Jaipur Diary

Monsoon marathon for cycle lovers
Riding in the rain is a lot of fun! Although it has been a rather dull monsoon season this time, cycling enthusiasts in the Pink City had a great time recently. They were fully charged-up to display their ‘pedl power’. Over 250 cyclists gathered for ‘Saawan Manbhaavan’, a riding event held in three categories of 30, 50 and 100 kms. The 100-km marathon started from Kalwaar Road to Jobner town and back to Jaipur. The only spoiler was that the monsoon showers gave the event a miss. Had the rain gods been merciful, the ride would have been much more enjoyable. 

Software to approve driving licence 
If you are applying for a driving licence in Jaipur, no human is going to test your driving skills now. Driving licences will now be issued using technology, with specially designed software created by the State Transport Department. The software will ensure an automatic test and an automated driving track has been prepared for this. The track will have 24 CCTV cameras, boom barrier and a reader to analyse the driving skills of the applicant. The task to develop the software has been given to a private firm. The main purpose behind the move is to curb forgery in making licences to reduce chances of road accidents, speed up operations and bring in transparency, Jaipur RTO said. 

Alarm bells for Jaipur’s water situation
The Bisalpur dam is at its lowest level in the last six years. The water level is only at 309.33 RL (reservoir level) due to poor monsoon and constant vapourisation. Last year, the dam had only 66 per cent of water which has now come down to an alarming 23 per cent. This means the dam has water available only till coming October, says the state government. This is giving nightmares to the authorities as 56.5 million liters of water is being drawn out daily from this dam for the city needs. With a capacity of 3.7 TMC, the dam supplies water to the city’s 40 lakh population. The water department has opened up tubewells after 7 years.

Internet curfew
Internet curfew was imposed in Jaipur on Sunday as Rajasthan Administrative Services (RAS) examination was conducted on the day. To nullify the possibility of cheating, internet services were suspended for the second time in one month. But the move is being resented by people, who say that if the government is not able to conduct exams without shutting down mobile internet, there is something seriously wrong with the system. This year, internet services have been suspended in Jammu and Kashmir on 35 occasions while Rajasthan has seen 26 such disruptions so far. The Rajasthan High Court questioned the government that under which law did they shut down internet during recruitment exams? The government is yet to respond.