Beijing was 14th Safest City in China, Lhasa was the 1st

A survey conducted by China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) which is a government owned body, revealed that the capital of China, Beijing is less safer than other cities of the country. The safest place is the capital of Tibet, Lhasa, followed by Shanghai.

When analysed in terms of safety, the Chinese capital city was ranked 14th, inspite of huge network of the security cameras as well as constant police force on the lanes and roads. Other major cities of China were ranked much safer than Beijing and these safe cities included Xiamen, Ningbo, Changchun, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Dalian, Hangzhou and Nanjing. CASS also revealed that around 40 percent of the 25000 respondents of survey from 38 cities of China felt unsafe to go out during nighttime. Residents of Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province marked it lowest in terms of safety. It was also found out that people in the coastal cities of East China as well as municipalities were safer than other parts of country.

Mumbai ranked among the Dirtiest Cities of the World

Mumbai, the commercial capital of India was named one among the dirtiest cities of the world in the Trip Advisor’s Cities Survey. Trip Advisor’s Cities Survey was the global survey including 40 main tourist cities. Mumbai ranked last in the category of cleanest streets. Tokyo got the first rank in this category.

Mumbai was again ranked last in the category of ease of getting around. Zurich, on the other hand was ranked first. The survey also found out the cities that had rudest locals, worst shopping as well as dirtiest streets. It was found that the least-friendly locals were found in Moscow. Cities of Russia ranked last in various categories which included friendliest locals.

The highly decorated city of the world was Tokyo and it ranked at the top most position in terms of friendliest taxi drivers, cleanest streets, safety, best public transportation as well as best taxi services. The New York City was ranked at the top for the purpose of shopping. It already has the global reputation of shopping hub.

The survey which was completed by over 75000 people checked cities from various tourists’ point of view. The survey looked at how travellers noticed these cities and locals viewed them. They survey was conducted in the 40 important and popular tourist cities of the world.

India's first integrated traffic management institute

India's first integrated traffic management institute would come up in Alwar, Rajasthan, where policemen would be trained on all aspects of traffic related issues. The government has sanctioned budget for this and the institute would come up in the next two-three years

eco-friendly, waterless toilet – the ECOSAN toilet

Regullanka, a village in Andhra Pradesh, has earned a rare distinction. For the first time in Asia, residents of the entire village have embraced an innovative, ecofriendly, waterless toilet – the ECOSAN toilet. The village situated on the banks of River Krishna achieved a new level of personal hygiene and general cleanliness with an ECOSAN toilet.Vijayawada-based NGO Arthik Samata Mandal (ASM) implemented this project to save the local women folk of the hardship of trekking a long distance to reach village outskirts to answer nature’s call. The project is sponsored by Switzerland-based Terre des Hommes (TDH). The excreta which is stored in a concrete chamber for six months and allowed to convert into compost, was being diverted to the fields as fertilizers.

Bangalore better than Delhi, Mumbai in quality of living: Survey

Bangalore ranks better than New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata amongst Indian cities in overall global quality of living index, according to a Mercer 2012 Quality of Living Survey.

Mercer conducts this survey annually to help multinational companies and other organisations compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments. According to the global consulting firm, its Quality of Living index list covers 221 cities, ranked against New York as the base city.

Global ranking by infrastructure

This year’s ranking separately identifies the cities with the best infrastructure based on electricity supply, water availability, telephone and mail services, public transportation, traffic congestion and the range of international flights from local airports, a statement said.

Singapore is at the top of this index, followed by Frankfurt and Munich. Copenhagen (4) and Dusseldorf (5) fill the next two slots, while Hong Kong and London share sixth place. Port-au-Prince (221) ranks at the bottom of the list.

Indian cities

Bangalore’s overall quality of living rank went up from 141 in 2011 to 139 in 2012 and is highest amongst other Indian cities. While New Delhi ranks (143), Mumbai (146), Chennai (150), and Kolkata (151) in overall Quality of living.

Bangalore’s rise in its quality of living ranking can be attributed to positive ratings for international schools which are suitable for expatriates, the survey says.

Mumbai ranks highest on city infrastructure category (134) amongst Indian cities followed by Kolkata (141), New Delhi (153), Chennai (168), and Bangalore (170).

Vienna retains top slot

In a statement issued here, Mercer said, Vienna retains the top spot as the city with the world’s best quality of living. Zurich and Auckland follow in the second and third place, respectively. Munich is in the fourth place, followed by Vancouver, which ranks fifth.

Düsseldorf dropped one spot to rank sixth followed by Frankfurt in seventh, Geneva in eighth, Copenhagen in ninth, and Bern and Sydney tied for the 10th place.

Asia-Pacific cities

Qualifying the Asia-Pacific cities, the survey says that Australian and New Zealand cities rank higher on the index with Sydney (11), Wellington (13), Melbourne (18) and Perth (21) following Auckland (3).

At the bottom

Globally, the cities with the lowest quality of living are Khartoum, Sudan (217); N’Djamena, Chad (218); Port-au-Prince, Haiti (219); and Bangui, Central African Republic (220). Baghdad, Iraq (221) ranks last.

Region-wise

Honolulu (28) is the city in the United States with the highest quality of living, followed by San Francisco (29) and Boston (35). Chicago is at 42 and Washington, DC ranks 43. New York, the base city, ranks 44.

In terms of city infrastructure, Vancouver (9) tops the ranking for the region with Atlanta and Montreal following at 13. In the United States, Dallas ranked 15, followed by Washington, DC (22), Chicago (28) and New York (30).

Europe has 15 cities among the world’s top 25 cities for quality of living. Vienna retains the highest-ranking for both the region and globally. With six cities in the top 10, European cities also fare well in the city infrastructure ranking.

Hyderabad Named world Third Best City to Visit in 2013

The City of Hyderabad was named as World Third best city to visit in 2013 by Travel guide book Lonely Planet published on 22 October 2012.

Hyderabad the capital city of Andhra Pradesh was described as "elegant and blossoming" by the Lonely Planet.

The top 10 cities according to Lonely Planet to visit in 2013 are San Francisco, Amsterdam, Hyderabad, Derry/Londonderry, Beijing, Christchurch, Hobart, Montreal, Addis Ababa and Puerto Iguazu.

Earlier in 2011, New York Times rated Hyderabad among the 41 top destinations to visit in the world.

North East biggest mosque to be inaugurated in Shillong

The north-east biggest and a unique mosque is all set to be opened up for devotees for prayers from October 18.  Named as Medina Masjid with an imposing and resplendent structure of glass dome and glass minarets, will  be inaugurated by the Union law and minority affairs minister Salman Khurshid.

The chief guest will also release book on Shilong Muslim Union (SMU) that has completed 107 years of existence since 1905

The four storey structure on the Umshyrpi College campus an institution run by Shilong Muslim Union (SMU), is an architectural marvel in itself. With 120-foot width and 61-footbreath, the building fitted with glittering glass work houses a mosque besides an orphanage, Islamic library and a Markaz (Islamic theological institute). At night the mosque is an eye catching spectacle as brilliant ligh work set the entire area glowing.

According to Sayeedullah   Nongrum who is also the general secretary of SMU nearly Rs 2 crore has been spent on the construction of the mosques which could house 2000 devotees to prayer at one time.

The Shillong Muslim Union was formed in 1905 in erstwhile East Bengal, which stretched from Siliguri to Cox's Bazar and Chittagong to Dibrugarh. After India's partition in 1947, SMU narrowed down its activities to Assam. Since Meghalaya's formation in 1972, its activities have been limited to the state.