Monorail project prepares to roll

Mumbai is a step closer to its first monorail corridor.

Two consortia recently submitted financial and technical bids to construct the corridor, expected to be ready by 2011.

One is a consortium of L&T and Malaysia’s Scomi while the other is an alliance of the Anil Ambani-run Reliance Infrastructure and Japan’s Hitachi.

The elevated 20km corridor will run from Jacob Circle in central Mumbai to Chembur in the north-east. Monorail vehicles operate on a single beam, not double tracks.

RITES, a firm under the railway ministry, will help scrutinise the bids, which have been submitted to the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority.

“We hope to begin work on the first line by the end of monsoon and expect the corridor to be ready within two-and-a-half years,” a senior official of the authority said.

The company that finally constructs the corridor will be allowed to run it for three years to recover the cost. The trains’ four compartments will be able to carry 150 persons and 15,000 every hour in one direction.

Tech pat for civic body

The capital’s civic body hasn’t had the cleanest-city prize come its way but it bagged an award for being IT-savvy.

The “best government initiative” landed on the MCD’s lap recently for its online property tax payment system, one that has changed the way the levy is collected.

According to Vijender Gupta, the civic body’s standing committee chairman, the award is a recognition of the leap the MCD has made in e-governance.

The e-India or international conference on digital learning, where the MCD was feted, was organised by the centre for science development and media studies in association with the human resources development ministry.

Encouraged by the award, the authorities plan to extend the system to trade licences, approval building plans and monitoring maintenance activities, Gupta said.

Age filter at hookah bar

Fancy a trip to the hookah bar? Don’t forget to carry an age proof.

Such hangout zones in Mumbai have become out of bounds for the young and restless who can’t prove they are over 18. Most such bars now insist on an ID card before youngsters can take a drag on one of the colourful hookahs.

The tighter rules have come after mayor Shubha Raul stumbled on schoolchildren smoking during a surprise visit to one such bar in the western suburbs. A fuming Raul, herself a doctor, immediately asked her officials to take action against such bars, which soon began getting notices from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation saying their licences would be “reviewed”.

Fed up with the checks, the bars decided to tighten the screws and ensure underage youngsters weren’t entertained, though the curbs have cost them some business.

“We have put up boards asking for age proof. Earlier, one among a group of youngsters flashed his college ID. Now we check the IDs of all,” said the owner of a bar.

Hoarding ache

People in the temple town of Madurai aren’t praying for political billboards to vanish. They are rushing to court.

At least two public interest suits have been filed in the bench of Madras High Court there, “praying” for the life-size arches, illuminated towers and billboards to be pulled down.

The petitioners, helpless councillors in civic bodies, claim the boards cause jams and damage roads. The parties are also accused of drawing power illegally for the boards.

MUMBAI: This Saturday evening, let the excitement reach a crescendo at the 23rd Independence Rock Concert. The show, hosted by E18, will be held at the Chitrakoot Grounds in Andheri (West), behind Fun Republic. You can call Reeha Basu at 66184680 for more information.