Vistara spreads its wings to Hyderabad

Source: Deccan Chronicle   Dt: March 2, 2015

Hyderabad: The newly launched Full Service Carrier Vistara has spread its wings to Hyderabad beginning operations in the city. The Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines joint venture first flew from Hyderabad to New Delhi on Sunday morning. Airline officials said they will consider adding more flights to Hyderabad as the fleet grows. Hyderabad is currently the only South Indian city it operates from with a weekly frequency of 14 flights on one side. The first Vistara flight from Hyderabad to the national capital took off at 9.15 am with the chief executive officer Phee Teik Yeoh and chief commercial officer Giam Ming Toh on board.

“Hyderabad is the first South Indian city we are flying to. Unlike other cities, the Aviation Turbine Fuel prices here make it cost effective. We came to Hyderabad before other cities in the south,” Phee Teik Yeoh said. Asked if the city could see more flights from Vistara, he said, “Why not? You will hear from us on that. We are going to release our summer schedule soon.” But it might not be until October before Vistara expands its schedule in Hyderabad.

Giam Ming Toh said, “We are currently constrained by the size of our fleet. We have five aircrafts (Airbus A320) now and the number will increase to seven by September and hopefully nine by the end of the year. And there are the Route Dispersal Guidelines also. With Hyderabad we have added a metro city so now we will have to add a non-metro.”  Vistara which has international ambitions is vocal against the 5/20 rule. The central government is also considering scrapping the rule but officials say that it might not be entirely done away with but only modified. The rule mandates that an airline should complete five years of domestic operations and have at least a 20 strong fleet to be eligible for international operations.

“There are no Indian airlines flying to Malaysia or many other countries. Singapore Airlines alone operates more flights to the United States than all Indian airlines put together. You are not allowing your aviation to grow,” Ming Toh said.Teik Yeoh said that the government has also realized the rule must be scrapped. Though it suffered on the Passenger Load Factor, Vistara had the highest On Time Performance among all domestic carriers at 89 per cent. “We beat all other airlines. That is the kind of service we are looking at. PLF is just a number because if I reduce the fares to `500 then it will increase to 100 per cent automatically.”

Vistara says it is looking to compete in the airfare market but wants to exploit untapped potential. “We are the first airline to introduce premium economy class in the domestic aviation sector. We have 20 per cent lesser seats (148) than the maximum seats used by most airlines so it is more comfortable for the passenger,” he added.

Doubt over Hyderabad’s date with Metro

Deccan Chronicle   Dt: Feb 24, 2015

Hyderabad: The scheduled inauguration date for the Nagole to Mettuguda stretch of the Hyderabad Metro is March 21, but no one seems to know whether the deadline will be met.

Mr N.V.S. Reddy, managing director of Hyderabad Metro Rail, said, “I can’t comment on it. The state government has to decide on that.”

While Hyderabad Metro Rail is non-committal, works at the ground level are going on in full swing with Larsen & Toubro giving the final touches.

Mr V. B. Gadgil, managing director of Larsen & Toubro Hyderabad Metro Rail, said, “The project has works which are to be completed according to the schedule. We are following that.”
They are, however, mum on the subject of inauguration.

A senior officer of Hyderabad Metro Rail said, “The scheduled date to start on March 21, 2015, had been set long ago. So far, the government has not mentioned anything.

They are also silent on this aspect, which means that they too will follow the schedule. If there was any attempt to postpone the same there would have been some government orders. But so far, nothing has come which means that the ground people have to continue with their work.”

There are, meanwhile, too many things at stake. Another officer explained, “The railway safety clearance certificate has to come from the Centre and this requires to be expedited by the state government. At the same time, protocols have to be set in place, which would require proper planning. Lack of clarity has resulted in major confusion and also speculation.”

Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority to integrate various city master plans

Times of India     Feb 22, 2015 
Hyderabad:
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), which plays a key role in planning the development of the city, will soon begin the challenging task of integrating various master plans developed by different agencies in the past.

Several master plans have been prepared previously, for instance for the Cyberabad Development Area, by the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad and the Hyderabad Airport Development Authority. All such plans need to be integrated to develop one master plan for the HMDA region, the in-charge metropolitan commissioner and special chief secretary, Dr K Pradeep Chandra, told TOI.

"Each of the existing master plans was prepared at a different time. The city has also grown and it is a larger area now. It is time to integrate the existing plans and develop a comprehensive master plan," he said.

Pradeep Chandra said that this time around, the master plan will also take into account other development initiatives of the state government, such as the Information Technology Investment Region and other industrial development plans, to ensure the creation of a true master plan for Hyderabad.

"The other issue we have seen in terms of practicability is that the plan does not reflect the ground reality. If we say this is for a road, then we sometimes find there are already buildings or it goes through a water body. We want to make sure that what has been planned is right. The idea of a master plan is that once it is made, it has to be a little rigid. Once it is made, you do not want to change anything. If you don't do it well, then there is always somebody who comes and says you did not look at this. That is something we do not want to do," he said.

But sometimes exceptions are inevitable. We cannot take away the rights of people and modifications have to be made depending on the circumstances. The effort is always to stick with the plan, but when the need arises, some changes can be implemented, he said.

