CHAK DE ಬಿಂಗಳೂರು
ये तेरा घर ये मेरा घर ...... Home sweet homeNamma Bengaluru
Bangalore: Bangalore is all set to have the world’s tallest sky tower at Tippasandra near BDA’s Anjanapura Layout. The proposed tower will scale 560 metres, beating the Canadian National Tower (553 metres) in Toronto.
The sky tower was earlier planned in Freedom Park on the old Central Jail premises, but was scrapped because it would have attracted a lot of tourists, leading to traffic problems.
The proposed tower will be built to boost communications, tourism and commercial activities. It will be a major landmark in the the southern part of the city.
A special feature of the tower is that it will be a major revenue earner for the BBMP. With a microwave dish platform at an altitude of 410 metres, the tower will enhance overseas and inter-departmental communications of government organizations like the Railways, All India Radio (AIR), police and Doordarshan. Four floors will be earmarked for these organizations.
This apart, four floors will be set aside for private telecom giants, who will set up their infrastructure.
The floor diameter at 350 metres serves as a microwave disc platform to facilitate live telecast of major events within a radius of 100 km. Visitors can get a bird’s eye view of Bangalore from here.
A major attraction of the tower will be a revolving restaurant and a cafeteria at 360 metres and 370 metres, respectively.
Architect and designer of the tower H R Vishwanath, former principal of BMS College of Engineering, told The Times of India: “Solar energy will be tapped with the help of solar cells installed at a height of 410 metres. Air navigational lights will be fitted at a height of 560 metres. The tower provides space for exhibiting the cultures and traditions of each of the states in the country.’’
He was instrumental in constructing the Delhi TV tower, and said the tower would be completed within two years from the date of commencement of work.
The project will be handled on the public-private-partnership model at an estimated cost of Rs 150 crore.
The sky tower was earlier planned in Freedom Park on the old Central Jail premises, but was scrapped because it would have attracted a lot of tourists, leading to traffic problems.
The proposed tower will be built to boost communications, tourism and commercial activities. It will be a major landmark in the the southern part of the city.
A special feature of the tower is that it will be a major revenue earner for the BBMP. With a microwave dish platform at an altitude of 410 metres, the tower will enhance overseas and inter-departmental communications of government organizations like the Railways, All India Radio (AIR), police and Doordarshan. Four floors will be earmarked for these organizations.
This apart, four floors will be set aside for private telecom giants, who will set up their infrastructure.
The floor diameter at 350 metres serves as a microwave disc platform to facilitate live telecast of major events within a radius of 100 km. Visitors can get a bird’s eye view of Bangalore from here.
A major attraction of the tower will be a revolving restaurant and a cafeteria at 360 metres and 370 metres, respectively.
Architect and designer of the tower H R Vishwanath, former principal of BMS College of Engineering, told The Times of India: “Solar energy will be tapped with the help of solar cells installed at a height of 410 metres. Air navigational lights will be fitted at a height of 560 metres. The tower provides space for exhibiting the cultures and traditions of each of the states in the country.’’
He was instrumental in constructing the Delhi TV tower, and said the tower would be completed within two years from the date of commencement of work.
The project will be handled on the public-private-partnership model at an estimated cost of Rs 150 crore.
Bangalore has 1.05 lakh millionaire homes
Bangalore for Millionaire Club too
Delhi has more households earning over Rs 10 lakh a year than any other city in India, followed by Bangalore and Mumbai. Chandigarh has the largest concentration of such families with every seventh household there having a seven-figure annual income.
Contrary to what you might expect, even ranked by the absolute number of households with incomes of Rs 10 lakh or more per year, the metros aren’t all on top of the list, with Chennai ranked 9th, Hyderabad 12th and Kolkata a lowly 26th.
Contrary to what you might expect, even ranked by the absolute number of households with incomes of Rs 10 lakh or more per year, the metros aren’t all on top of the list, with Chennai ranked 9th, Hyderabad 12th and Kolkata a lowly 26th.
On top of the list are
- Delhi, with 1.38 lakh such households
- Bangalore, with 1.05 lakh families.
