[rti_india] proposal to widen irwin road in mysuru is a retrograde step

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

[rti_india] proposal to widen irwin road in mysuru is a retrograde step - retd ce, morth [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from Syed Tanveeruddin included below]

Subject: proposal to widen irwin road in mysuru is a retrograde step - retd ce, morth

Mysore/Mysuru, Karnataka

Tuesday, May 05, 2015

The Mediapersons

Sir,

Subject: Proposal to widen Irwin road in Mysore/Mysuru city is a retrograde step.

Proposal to widen the Irwin road which has many heritage buildings is a retrograde step and Mysore/Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) should immediately cancel such a move. It is not merely protecting and safeguarding the heritage structures that the authorities should be concerned but realise the whole road is a part of heritage. Therefore, widening and introducing a median / divider is not a solution as it will not only increase the density of traffic but also encourage tendency to speed causing accidents. What is required is to provide for wide footpaths / pavements / sidewalks. The move to tamper it in any manner is an act of sacrilege to the concept of Heritage City about which the politicians so often proudly mention.

Let me cite what Dinesh Mohan IIT Professor (Delhi) (http://cbme.iitd.ac.in/content/prof-mohan-dinesh) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinesh_Mohan) and Henry Ford Professor for Biomechanics and Transportation Safety says: that while every city in the country is worried about widening of roads he talks of narrowing roads. All over the world urban planners have learnt the futility of road widening to accommodate increase in vehicle population. The rational approach should be to discourage the use of private vehicles and compensate it with good public transport. This applies more particularly for Mysore/Mysuru which has been declared as Heritage City more than a decade ago and the great tragedy is that till now it has not been declared officially as one with the result that no guidelines have been formulated. As per recent report we have already seen how pollution is reaching such high levels in Bangalore/Bengaluru and with unchecked vehicle population in a compact city like Mysore and unrestricted multi-storey building activity, it is worsening and choking the city. Will the authorities wake up or ignore that the problem does not exist?

- H.R. Bapu Satyanarayana, Retired Chief Engineer Union Ministry of Surface Transport (renamed as Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways or MoRTH), Saraswathipuram, Mysore/Mysuru

The matter written by Mr. H.R. Bapu Satyanarayana against the widening of Irwin road ends here itself.

This is to inform that Mr. H.R. Bapu Satyanarayana, Retired Chief Engineer Union Ministry of Surface Transport (renamed as Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways or MoRTH), who is a resident of Saraswathipuram, Mysore/Mysuru had simultaneously sent me a copy of the letter that he had written to the media/press in Mysore/Mysuru on Wednesday, 15 April 2015 12:45 PM. I have taken his telephonic consent on Tuesday, May 05, 2015 at 20:00 hours IST to reproduce it in full by giving it somewhat lengthier title. I have also added relevant links to his letter.

Mr./Shri H.R. Bapu Satyanarayana has served as a Chief Engineer, Union Ministry of Surface Transport, Government of India (GoI), New Delhi. He has served as an/a Engineer/Contract Advisor for the United Nations (UN). He was a Presiding Chairman for Arbitration Tribunals for National Highway Road Works (Projects). He's served as a Short Term Consultant for Urban Projects from World Bank (WB).

- Syed Tanveeruddin, Green/Environmental, RTI, Human Rights and Social Activist, Siddharthanagar, Ward Number 63, Mysore/Mysuru-570011, Karnataka, India

https://www.facebook.com/irwinroad https://in.groups.yahoo.com/irwinroad

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