FULL  STOP  to future generation of BLACK MONEY , then it should seriously examine my suggestion :

Tip  of the  Iceberg

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/10/tip-of-iceberg.html

12  Aug  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Yogiji : This is YOUR moment !

Supreme Court has fixed Dec 05 , to start final hearings on cases pertaining to Babri Masjid / Ram Temple

Economic Times ( 08 Aug ) carries a report with following headline :

=================================

“ Build Ram Temple at Babri Masjid Site , Shia Board tells SC “

The board, which claimed the Babri Masjid structure as a Shia Wakf property, cited the Muslim “ tenets of living in peace and harmony and respecting the religious sentiments of other communities “ , to offer its solution to the issue….. to bring a quietus , the masjid can be located in a Muslim-dominated area at a reasonable distance from the most revered birth-place of Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram

=================================

Times of India ( 11 Aug ) carries a report with following headlines :

“ Now , Sunni board softens stance on Babri “

Softening its stand on the Babri Masjid issue, the UP Sunni Central Wakf Board on Thursday said it was open to an “ amicable negotiated settlement “ with the Central governmwent’s participation

Both the major political parties , BJP and Congress , has repeatedly said :

“ We will honour whatever is the verdict of the Supreme Court , if a negotiated settlement cannot be reached “

Some months back , CJI Hon Kehar had offered to “ mediate “ in the dispute  !

I am sure our 1.3 billion citizens want a permanent , peaceful solution to this 68 year old dispute

When reached , this solution will stand out as a shining example of harmonious living between

·         majority and minority communities around the whole World

·         the Shia and Sunni dominated mid-east countries , which are waging proxy wars in Yemen / Iraq / Sudan / Nigeria / Ethiopia / Afghanistan / Syria , with the military help  of USA / UK / EU / Russia

And , such a SOLUTION exists !

I urge ALL interested in peace to support ( - and spread through Social Media ) , the following link , where I have proposed this solution , 4 years back :

·         ReachOut  Time ?  (  20  Sept  2013  )

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2013/09/reach-out-time.html

Yogi Shri Adityanathji :

Makeit a Win for all  !  (  03  April  2017  )

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/04/yogiji-make-it-win-for-all.html

12  Aug  2017

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs