India's first FASTag-based parking facility launched at Delhi's Kashmere Gate metro station
New Delhi, Jul 6: As part of its multimodal integration of transport services initiative, the DMRC on Tuesday launched the country's first FASTag-based cashless parking facility at the busy Kashmere Gate metro station in north Delhi, officials said.
The parking facility would also be the country's first to accept payment via the UPI (Unified Payments Interface) mode, they added.
The Kashmere Gate station was built on the Red Line and has interconnectivity with the Yellow and Violet lines.
As part of the multimodal integration initiative (MMI), dedicated intermediate public transport (IPT) lanes for autorickshaws, taxis and e-rickshaws were also inaugurated at the station, the officials said.
"For the first time in the country, a FASTag-based and UPI-based cashless parking facility was launched on Tuesday at the Kashmere Gate metro station by Mangu Singh, MD, DMRC, in the presence of senior officials of the DMRC and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)," the DMRC said in a statement.
This exclusively cashless parking facility, located at Gate No.6 of the metro station, can accommodate 55 four-wheelers and 174 two-wheelers, it said.
"The entry and exit and payment by the riders of four-wheelers can be done through FASTag. The parking fee will be deducted through FASTag, which will reduce the time for entry and payment. Only the vehicles bearing FASTag will be allowed to park at this facility," the statement said.
The entry for two-wheelers can be done only by swiping the DMRC smart card. The smart card swipe is used only for registering the time of entry and exit and fare calculation, and no money will be deducted from it.
The parking fee for two-wheelers can be paid through UPI-based apps by scanning a QR-code. In the future, the payment can also be made through the DMRC card and the NCMC (National Common Mobility Card), the officials said.
The Kashmere Gate station's facility is a "pilot project" under the MMI of the DMRC, which is planning to set up similar systems at more of its parking facilities across Delhi-NCR, they added.
In addition, the IPT lanes for autorickshaws, taxis and e-rickshaws at Gate No. 6 and Gate No. 8 will enable a smooth movement of vehicles and enhance the last-mile connectivity at the station, the DMRC said.
In the second phase of the MMI, which is under construction, there will be a food court (to be established by the DTIDC) and also a bus terminal (three lanes with a capacity of five buses each) to be constructed by the DMRC, it added.
After the completion of the second phase, the Kashmere Gate area will become a transportation hub, integrating metro connectivity on Line-1, Line-2 and Line-6 with parking facilities, the ISBT Kashmere Gate, the City Bus Service and taxi, autorickshaw and e-rickshaw services, the DMRC said.
These facilities will provide a major relief to the commuters travelling to and from the Kashmere Gate station, which is connected to a major inter-state bus terminus (ISBT) and several offices around the station.
"The cashless parking project is a major step as part of the government's 'Digital India' initiative. We have taken this up as a pilot project. After observing the response, we will plan similar systems at more parking facilities at our stations," the DMRC chief said.
"In fact, we will explore more opportunities to go digital wherever there is scope. This will not only help us in modernising the facilities, but will also help commuters saving their time and ease the process. Under the MMI, we have many other projects, which will be implemented in a graded manner," Singh said.
Both the FASTag and UPI systems were developed by the NPCI.
"We are pleased to partner with the DMRC to introduce the country's first 100 per cent digital parking plaza, along with the NETC FASTag contactless car parking solution, at their Kashmere Gate metro station. The parking plaza would accept the NETC FASTag for four-wheelers and UPI payments for all two-wheelers," said Praveena Rai, Chief Operating Officer, NPCI.
As part of the Multi-Model Integration (MMI) initiative, dedicated Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) lanes for Auto, Taxi and E-Rickshaws were also inaugurated at station. To read more about the facility follow this link: https://t.co/RJBZDE73yF pic.twitter.com/IWlaoLdsQy
— Delhi Metro Rail Corporation I कृपया मास्क पहनें? (@OfficialDMRC) July 6, 2021
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Actress sexual assault: Court says Prosecution 'miserably' failed to prove conspiracy against Dileep
Kochi (PTI): The prosecution had "miserably" failed to prove the conspiracy charge against Dileep in the sensational 2017 actress sexual assault case, a local court has observed while citing inconsistencies and lack of sufficient evidence against the Malayalam star.
