Latest news with #RishiAgarwal
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Time of India
Pocso, voyeurism charges on 2 youths in Gol Park gang rape
Kolkata: A special court on Tuesday framed charges against two youths, Aryan Mishra and Rishi Agarwal, for the alleged gang-rape of a 16-year-old girl last year. They have been slapped with charges under various sections of the BNS, including , voyeurism, criminal conspiracy and criminal intimidation, as well as Pocso Act sections for aggravated sexual assault. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Cops submitted the charge sheet last month. The second additional district judge of Alipore court framed the charges on Tuesday. Counsel Anirban Guha Thakurta expressed said, "The progress of the case is making us hopeful that the victim will get justice." The survivor, a Class VIII student with ADHD and borderline personality disorder, was reportedly added to a social media group, where she met the accused. In Dec last year, the accused, along with two others who turned out to be minors, allegedly sexually assaulted the girl at a Golpark guest house. They subsequently threatened to upload her nude photos online. The survivor's father, a London-based software engineer, lodged a complaint at the Rabindra Sarobar PS in April after she confided in him and his wife. Mishram Agarwal and two minor boys were rounded up. A separate trial is being conducted for the two juveniles, who were granted bail considering their age and educational commitments.
Time of India
29-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
BEST's contract buses a ‘flop', but system a success globally
Mumbai: A comparison of BEST buses with bus systems globally reveals several potential lessons from successful bus operations in other world cities. Activists say that the wet-lease system of hiring buses from contractors is a 'complete failure' in the city. Globally, however, such systems have seen notable success, leading to increased service efficiency. London, for instance, introduced the wet-lease model in 1985 to tackle financial challenges in publicly owned entities. This facilitated reliable, high-quality bus services and proved equally effective during London's transition to electric buses. Also, Mexico City, Santiago, Shenzhen (world's first fully electric bus fleet) and Bogotaadopted the wet-lease model for e-bus operations. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Rishi Agarwal, director of Mumbai Sustainability Centre, observed that the wet-leasing model's effectiveness abroad—especially in London—relies on well-designed, strictly enforced contracts. "Fares provide almost 60-80% of recovery of costs, there are third party audits to monitor bus quality and operational parameters. If it can be done in London it can be done here. It takes less than a month to design high quality contracts and implement them. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Knee pain prices might surprise you Knee pain | search ads Find Now Undo Why are the decision makers not showing intent is the question to ask." New York City's bus system has taken several measures, including dedicated bus lanes, transit signal priority, and bus network redesigns to improve operations and attract ridership, with an aim for a fully zero-emission fleet by 2040. The Select Bus Service (SBS) in New York achieved travel time improvements and increased ridership by prioritising buses through dedicated lanes and signal adjustments, with studies showing 10-20% improvement in journey time. Transport analyst Ashok Datar from Mumbai Mobility Forum said BEST should emulate the New York model. He said that with a larger fleet, 140 to 150 buses per hour could operate on dedicated bus lanes on busy stretches like Western Express highway, increasing number of buses on that arterial route to nearly three times the current operation and providing bus every five minutes. London and New York have seen significant traffic and transit improvement after introduction of congestion pricing. Central Business District Tolling Program (congestion pricing) in New York, implemented from Jan 2025, resulted in almost all Manhattan buses achieving up to a 5% speed increase, especially benefiting express bus riders with time savings up to 10 minutes, say global media reports. State authorities are also identifying areas in Mumbai, like Bandra-Kurla complex, Nariman Point, Worli and Lower Parel for potential congestion tax implementation, a senior official from the transport commissioner's office told TOI. "After a regulatory framework is established, the authorities may levy a fee for vehicles to enter these busy hubs during peak hours, similar to congestion pricing in London and New York," the official said, adding that public transport buses would be prioritised for commuters. Sudhir Badami, author of 'Matter of Equitability — Making commuting in Mumbai enviable', has advocated for premium Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) on the scale of Transmilenio in Bogota. Badami says having BRTS on metro corridors could have displaced 65% of private traffic and delivered buses in central lanes at a frequency as low as every 20 seconds. He said such measures would not only enhance frequency and commuter convenience but also improve safety due to negligible accident risk. Public policy (transportation) analyst Paresh Rawal said funding public transport with local property taxes is an established practice in many global cities. Avinash Dubedi, Program Head – Transport, Sustainable Cities, WRI India, said consistent support by BMC/state govt is vital for BEST to bridge the viability gap between operating costs and earnings, focus on enhancing bus accessibility in line with service benchmarks of up to 60 buses per lakh population.
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Footpaths for differently abled: BMC re-invites proposal to empanel NGOs
Mumbai: While BMC has re-invited RFPs (request for proposal) to empanelNGOs to carry out audits of footpaths to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities, it is set to further relax conditions for the NGOs. Its earlier tender could not be completed due to stringent conditions like financial turnover, experience, and manpower requirement. Subsequently, BMC relaxed some of the criteria and reinvited the RFP. However, its pre-bid meeting saw participation from only one NGO. The BMC is likely to relax conditions further. The NGOs are required to prepare a detailed report on the accessibility of existing and newly proposed footpaths assigned to them, based on guidelines issued by Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan. They are also supposed to suggest rectifications. The NGOs have to carry out a detailed footpath accessibility audit of all such footpaths and recommend suggestions or ideas to improve accessibility for footpath users whenever a potential problem is identified. The NGOs will assess footpaths in BMC jurisdiction, analyse the situation, and propose solutions based on an agreed approach to addressing accessibility issues for disabled persons. According to BMC, the objective of the assignment is to ensure accessibility to footpaths for persons with disabilities (PwDs). BMC will take steps to implement conscious planning for the safe design, construction, and operations/maintenance of footpaths to ensure accessibility for PwDs. The aim is to ensure that a person in a wheelchair or someone who is blind can traverse and access a footpath without any hindrance, said a BMC official. "An audit will not reveal anything we do not already know. We are well aware that conditions are very bad on all our arterial roads, especially in the suburbs. An audit can be done for free by BMC crowdsourcing feedback from citizen groups like ALMs and concerned citizens. What is required is that BMC incorporate all key requirements for pedestrian infrastructure in their road contracts. This has not happened in the case of the road concretisation contracts awarded in past 2-3 years. That is unpardonable and a great loss. Footpaths and accessibility cannot be an afterthought. BMC should now take up key arterial roads and stretches and bring pedestrian infrastructure to the highest standards," said Rishi Agarwal, founder of the pedestrian advocacy group Walking Project.