To avoid potential problems with the new master plan, Pradeep Chandra said that every aspect of the land use plan will be first verified on the ground to ensure that the area being set aside for a particular purpose is actually suitable for the need. "We cannot force a residential area to give up their homes just because something fits well in a plan," he said.

The HMDA has already called for expression of interest from consultants for the development of the master plan. The authority is also taking up the transportation planning for the HMDA region. They are also working with the HMWS&SB to see how the overall water supply and sewerage plans for the HMDA area should be.

"As part of the transportation plan, we are looking at transit-oriented development that will need to be economically viable. There are some gaps in the ORR that need to be completed. We also need to look at the management of the ORR and ensure all systems are in place," Pradeep Chandra said.

Civic body plans 10 traffic corridors

Deccan Chronicle   Feb 4, 2015

Hyderabad: Ten major corridors in the twin cities are being taken up for concept development. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has projected to include footpaths, bicycle tracks, utility lanes, on-street parking (with planned parking strips), six-lane divided carriageways and medians with plants in these concept-based corridors. The total corridor length in Greater Hyderabad is 166 km. The longest corridor (44 km) is from Thukkuguda-Chandrayana Gutta-Charminar-Afzulgunj, Nampally-LakdikaPul- Khairatabad via Ameerpet up to BHEL. This is followed by Harihara Kala Bhavan, Sangeet, Uppal, LB nagar to Owaisi Hospital-Aramghar (22 km).

The project envisages each proposed corridor to have a standard of pedestrian facility, high quality signs, lighting systems, object delineators and markers, drainage systems, traffic control devices, utility ducts, street furniture and landscaping. “As per the project, all 166 km of corridors will be taken up for concept development with a total budget requirement of `3,320 crore in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. However it will be done in a phased manner. The corporation has completed survey for 10 corridors of 73.8 km and has submitted the same to the agency for concept planning.

The corporation will invite tenders and the project will take at least three years,” said a senior officer from the city planning section. The other corridors proposed to be developed in various phases include Retibowli to Aramghar (10km), Gachibowli to Hafeezpet (7 km), Narapally-Ghatkesar (7 km), Alwal-Suchitra- Kompally (16 km), Bowenpally to Kompally (12 km), Gachibowli- Patancheru via BHEL (17km), Tarnaka-Moula Ali, ECIL Cross roads to Dhamaiguda (11km), Masab Tank-Punjagutta- Begumpet-Harihara Kala Bhavan (10 km), NF-CL- KBR park entrance.

IT Exports from Hyderabad May Touch Rs 63,000 Cr in 2014-15

The New India Express    14 Feb, 2015

HYDERABAD: Telangana State IT Secretary Harpreet Singh on Friday effectively ruled out intervention in the TCS retrenchment row, terming it an ‘employer-employee’ issue and hence, not covered under the labour laws.

Skirting the controversial issue, the senior official sounded bullish on the prospect of software exports from Hyderabad. Suggesting that IT exports for the year 2014-15 might be around Rs 63,000 crore, up from Rs 57,000 crore in the financial year 2013-14, he said the sector would also see creation of 20,000 more jobs. Speaking on the sidelines of an event organised here on the 23rd edition of the annual summit and awards of Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association (HYSEA), Harpreet Singh said, “Rs 63,000 crore is a possibility if 13% growth rate is recorded.”

Elaborating on the initiatives being taken up by the state government, he said, “We are setting up the T-Hub, the country’s biggest technology incubation centre, which will facilitate start-ups to grow. This start-up system will see good IT companies originating in Hyderabad.”

On the proposed Information Technology and Investment Region (ITIR) project in Hyderabad, Singh said, “The ITIR is in the planning stage. We are planning to have better infrastructure than Cyberabad. We are in the process of getting a consultant.”

Telangana appeals Saudi Arabia to open its consulate in Hyderabad

Economic Times      11 Feb, 2015

NEW DELHI: Telangana Government today approached Saudi Arabian authorities seeking to set up a consulate of the Kingdom in Hyderabad. 

State's Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali also called on External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj urging her to establish a Passport Office at the Old City of Hyderabad. 

Ali met Saudi Arabian Ambassador here to press for a consulate for the convenience of thousands of Telangana-based workers employed in the country. 

"Hyderabad and Saudi Arabia share a relationship for over 100 years... Besides, Telangana has more Muslim population as compared with two other southern states," Ali told reporters. 

Ali said he had explained about the historical relations between Hyderabad Nizam and Saudi Arabia and pointed out that a consulate would be helpful for Haj pilgrims also. 

The Government of Telangana would be writing to the Saudi Arabian External Affairs Ministry in this connection, he said, while adding that the Saudi authorities have assured to look into the demand. 

Five things that other cities can learn from Hyderabad

Hyderabad is witnessing a lot of infrastructure, commercial and residential development that is shaping the future of the city. Initiatives such as Green Channel and Solar Rooftop metering system along with government plans that are improving safety and decongesting the city, are several things that Hyderabad is doing right. Take a look! 

Web connectivity 

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