- Mumbai comes in third at just over 1 lakh millionaire households
It is destination Bangalore for foreign travellers
Huge Growth In International Air TrafficNamma Bengaluru is the preferred Indian city for international travellers. The city’s phenomenal growth in international air traffic corroborates this. Going by these trends, industry observers say that Bangalore could before long become the gateway to India.
As per the air traffic figures provided by Airports Authority of India (AAI), Bangalore reported a 40% growth in international passenger traffic in the one year between September 2006 and August 2007. That’s the highest in the country and more than double the all India average growth of 16%. Hyderabad was the next highest at 19%.
Bangalore’s overall growth (including domestic and international air traffic) was 38%, the highest among all the major metros and well above the country’s average of 28%.
“Bangalore is the most exciting aviation market at the moment and in the days ahead the city will continue to see very high growth figures, of about 40%, as both domestic and international airlines look to make the city their hub,” says Kapil Kaul, CEO (India) of Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA).
The country’s full service carriers Air-India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher are looking to make Bangalore as the gateway city to the US.
CAPA estimates that once the new greenfield BIAL airport becomes operational next March, Bangalore would witness phenomenal passenger growth ranging between 40% and 50%.
While the new airport would double the capacity of passenger traffic to 12 million per annum, 20 new international carriers are expected to fly into the city from the current six to seven.
In the last eighteen months, carriers such as Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Malaysian Airlines, Lufthansa and Air France have increased their total seat capacity to the city. Singapore Airlines now operates 2,104 seats in a week between Bangalore and Singapore, up 576 seats from March this year.
“From next week we will be increasing our total seat capacity by 30 per cent by adding extra flights,” says Louis Arul, manager (Karnataka), Singapore Airlines.
Mohan Kumar, GM of Taj Properties, Bangalore, says the city has taken over from Chennai as the “gateway to the South”. He adds that sectors like education, medical tourism and spa are driving the growth of foreign traffic into the city in addition to the IT industry. Bangalore’s real estate mart has also been attracting a lot of NRI attention.
As per the air traffic figures provided by Airports Authority of India (AAI), Bangalore reported a 40% growth in international passenger traffic in the one year between September 2006 and August 2007. That’s the highest in the country and more than double the all India average growth of 16%. Hyderabad was the next highest at 19%.
Bangalore’s overall growth (including domestic and international air traffic) was 38%, the highest among all the major metros and well above the country’s average of 28%.
“Bangalore is the most exciting aviation market at the moment and in the days ahead the city will continue to see very high growth figures, of about 40%, as both domestic and international airlines look to make the city their hub,” says Kapil Kaul, CEO (India) of Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA).
The country’s full service carriers Air-India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher are looking to make Bangalore as the gateway city to the US.
CAPA estimates that once the new greenfield BIAL airport becomes operational next March, Bangalore would witness phenomenal passenger growth ranging between 40% and 50%.
While the new airport would double the capacity of passenger traffic to 12 million per annum, 20 new international carriers are expected to fly into the city from the current six to seven.
In the last eighteen months, carriers such as Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Malaysian Airlines, Lufthansa and Air France have increased their total seat capacity to the city. Singapore Airlines now operates 2,104 seats in a week between Bangalore and Singapore, up 576 seats from March this year.
“From next week we will be increasing our total seat capacity by 30 per cent by adding extra flights,” says Louis Arul, manager (Karnataka), Singapore Airlines.
Mohan Kumar, GM of Taj Properties, Bangalore, says the city has taken over from Chennai as the “gateway to the South”. He adds that sectors like education, medical tourism and spa are driving the growth of foreign traffic into the city in addition to the IT industry. Bangalore’s real estate mart has also been attracting a lot of NRI attention.
WiMAX pilot for city to roll out in January
The much delayed ‘Bangalore Unwired’ project may finally be seeing some progress. The state government now says that in another 20 months, the city will be unwired with its 741 sqkm coming under the Worldwide Inter-operability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) technology.The first leg of the project, a 3.5 sqkm stretch in the city centre, will be rolled out between January 14 and 22. Project executor Chennai firm Microsense is ready with the pilot which will stretch from Mallya Circle to Trinity Church.
