<a href="https://www.ghmc.gov.in/">GHMC</a> is setting up new traffic signals in congested areas as part of its efforts to permanently check traffic congestion in Greater. A total of 221 traffic signals are available within the GHMC range. There are 155 traffic junctions in Hyderabad, 41 in Cyberabad, and 25 in Rachakonda.With the idea of ​​adding technology to the traffic signal system and making the signal system work automatically, the state-of-the-art signal system was set up at 221 junctions. In addition to modernizing the existing 221 traffic signaling system, work has been initiated to set up new traffic signals at 155 intersections in view of the increasing traffic congestion. Rs 59 crore is being spent on this.As part of this, work was completed at 75 places and traffic signals were made available. Recently, new signals have been launched in Begumpet, Panjagutta, Uppal, Jubilee Hills, and Madhapur. Its unique feature is that the signaling system operates automatically in response to traffic congestion.The ATAC system is constantly monitored by the traffic central server. Officials said work was being carried out on a war footing and the project would be completed by the end of this month. In addition, traffic signboards are being set up as part of road safety measures. Officials said traffic signboards have been set up at 1,500 places so far in the school zone, left and right.

Automated Signals To End Traffic Snarls

A motorcyclist riding a bike without a helmet was stopped and checked by traffic police. But then, the Police have got a shock of their life seeing the list of challans on the vehicle. Of the 90 pending challans, 78 were levied for riding the bike without a helmet.On Wednesday, Mahankali traffic police stopped a young man riding a bike (TS10 EP0298) on the Secunderabad railway station road as part of a vehicle inspection. When checked, 90 challans and a fine of Rs 32,960 were pending on the bike. The Police seized the bike. The Rider did not bother to pay the challans or wear a helmet even after multiple challans.Even when the police stopped and seized the bike, the rider is not wearing a helmet. He is not holding a driving license. Challan worth 700 Rupees for both the offenses were imposed at the time of seizing. SI Shankar Nayak lamented that no matter how many awareness programs were conducted on the importance of wearing helmets as a matter of duty for life protection, such youths would not change.

78 Challans For No Helmet But No Way Wearing One!

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (<a href="https://www.ghmc.gov.in/">GHMC</a>) has recently decided to tighten enforcement of the plastic ban, which is becoming a major threat to human health. Despite repeated requests by the government and awareness programs, there has been no major change in the people. With this, special task force teams are being set up under the leadership of the GHMC Commissioner in coordination with various departments.As soon as the government gives its approval, special teams will enter the field and seize those selling plastic goods and covers within 50 microns. While special task force teams are already working in Delhi and Karnataka for the prevention of plastics, GHMC is preparing for doing the same in the city. Despite the ban on plastics and the intensification of GHMC measures, there has been no change in the public.In this context, it has recently decided to be more strict regarding plastic. A special task force headed by the GHMC Commissioner will soon be set up to prevent the manufacture and use of plastic covers. The corporation already completed a preliminary exercise in this regard.To this end, a task force will have the Director of Enforcement, Zonal Commissioners, Additional Commissioners of Sanitation, Pollution Control Board, Industries, Municipalities, Administration, Higher Education, Youth Ministry, and District Collectors as a part of it.&nbsp;The proposal was submitted to the government by the Sanitation Department. As per the government directives, task force teams will soon be deployed in the field for plastic prevention. GHMC officials state that the task force from time to time will create awareness, publicity campaigns, inspections, and realizing the result with penalties.

GHMC's Special Task Force To Enforce Plastic Ban?

<a href="https://www.skootr.com/">Skootr</a> that runs customized premium managed offices and is famous in India for the same has come up with tropical forest-themed office space in Hyderabad. Skootr Park that is spread over 1.2 lakh sq ft, was opened in a Hi-tech city. However, one highlight of this particular office space is that the interiors of the office are filled with 8000 plants that belong to 150 species.The space has private offices, meeting rooms, food and drinks area, terrace dining area apart from seating clusters on the outside. The structure also has an art garden apart from multi-level areas that remind one of nature’s bounty. The office space also has areas allocated for personal interaction and recreation.Country head of Skootr Rajat Johar shared that their premium office spaces have been providing customized solutions for businesses both within the country and MNCs that are setting shop in the country and Hyderabad. Pointing out that their Hyderabad office is one of its kind in providing all the necessary amenities that a business needs, Johar also shared that their organization is into sharing futuristic bespoke office spaces for their clients.Johar also revealed that Skootr was leasing out a total of 3.25 lakh sq ft in three different locations across the city. While one of the spaces is located in RMZ Futura, others are located in Skootr Forest, Dallas Centre, and My Home Twitza, he said. He added that their company was running offices in Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, and Jaipur, with the total area amounting to 5.37 lakh sq ft.Rajat Johar further clarified that many companies were using the seamless facilities that Skootr offers as a part of their ‘workspace service’ mission.

