The Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) has cooperated with an Uttarakhand Government PSU, BRIDCUL, to develop Uttarakhand's first app based smart parking to get rid of parking problems in the city. The Principal work of finding the spots and getting authorization has been completed by MDDA and now BRIDCUL is operating on infrastructure development and back-end support so that they can monitor the status of parking.

The System Administrator of MDDA, Mr. Sanjeevan Soontha said that this will be the first time of such type of Initiative in Uttarakhand. He also said that they have found 27 Parking zones Including Gandhi Park, Clock Tower and Silver City Complex. Around 450 big cars can be parked at a time around these 27 zones and to monitor the flow of vehicle BRIDCUL is now fixing CCTV cameras and censors. It is supposed that this work will be completed within a week and around 27 guards have been hired for the spots.

In explanation of the functioning of this app , Mr. Sanjeevan Soontha Said that on entering a particular area the app will display the nearest available parking spots. Inhabitants can use the app and book the parking spots and can pay online as well as in cash. Tourists can book the spots in advance.

According to an MDDA official the spots will be maintained by BRIDCUL and the earnings will be divided between BRIDCUL and MDDA. The BRIDCUL will be entrusted with the administration of the spots and they will impart 30% of the income to the MDDA. The pricing is yet to be decided.

Depending on the app's success similar spots will be planned at other locations. A resident said that this concept of app based parking is brilliant provided its well managed and on our budget and it will be a boon for the city which experience traffic problems everyday and more during peak season.

Commercial flights from Pithoragarh to Dehradun which were supposed to be initiated by Wednesday has been delayed and people expressed their disappointment over the delay . A local resident Kapil Pant said that this Diwali they were planning to go Pithoragarh by air but are disappointed to hear that the commercial flights are not going to start. Another resident Shweta Joshi said that she was planning to go Pithoragarh from Dehradun by flight otherwise it takes 20 hours to reach there and since the commercial flights are delayed she have to make changes in her plan.

The 9 seater aircraft of Heritage aviation have successfully completed its trial landing in Jolly Grant Airport on October 8. After successful trial landing Rohit Mathur (Heritage Aviation CEO) said that commercial flight services would start operating from Ptithoragarh to Pantnagar and Dehradun to Pithoragarh.

John Lucas on 'Clean Doon' Mission Awarded

John Lucas, a New Zealand native, with a backpack full of plastic bottles and other garbage is on a mission to Clean Dehradun Roads. Lucas a missionary and a social worker has been travelling between his home and Dehradun since 2009 with a motive of spreading the message of Cleanliness. On 19 October 2018 (Friday) he was given the 'Exemplary Citizen Award' at the 3 day "Rajpur Nature Festival" for his exceptional contribution to society and community. Lucas express grief over the streets of the City and said that it has become dirtier and garbage pile up than the past few years. He said that the Rajpur area was never as dirty as it is today and one can see rising garbage mounds and waste material.

Founding President of Rajpur Community Initiative, Reenu Paul, said that Lucas is a selfless person. He utilizes most of his time in spreading awareness among people on the needs of clean environment and surrounding.

With the collaboration of Uttarakhand Forest Department and Eco Tourism Wing alongwith support of several NGOS, Rajpur Community Initiative hosted "Rajpur Nature Festival" which started on Thursday.

Mr. Jairaj, Head of forest force, said Lucas for his exceptional service was selected for this award. He also said that thought John Lucas was not born here, but still he has done more for the city than those who lives here. Yeshi Kalsang was also awarded for dedication to wildlife.

Festive Rush Chokes Paltan Bazaar in Dehradun

Festive rush has brought the deficiency of Parking facilities in the city of Dehradun. In Paltan Bazaar its a race for space between strollers and two wheelers that are allowed to explore the narrow lanes. Paltan Bazaar which stretches for 3 km, is visited by residents as well as tourists alike because of wide range of thing it offers yet it lacks a sufficent parking space. Residents are currently requesting a prohibition on entry of bikes in the market to ease flow or enough parking spot for vehicles.

Parking lots near Clock tower , one near Kumar Sweets and other at Rajiv Complex have few takers. A Resident said that in Rajiv complex the parking is free only for the first 20 minutes and they have to walk long distance to reach the other parking lot.

Jagdish, another Resident said that its kind of a battle to travel to the market every sunday. It is difficult to go through crowd and to keep eye on bikes and other vehicles. Bike riders often use abusive language for strollers. Other Shopper said the bikers should be provided parking space nearby or they should prohibit 2 wheelers in the market. With some parking complex in the nearby area, traffic can be reduced to greater extent.

Lokeshwar Singh (SP) told that the administration is thinking to move SP traffic office and tehsil as well as district and session court's office somewhere else to ease the flow of traffic

Source: Times of India.