Jaipur artisans hope Asia Cup returns home

Thru HindustanTimes.com

At least one workshop in Jaipur has been dependent on the pulls and drives in distant Colombo. And after India reached the Asia Cup final, the artisans crafting the trophy bestowed it with all their loving care in the hope that the Cup will come home.

Unveiling the trophy on Thursday, Rajiv Pabuwal, one of the two brothers who created the cup, said, "When Jayasuriya was hammering India, our workers slowed down, but the moment Zaheer bowled the last ball, they were ecstatic."

Four of the five cricket trophies that the brothers have designed have landed abroad. “It hurts,” said Rajiv, “but still it’s a great feeling to see the world appreciate our work.” They have designed the Reliance World Cup (1987), MRF World Series Cup (1989), Hero Cup (1993), Wills World Cup (1996) and Independence Cup (1997). India only won the Hero Cup.

Rajasthan feeling the brunt of a scarce monsoon

Thru India News Online

Drinking water supply has been curtailed in several cities of Rajasthan as the state has had scanty rainfall this monsoon season.

Power shutdowns have also become more frequent with a severely deficient rainfall. To make matters worse, agriculture has been badly hit with the sowing area almost down to a third.

The rainfall has been deficient from 40 percent to over 80 percent in the country's largest state.
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"Increased demand has created power shortage in the northern grid, which is the source of power supply in the entire sate. A decision has been taken for two-hour power cut daily in Jaipur. For other cities it ranges between three to four hours', a senior official of the state energy department said.

Steps for Smooth Driving on NH-8

Thru PIB Press Release

Delhi-Jaipur Section of National Highway 8 (NH-8) and Delhi-Agra Section of NH-2 have already been widened to four lane dual carriageway. Eight patrol vehicles (6 on NH-8), 2 on NH-2), 5 ambulances (3 on NH-8, 2 on NH-2) and 3 cranes (2 on NH-8, 1 on NH-2) have been provided to give assistance to victims of accidents and remove vehicles damaged in accidents. Road markings, signages and metal beam crash barriers are provided at appropriate places for safety of user of road. Median plantation is maintained to cut off glare from opposite direction.

There are no flyovers under construction at present on NH-8 and NH-2. Work on improvement of six at-grade junctions on NH-2 at a cost of Rs.7.75 crore is under progress and likely to be completed within a year.

This information was given in the Lok Sabha today in a written reply by the Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Shri K.H. Munniyappa.

Ropeways in Jaipur to boost tourism

Thru Kerala news

Jaipur, In a bid to boost tourism, the Rajasthan government plans to develop ropeways at selected tourist spots in the state, including the historical Jaigarh and Nahargarh forts and two famous temples.

The first ropeway is likely to be developed in Jaipur to connect Jal Mahal with the Jaigarh and Nahargarh forts, a senior official in the state tourism department said.

The Jaipur Development Authority (JDA), which will execute the project, is set to invite tenders for the ropeway and work on the project will start once the bids are finalised.
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The first state of the art ropeway in Jaipur would be 1,500 metres long and 200 metres in height. It would take 10 minutes for a car to reach the top of the ropeway. From there, a regular bus service will ferry tourists to the Nahargarh and Jaigarh forts, the official said.

Air Deccan tests cut-price limit

Thru The Telegraph

Fasten your seat belts for the cheapest air ride to the metros: Rs 500 and upwards for a flight to Delhi or Mumbai.

Air Deccan’s pioneering attempt to expand the market for air travel through dirt cheap tickets could push other airlines into offering similar packages.
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Tickets can be bought over the Internet 90 days in advance. The tickets will begin at Rs 500; another 45 will be available up to Rs 5,000 and the last 90 between Rs 5,000 and Rs 8,000. The fare on other airlines is about Rs 10,300.
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The airline will also expand its fleet of ATR-42 (500) turbo-props by adding five aircraft later this year. “We are going to operate three (aircraft) from Delhi to Agra, Jaipur, Lucknow and other places and use the other two for the Northeast. We plan to operate 100 flights a day by the end of the year as against 47 flights now.”

Jaipur airport modernization set for take off

Thru Asia Times Online

The Civil Aviation Ministry has drawn up a Rs 50 billion (US$1.1 billion) modernization plan for 15 airports, apart from the four metros.

'We have worked out plans to redo the 15 airports and everything would be in place by end 2006,' Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said Saturday.

In an informal chat with media, Patel said the funds required to modernize airports, including the in Jaipur, Udaipur, Lucknow and Bhubaneswar, could also be raised through government bonds.

Metro for Jaipur discussed in Lok Sabha

Thru Chennai Online News Service

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BJP member Girdhari Lal Bhargava wanted introduction of metro rail in Jaipur. To this, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad said he would look into the matter.