Skootr Throws Open Tropical Forest Themed Office Space in Hyderabad

<a href="https://www.ivanti.com/">Ivanti</a>, a US-based automation platform that discovers, secures, manages, and services IT assets from cloud to edge, will hire aggressively in the country, including tripling its headcount in Hyderabad from 200 now to over 600 employees over the next 18-24 months. Today the company has 500 employees in India and now aims to spike its headcount to 2,000 in the next 24 months, a large part of which will be for the operations in Hyderabad.At this time last year, Ivanti had less than 100 employees in the country and has acquired four companies that were synergistic to the overall solutions and product offeringsThe company has acquired MobileIron, a provider of mobile-centric unified endpoint management solutions; <a href="https://www.pulsesecure.net/">Pulse Secure</a>, a provider of secure access and mobile security solutions; Cherwell Software, an enterprise service management solutions company; and <a href="https://risksense.com/">RiskSense</a>, a pioneer in risk-based vulnerability management systems.According to Srinivas Mukkamala, SVP of Security Products, Ivanti, their new offerings for the hybrid work environment will enable businesses to run seamlessly and also reduce the risk of data breaches and simultaneously beautify employee experiences. It has also been reported that more than 40,000 customers, including 78 of the Fortune 100, have chosen Ivanti to discover, manage, secure, and service their IT assets from cloud to edge.

US-based Ivanti to Hire Aggressively in Hyderabad

The drug busts that have been taking place at the airport and across the city from youngsters and individuals involved in trafficking is gathering attention and has now caught the eye of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, and the latter has declared that the state will go all out in eradicating drug abuse, production, and cultivation of cannabis(ganja).&nbsp;Immediately after the Hyderabad Police arrested a drug peddler with connections in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat and seized 40kg of ganja from his possession, the CM in a high-level meeting with excise officials and top police officials of the state and Hyderabad declared war on drugs. The latter urged law enforcement to step up measures, even more, this time, and the result should be the complete eradication of narcotics.&nbsp;The Chief Minister also recognized the efforts of the police to crackdown drug seizures at the airport and in the city and said that the police were doing a commendable job but emphasized a better level of results. The Chief Minister reminded the officials at the meeting about how the state struggled and fought its way to achieve statehood and that a similar struggle has to be done to achieve victory over the war on drugs.&nbsp;Chief Minister also went on to say that police officers who do everything to bring criminals and traffickers to justice will surely be rewarded in every way possible, and promotion is guaranteed for those who help the state win this war.&nbsp;Before the situation goes out of hand and more youngsters ruin their lives through addictions, this has to be stopped, stated the CM. The state's Excise Duty Commissioner Sarfraj Ahmed has been handed special orders and is asked to expand his squad with more skilled officers and build a better network with neighboring states and police officers to crackdown peddlers not just at the airport but in any means of travel that these peddlers chose to take to traffick drugs from Telangana to another state and vice versa.&nbsp;

Chief Minister Declares War On Drugs

The city is seeing expansion in roadways and ORRs, which can ease all possible bottleneck traffic and make entry and exit from the city an easier task. Apart from development, the need for effective cleanliness has seen the HGCL employ sweeping machines.&nbsp;The Hyderabad Growth Corridor Limited has employed four self-propelled suction sweeping machines to clean the driveways, carriageways, service roads, and interchanging highways at the ORR. As a result, the total length of the ORRs from all ends of the city comes down to 158km, and we will see these four machines evenly located to sweep the ORR clean.&nbsp;Special Chief Secretary Urban Development Arvind Kumar visited the ORR, conducted a low-key inauguration, shared pictures of these four sweeping machines on Twitter, and explained the operation of these machines.&nbsp;Narsingi, Kokapet, Patancheru, Medchal, Shamirpet, Ghatkesar, Pedda Amberpet, Shamshabad, TSPA, Narsing, Nanakramguda, and Gachibowli are the major ORRs of the city and lead to different locations in the city, state and country as well.
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://twitter.com/md_hgcl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@md_hgcl</a> puts Four (4) new Self Propelled Suction Sweeping Machines, having 2 side brushes &amp; a front brush giving total sweep path of 3,500 mm, into operation for main carriage way(MCW), service roads &amp; interchanges of ORR. Another 4 being procured <a href="https://twitter.com/KTRTRS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KTRTRS</a> <a href="https://t.co/lqRnCiO9qW">pic.twitter.com/lqRnCiO9qW</a>— Arvind Kumar (@arvindkumar_ias) <a href="https://twitter.com/arvindkumar_ias/status/1450721704074825729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2021</a></blockquote>

Four Sweeping Machines To Keep The City ORRs Neat And Clean

The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and its customs officials have cracked down on yet another case of possible gold smuggling into the city. They found gold hidden in a lantern from a passenger who flew in from Dubai to the city.&nbsp;The gold found concealed in a rechargeable lantern weighed around 6kg, which was paste. The worth of this seized gold is 2.96 crores. The passenger was further frisked to locate any more quantity of gold hidden more unconventionally. The passenger who arrived in EK 524 from Dubai is now booked under smuggling and custody. Officials are interrogating the passenger to know if there is a racket involved and if any more people will arrive in the city with gold hidden in unconventional objects.&nbsp;The gold seizures at the airport's international terminal show no signs of stopping. The customs are making 2-3&nbsp; seizures a week from people arriving into the city, especially from the middle east and African countries. For example, earlier this month, a Sudanese female was frisked, and nearly 1.2 kg of gold was found hidden in the form of a paste. In addition, bizarre cases of a large amount of gold being smuggled in the country are found in other airports, and most of the arrested passengers are from the Middle East and African countries.