The full judgement of Ernakulam District and Principal Sessions Court Judge Honey M Varghese was released late on Friday, and has revealed the judge also pointing out at unsustainable arguments put forth by the prosecution.
"The prosecution miserably failed to prove the conspiracy between accused No.1 (Pulsar Suni) and accused No.8 (Dileep) in executing the offence against the victim," the court held.
It examined in detail, the prosecution's allegation that Dileep had hired the prime accused to sexually assault the survivor and record visuals, including close-up footage of a gold ring she was wearing, to establish her identity.
On page 1130 of the judgment, under paragraph 703, the court framed the issue as whether the prosecution's contention that NS Sunil (Pulsar Suni) recorded visuals of the gold ring worn by the victim at the time of the occurrence, so as to clearly disclose her identity, was sustainable.
The prosecution contended Dileep and Suni had planned the recording so that the actress' identity would be unmistakable, with the video of the gold ring intended to convince Dileep that the visuals were genuine.
However, the court noted that this contention was not stated in the first charge sheet and was introduced only in the second one.
As part of this claim, a gold ring was seized after the victim produced it before the police.
The court observed that multiple statements of the victim were recorded from February 18, 2017, following the incident, and that she first raised allegations against Dileep only on June 3, 2017.
Even on that day, nothing was mentioned about filming of the ring as claimed by the prosecution, the court said.
The prosecution failed to explain why the victim did not disclose this fact at the earliest available opportunities.
It further noted that although the victim had viewed the sexual assault visuals twice, she did not mention any specific recording of the gold ring on those occasions, which remained unexplained.
The court also examined the approvers' statements.
One approver told the magistrate that Dileep had instructed Pulsar Suni to record the victim's wedding ring.
The court observed that no such wedding ring was available with her at that time.
During the trial, the approver changed his version, the court said.
The Special Public Prosecutor put a leading question to the approver on whether Dileep had instructed the recording of the ring, after which he deposed that the instruction was to record it to prove the victim's identity.
The court observed that the approver changed his account to corroborate the victim's evidence.
When the same question was put to another approver, he repeated the claim during the trial but admitted he had never stated this fact before the investigating officer.
The court noted that the second approver even went to the extent of claiming Dileep had instructed the execution of the crime as the victim's engagement was over.
This showed that the evidence of the second approver regarding the shooting of the ring was untrue, as her engagement had taken place after the crime.
The court further observed that the visuals themselves clearly revealed the victim's identity and that there was no need to capture images of the ring to establish identity.
In paragraph 887, the court examined the alleged motive behind the crime and noted that in the first charge sheet, the prosecution had claimed that accused persons 1 to 6 had kidnapped the victim with the common intention of capturing nude visuals to extort money by threatening to circulate them and there was no mention about Dileep's role in it.
The court also rejected the prosecution's claim that the accused had been planning the assault on Dileep's instructions since 2013, noting that the allegation was not supported by reliable evidence.
It similarly ruled out the claim that Suni attempted to sexually assault the victim in Goa in January 2017, stating that witness statements showed no such misconduct when he served as the driver of the vehicle used by the actress there.
The court also discussed various controversies that followed Dileep's arrest and the evidence relied upon by the prosecution, ultimately finding that the case had not been proved.
Pronouning its verdict on the sensational case on December 8, the court acquitted Dileep and three others.
Later, the court sentenced six accused, including the prime accused Suni, to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment.
The assault on the multilingual actress, after the accused allegedly forced their way into her car and held it under their control for two hours on February 17, 2017, had shocked Kerala.
Pulsar Suni sexually assaulted the actress and video recorded the act with the help of the other convicted persons in the moving car.
