discover india app launched by tourism ministry india

The Ministry of Tourism has launched a mobile application to enable its users to independently travel and experience 16 cities in the country. The self-guided tour application ‘Incredible India Walking Tours’ was launched by the Ministry in collaboration with Genesys International Corporation and will cover 16 Indian cities including Agra, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Coastal Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Patna, Pune and Surat. The facility will be extended to 36 cities by December 2015. The app enables users to sight-see free of cost at their own pace and convenience, with the help of walking tours curated by travel experts. “We are extremely excited about this because it is the first time an app can enable users to discover India on their own. It’s free, easy to use and, most importantly, comes with 360 degree street views and information put together by a panel of experts. It’s like having a local take you by the hand and show you his city, at your convenience,” Tourism Minister Sripad Naik said. The application, however, is only available on Blackberry mobile handsets. It runs on all BlackBerry 10 handsets including the Z3, Z10, Z30, Q5 and Q10 phones. An Android version of the free application is also being worked upon and is expected to be announced in coming weeks, said a senior Tourism Ministry official.

Hyderabad's air quality, traffic congestion causing concern

Hyderabad: The level of pollutants in the air and traffic congestion in Hyderabad are on the rise, posing serious health hazards and the hi-tech city needs to wake up, said a report released Thursday.



The New Delhi-based research and advocacy organisation Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) analysed air quality and transportation data in Hyderabad and found increased levels of particulate matter (PM) pollution.

The report -- "Hyderabad City Dialogue on Air Quality and Transportation Challenge: An Agenda for Action" -- released at a public meeting and round table conference, has found increased levels of PM pollution and crippling signs of mobility crisis.



"Hyderabad is in imminent danger of losing out on the gains of its first generation air pollution reforms," warned the report.

Maximum air pollution in Hyderabad is caused by its rapidly growing number of vehicles. The city has 2.6 million vehicles and every year 0.2 million new vehicles are registered - which means 500-600 new vehicles roll out on to Hyderabad's roads every day.

Estimates indicate the traffic is growing four times faster than the population.



"Compared to Delhi, the number of vehicles in Hyderabad is less. But the city is smaller and densely built, and therefore, it is getting increasingly congested, gridlocked and polluted," Vivek Chattopadhyaya, deputy coordinator, CSE's air pollution control unit, said.

Despite its growing fleet of personal vehicles, over 70 percent of people use public transport and non-motorised transport in the city.



"Even today, nearly 73 percent of people in Hyderabad take a bus, walk, or use intermediate public transport. This is Hyderabad's strength and opportunity - the fact that the majority of its residents depend on more sustainable forms of transport.

"Hyderabad must not commit mistakes like Delhi," said Anumita Roychowdhury, associate director of CSE and head of its air pollution control and transportation programme.



The CSE has suggested a detailed action plan to help Hyderabad.

The plan include strengthening air quality monitoring systems, expediting CNG-based public transport programme, scaling up public transport, ensuring multi-modal integration, building pedestrian infrastructure, introducing a parking policy to reduce congestion and demand for parking.

Source: IANS

A freak mishap at Hyderabad airport

Hyderabad: An employee of Air Asia airline died here on Sunday morning after her arm got trapped in an aerobridge and she fell down.

Sources at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport said Amritha Roy, Guest Services Officer of Air Asia, had sustained an injury when her right arm got trapped in one of the aerobridges which was being retracted after boarding of the passengers. She immediately collapsed out of shock and was rushed to Apollo Medical Centre at the airport for emergency medical attention. She succumbed to her injury at around 10.40 am.

"The incident is most unexpected in nature and it is very unfortunate. We deeply condole her death and our prayers are with her family. A committee headed by deputy CEO has been immediately formed comprising the Chief Operating Officer of Delhi Airport and Chief Security Officer at Hyderabad Airport to investigate the incident and ascertain complete facts of the case" said P Sripathy, CEO, Hyderabad Airport, in a statement.

Source: The Indian Express