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From: Prashant Hedao <prashant@auroville.org.in>
Date: Mon, Nov 25, 2024 at 11:32 PM
Subject: Re: [avenir forwarding] Re: Work at radial - Request for access and update
To: Communication Avenir . <communication-avenir@auroville.org.in>
Cc: ATDC Auroville Town Development Council <avenir@auroville.org.in>, Candassamy N
<candassamy_avf@auroville.org.in>, <Vignesh.mani@gov.in>, Rajesh Shah
<shahrv@gmail.com>, Eric Vibrance <eric.courage@gmail.com>, Avinash Ravi Raghavan
<aviragh@auroville.org.in>
Since I was at the site meeting (Tuesday, 19th Nov) about the Vikas Radial and took part in the
discussion and my name is mentioned in the email below, here are the techinical .points that I
raised then about the roads.
____________________________________________________________________
QUESTIONS FOR AVFO REGARDING THE DESTRUCTION AND PLANNED
RECONSTRUCTION ALONG THE EXISTING VIKAS RADIAL
and
GENERAL ROAD AND PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE CONCERNS
____________________________________________________________________
Dear Auroville Foundation Office (Candassamy) and GB (appointed) TDC /
Communications Team (Jaya & Prasad),
Below are points that were brought to the notice of Govind, Jaya and Prasad, GB (appointed)
TDC personnel, and Mr. Candassamy, Auroville Foundation at a meeting on site. We would like
to have your responses on these following points –
● Communication and a community meeting – it was stressed by the community
members residing along the radial that there has to be communication with the
communities of any work that is being executed that affects them. It was agreed that
the GB (appointed) TDC communications team would share the details of the
proposed work that is being carried out and why it is needed.
● They along with Govind also assured that while this road is being dug up alternative
access will be provided for the residents and other users who use this road for all
– the cyclists and motorized vehicles, including emergency vehicles.
● There was a request from the community to share the Work Order from a competent
authority explaining what work is being carried out and the purpose. It should have a
start date and an expected end date, specifications of the work being carried out, and
who is the contractor and site supervisor for this work with their contact information.
● An information board would be erected on the site where the work is being carried
out. It should have the summary of the same information as in the work order, along
with the cost of the work being executed, and the source of funding.
● Technical questions –
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○ What planning guidelines and analysis was used to determine that it is
necessary to rip up the fully functional existing paver block road and raise it by
6” (15 cms) and also to widen it? Was there traffic congestion reported there
that requires the road to be widened? Were any tests done on the blocks to
show their aging or need for replacement? Note that 2 JCBs can pass each
other on this road. And there is no water logging reported there that requires
the road level to be raised.
○ Talking about raising this road’s level by 6” (15 cms) we would like to know
what are the new proposed levels of the radial road. The level difference at
Crown road junction is about 6 meters higher than where this radial meets the
outer ring road. How will this level difference be negotiated? What are
intermediate levels on this road and how do they relate to the plinth levels of
the buildings and communities on the sides of this road? This is important for
the surface water runoff and its management in this area. Will this water
eventually drain out into Sukhavati-Samriddhi canyon or will be pumped back
to the centre for the Martrimandir Lake, as was stated by Jaya on site?
Other road related points and questions:
● Since we are on the topic of roads could we also get a clarification on why the Crown
Road, which is largely for pedestrian and light traffic use, is built with heavy
concrete whereas the Outer Ring Road is being built using paver blocks? It has
been stated as well as frequently announced, that closer to the centre the city would
be pedestrian in nature with light electric vehicles whereas the motorized vehicles
would be restricted to the periphery which is the outer ring road. And therefore
logically it should have been the other way round - Crown Road built with paver
blocks and Outer Ring Road in concrete, and the larger question is whether
concrete should be used at all since it is not a sustainable material.
● And finally, while building/rebuilding these roads, including the Crown Road, why has
building the cycle paths and pedestrian sidewalks not been prioritized?
Currently people are forced to walk on the concrete road, while protecting themselves
from high speed motorized traffic and radiating heat from the concrete surface which
has increased now because the shade trees that had been planted along these roads
more than 20 years ago were cut down for highly questionable reasons. There are no
markings on the road where pedestrians could cross the road at junctions and there
are no other safety features put in place.
● If we are really aspiring to build a pedestrian friendly inner city, it must be a priority to
put appropriate infrastructure in place and mechanisms to reduce the motorized
traffic speed and radiating heat from the concrete surfaces that are responsible
for urban heat island (ULI) effects in an increasing number of cities around the
world. And this is getting worse with higher temperatures every year, due to climate
change.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
for Concerned Residents
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Prashant Hedao, PhD
Landscape Architect | Regional Planner | Geographer
Certitude, AUROVILLE
Tel: +91-9443409201
________________________
Consultant, WHO (HQ) GIS Centre for Health
Visiting Faculty, Department of Human Ecology | Landscape Architecture, University of
California at Davis
-------------------
From: Avinash Ravi Raghavan <aviragh@auroville.org.in>
Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2024 at 14:14
Subject: Re: [avenir forwarding] Re: Work at radial - Request for access and update
To: Communication Avenir . <communication-avenir@auroville.org.in>
Cc: ATDC Auroville Town Development Council <avenir@auroville.org.in>, Candassamy N
<candassamy_avf@auroville.org.in>, <Vignesh.mani@gov.in>, Rajesh Shah
<shahrv@gmail.com>, Eric Vibrance <eric.courage@gmail.com>
Dear Jaya, Prasad, Candasammy Sir and Er Vignesh,
Thank you very much for meeting the different community members on Tuesday to set a way
forward. We thought it best to share our notes from this meeting so that we can all be clear and
on the same page. Please do go through and let us know if there are any differences in our
understanding.
Those present -
Jaya, Prasad, Govind (For TDC), Candasammy Sir (Senior Engineer - Auroville Foundation),
Vignesh (Engineer - CPWD), Ganesh (Contractor)
Avinash, Carla, Eric, Ladina, Rajesh (Vibrance), Lisbeth (Madhuca), Naradi (Arati), Isha
(Swayam), Arun (Revelation), Prashant, Rosa and Akira
Outcomes -
● A list of concerns by the communities will be shared and the Avenir communications
team will address these.
● TDC is ready to work with a small team of the residents and will answer community
questions through them. The residents have nominated Avinash, Eric and Rajesh to
represent them.
● The TDC communication team (Jaya and Prasad) acknowledged the lapses in informing
residents about the implementation and the difficulties this caused to the impacted
communities and committed to avoiding this going forward. The TDC communication
team will ensure proper communication to the involved communities about all present
and future work related matters.
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● Safe and stable access will be provided prior to any works in affected areas. After the
meeting the engineers walked with Avinash and Rajesh down the path from Aarti to
Grace and identified 5 places where it had become treacherous to be fixed before any
other work.
● It was agreed that the infrastructure trench (with pipes) every 25m is not necessary for
the existing radial/communities and this will be revisited by the planning team.
● Prashant will send a list of technical questions to TDC so that the communities can be
informed and provide feedback.
● The part of the radial that has been removed will be relined with new paver blocks. This
will be about 15cm higher than the current and there will be a smoothly graded merger
where it connects with the existing radial.
● The work on the remainder of Vikas radial will happen only after the monsoon is over.
If the above notes are correct, please do ensure all members involved with the work are aware
of them so as to avoid a situation like we had on Thursday.
We appreciate this opportunity to move forward together.
Sincerely,
Avinash, Eric and Rajesh (for the affected communities)