“The base station is ready on MG Road. Work on connecting the entire city will be taken up in phases. The state will not make any investment. It will be entirely done by the service provider who will later recover it through subscriptions,’’ IT secretary M N Vidyashankar says
The project is expected to enable IT and ITeS professionals who spend a lot of time commuting in the city, to connect to the internet and work while on the road, thereby increasing productivity.
The latest standard in WiMAX, IEEE 802.16e, is being used.
The connectivity speed will range from 512 mbps to 2 gbps.
Subscriptions will be based on usage and slabs may be designed on the lines of mobile phone packages.
The start-up packages will be from Rs 1,000 per month, Vidyashankar said.
The facility can be used on a laptop as well as desktop computers.
The second leg of connectivity will be the IT-belt from Electronic City to Whitefield,
and the third stretch from Electronic City towards Bangalore South.
WIMAX FEATURES
Provides anytime-anywhere net connectivity
Subscription needed
First leg in January covers 3.5 sqkm
Little skater to go under 100 cars
Aniketh Ramesh Chindak : "We want the record to be set on our home land,” says the proud mother.
Bangalore: Even as most children of his age are fascinated by cars, Aniketh Ramesh Chindak of Belgaum is making waves getting under them. This amazing six-yearold boy is already a world record holder in limbo-skating, squeezing himself under a row of 57 stationary cars in 45 seconds.
In February, this skating marvel will bid to rewrite his own record by skating under 100 cars in one minute.
With legs spread and torso bent forward, Aniketh is no more than eight inches above the ground as he disappears under the vehicles. The little lad also attracted international media attention with British mediapersons visiting Belgaum last week to meet him.
Aniketh said: “I’m working towards breaking my own record, which I set in February last year. But it all depends on how many cars are made available for me. Since I skate under Sumos, getting 100 of them at a time is a problem. I’ve practised very hard and I’m confident that I can break my record.”
Aniketh, who took to skating two years ago, says his fascination for limbo-skating started after watching a television show. On taking to the sport, which could be dangerous if he’s not tactful, Aniketh said: “When I started off I used to come out of practice sessions with bruises, but over a period of time I learnt to be careful and corrected my postures. Now I perform without getting injured.”
On his routine, Aniketh said: “I practise for about four hours every day and cover about 100 km twice a week. I don’t miss out on playing with my friends too much since I’m very determined to have my name in the record books.” His proud parents Jyothi and Ramesh Chindak have been his pillars of support.
“Both our children started skating at a very young age, but Aniketh showed a keen interest and we decided to back his dream. It took him a while to get his body position right since he is hardly 8-10 inches above the ground. But once he got it right, there has been no looking back for him,” said Jyothi.
Although Aniketh has been invited to England to set the record, his family is firm that his record-breaking feat will be performed in Belgaum. “Although we are looking at accepting invitations for exhibition performances, his record-breaking performance will be here. We want it to be a record set on our home land,” said the proud mother.
In February, this skating marvel will bid to rewrite his own record by skating under 100 cars in one minute.
With legs spread and torso bent forward, Aniketh is no more than eight inches above the ground as he disappears under the vehicles. The little lad also attracted international media attention with British mediapersons visiting Belgaum last week to meet him.
Aniketh said: “I’m working towards breaking my own record, which I set in February last year. But it all depends on how many cars are made available for me. Since I skate under Sumos, getting 100 of them at a time is a problem. I’ve practised very hard and I’m confident that I can break my record.”
Aniketh, who took to skating two years ago, says his fascination for limbo-skating started after watching a television show. On taking to the sport, which could be dangerous if he’s not tactful, Aniketh said: “When I started off I used to come out of practice sessions with bruises, but over a period of time I learnt to be careful and corrected my postures. Now I perform without getting injured.”
On his routine, Aniketh said: “I practise for about four hours every day and cover about 100 km twice a week. I don’t miss out on playing with my friends too much since I’m very determined to have my name in the record books.” His proud parents Jyothi and Ramesh Chindak have been his pillars of support.
“Both our children started skating at a very young age, but Aniketh showed a keen interest and we decided to back his dream. It took him a while to get his body position right since he is hardly 8-10 inches above the ground. But once he got it right, there has been no looking back for him,” said Jyothi.
Although Aniketh has been invited to England to set the record, his family is firm that his record-breaking feat will be performed in Belgaum. “Although we are looking at accepting invitations for exhibition performances, his record-breaking performance will be here. We want it to be a record set on our home land,” said the proud mother.