Customs Find Gold Worth 2.9 Crores Being Smuggled In A Lantern 

Most of us might have heard people visit Leh Ladakh via Delhi or Srinagar and take a bus or train to one of the most beautiful places on earth and get the best view of the Himalayas. We might have heard of enthusiastic bikers who drove from the city or any city to this location in a rigid bike.&nbsp;But the 30-year-old Dileep Kumar made it to Leh Ladakh all alone on his blue color Honda Activa.&nbsp;Dileep Kumar, a former resident of Tirupati, is a travel junkie who has been living in Hyderabad for eight years now and has traveled across the country and explored the lesser-known beauty of the places he went to.&nbsp;The latter rode from the city on September 8th and covered nearly 5000km, and reached Ladakh. The rider returned safely and exclaimed to have a fantastic trip. Still, he also had some real challenges covering such a long distance on a much lesser performance vehicle usually required for such cross country rides.&nbsp;Dileep explains how he had a vision for a long trip but started moving across long distances in South India to experience how it would look.&nbsp;He made his first trip on the very same activa from Hyderabad to Chennai and back in time before the pandemic locked people in. The rider had the most low-cost trip to Leh Ladakh. He stayed in a small tent cooking his food using preservable ingredients and a pocket stove that he carried from Hyderabad and also upgraded his vehicle with the best tires and carried a first aid kit, a small tool kit, and snacks on the go.&nbsp;He spent an amount of Rs. 18,000 for his fuel and stayed in tents most of the time. The rider is soon looking to go for a ride to the North East, covering all the states and unraveling some hidden marvels that the seven sister states of the North East possess.

Hyderabadi Traveler Rides From City to Leh-Ladakh In An Activa 

The city’s realty sector has seen an upward swing. And that’s a given. But one area where all action is happening is in the western corridor of the city. Right from Kukatpally, Kondapur to Manikonda to Gachibowli, there has been a great push in the region as far as real estate is concerned. Though many IT offices haven’t recalled their employees, the demand for realty in the region is pretty high. Western suburbs such as Hitec City, Financial District, and surrounding areas continue to see an increase in new launches.According to <a href="https://www.99acres.com/">99acres.com</a>, the first half of 2021 saw a jump of 250 percent in new launches in the western corridor of the city, though the launches remained muted in the July-September quarter of 2021. Apartments measuring 1100 to 1300 sq ft and 1500 to 2500 sq ft had the highest market share. Areas such as Kondapur, Gachibowli, Manikonda, Kukatpally, and Madhapur saw 35-50 percent market share for 2BHK and 3BK apartments.Meanwhile, mid to high-income segments also witnessed an increase in the number of projects between July-September 2021. Being a financial and commercial hub, the western corridor also pushed the residential market.On the other hand, the demand for budget homes has increased on the fringes of the city, costing between Rs 60 to Rs 80 lakh. Ironically, the rental market hasn’t recovered quite yet as most companies have deferred their re-opening of offices and plan to increase their work from home percentages to 70 percent by December 2021.Another trend, seen during the past one and half years, is that people have been investing in luxury homes and villas. Areas such as Nanakramguda, Kokapet, Narsingi, and Kondapur in the western quadrant ruled the roost in terms of buyer inquiries, new launches, and residential sales.Due to work-from-home and online schooling options, there has been a demand for more space, and hence the demand for larger homes has increased in Hyderabad.

Realty Develops in the Western Corridor of the City

This month has undoubtedly been an indecisive month for parents as the Government decided to reopen physical schools for all ages. However, the HC overturned this decision 48 hours before the schools reopened and gave out additional orders for school management to adhere to.&nbsp;A new survey recently done by <a href="https://leadschool.in/about-us/know-the-company/">LEAD</a>, an edtech company, showed a completely different picture about the parent's views on school reopening. This survey clearly showed that 70% of parents are willing to send their child to the school, out of which 59% of parents admitted the reducing quality of education through online mode as a reason to send their children to school.This survey was done among 10,500 parents in metros and non-metros whose children study from classes 1-10.&nbsp;Many parents have realized that their child is missing out on a complete school experience. In the same survey, 22 percent of parents were keen on teachers and staff is completely vaccinated. In comparison, 55 percent of parents wanted social distancing to be a top priority at the school, and 54 percent of parents emphasized the need for physical activity and sports.&nbsp;More than 40% of parents in both metros and non-metros described the need to eliminate the challenges they have to face daily for 3-4 online classes and, at times, are not happy with the quality of education through online learning. Also, a good 63% of parents feel that their child's engagement hasn't been effective on a virtual platform and that a school environment would improve their social skills.