COME FLY WITH ME
Fancy a flight? You can give wings to your thoughts as hobby flying has caught the imagination of young and old alike.
Talk of microlight flying and two interesting things crop up about Bangalore. On the one hand, Silicon Plateau has the distinction of being the only city that offers microlight aircraft flying training in the country. On the other, it has only one such school despite being the aerospace capital of India.
Microlight pilot Vinitha Mariappa of Mysore Aerosports (earlier known as Bangalore Aerosports), the only training school, puts it in perspective: “Microlight flying is not a money-spinner. The investment is high and returns are nil. Returns depend purely on flying — how many hours is your aircraft in the air — although investors would like something else to support the flying. Unless you are into manufacture or maintenance, pure flying won’t fetch any money.”
Vinitha says microlight flying is also not about volumes. “It’s about passion for flying. Knowing there are no returns, why would people want to get into microlight flying? Only as manufacturers or as hobby flyers. You won’t be into microlight flying if you don’t have a feel for flying.
You don’t measure its passion by the number of schools training enthusiasts to fly, but then just one training school is not great for the country.”
Apart from returns, the costs involved in going for a joy ride or for pilot training are high — microlight flying is an expensive hobby. A half-hour joy ride in the two-seater aircraft costs on an average Rs 2,500 and Rs 5,000 for an hour. Even hiring the microlight aircraft and flying it solo would cost roughly Rs 5,000 an hour, and more if accompanied by an instructor.
The low number of training schools is not only due to low returns, but also due to difficulties in finding instructors. “If you don’t have a flying instructor, how can you run a flying training school? And flying instructors are few because most of them would shift to airlines — they pay four or five times more than a training school,” says Aditya, a long-time microlight flying professional.
Microlight flying is also constrained by season. Too much wind, for instance, does not allow for joy rides or training sessions. Flying is also not possible very early in the morning or little late in the evening. Weather conditions have to be factored in given that it is a non-pressurised aircraft. “There are limitations to microlight flying. Only those willing to adjust to these can get into it,” says Vinitha.
There are only two other organisations in Bangalore which have any connection to microlight flying — Agni Aviation and Rajahamsa. They do not train or offer joy rides, but manufacture and assemble microlight aircrafts.
Microlight pilot Vinitha Mariappa of Mysore Aerosports (earlier known as Bangalore Aerosports), the only training school, puts it in perspective: “Microlight flying is not a money-spinner. The investment is high and returns are nil. Returns depend purely on flying — how many hours is your aircraft in the air — although investors would like something else to support the flying. Unless you are into manufacture or maintenance, pure flying won’t fetch any money.”
Vinitha says microlight flying is also not about volumes. “It’s about passion for flying. Knowing there are no returns, why would people want to get into microlight flying? Only as manufacturers or as hobby flyers. You won’t be into microlight flying if you don’t have a feel for flying.
You don’t measure its passion by the number of schools training enthusiasts to fly, but then just one training school is not great for the country.”
Apart from returns, the costs involved in going for a joy ride or for pilot training are high — microlight flying is an expensive hobby. A half-hour joy ride in the two-seater aircraft costs on an average Rs 2,500 and Rs 5,000 for an hour. Even hiring the microlight aircraft and flying it solo would cost roughly Rs 5,000 an hour, and more if accompanied by an instructor.
The low number of training schools is not only due to low returns, but also due to difficulties in finding instructors. “If you don’t have a flying instructor, how can you run a flying training school? And flying instructors are few because most of them would shift to airlines — they pay four or five times more than a training school,” says Aditya, a long-time microlight flying professional.
Microlight flying is also constrained by season. Too much wind, for instance, does not allow for joy rides or training sessions. Flying is also not possible very early in the morning or little late in the evening. Weather conditions have to be factored in given that it is a non-pressurised aircraft. “There are limitations to microlight flying. Only those willing to adjust to these can get into it,” says Vinitha.
There are only two other organisations in Bangalore which have any connection to microlight flying — Agni Aviation and Rajahamsa. They do not train or offer joy rides, but manufacture and assemble microlight aircrafts.
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