Urban Transport

Urban transport system faces the challenges at the rapid urbanisation process happning in Indian context. Various committees and recommendations are in the air to improve the system. Rather than looking at an uniform solution in every cities, we need to study the various elements influencing the transport system in these cities. Urban transport system needs to be looked at with an utmost care. 

This article appeared in Times of India draws to a very relevant argument to the concerns about the policy initiative in urban transport system.

Under the national action plan on climate change being prepared by the urban development ministry, the mission on sustainable habitat has made  several recommendations in order to check the growth of private vehicles in Indian cities and boost public transport. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles which, the mission warns, could increase by 580 per cent by 2035. But while the motive behind the proposal is laudable, pushing public transport as an alternative to private transport will be difficult when there is abysmally poor public transport in most Indian cities. 

Sure, the sheer volume of new vehicles being added to roads every day needs to be checked. The growth of registered vehicles has been four times the rate of growth of the population in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Chennai. Oil consumption by vehicles is slated to increase by 600 per cent in the same period. That's why the government's proposals concentrate on making it more expensive for people to own and drive cars. To that end, the plan seeks to impose a congestion charge on vehicles for entry into busy areas. There is also a proposal to make the parking fee reflect the cost of land, while bringing in differential parking rates. 

But before penalising people for turning to private vehicles, the government must provide a clean, efficient and well-connected public transport system, which would include local trains, the metro and buses. Most of the ideas proposed by the mission are hardly revolutionary, though some, such as the one requiring prospective car buyers to demonstrate ownership of a parking spot before purchase, appear unenforceable. Indeed, measures like congestion tax and differential parking charges have been implemented with some success in cities such as London and Singapore. However, both those cities had well-developed and efficient public transport systems in place before they charged people for driving cars to get to work. 

The recommendations are typical of urban planning in this country, which has tended to be myopic. As it is, these measures will disrupt public life far more than they will solve traffic blues. If implemented now, these measures will only force people to spend more on purchasing and running a private vehicle. It is unlikely to discourage people from buying cars. Until public transport systems in cities are improved, it is unlikely that there will be a slowdown in the growth of private vehicles. Vehicular emissions are a cause for concern in the fight against climate change. But the government cannot seriously begin to reduce emissions without first putting the infrastructure in place to make it possible for people to give up their cars.

Centre for Public Policy Research

Invites internship in the following categories under ‘Reinventing Cochin’ Project initiated by the Centre

Eligibility: Graduate students to retired civil servants

Duration: Two weeks to two months

Time:  commitment of 30 working hours to 150 working hours.

Selection: based on the interview

 

Selected areas of research for internship in Reinventing Cochin project

 

Decentralization - Financial:

• Autonomy of financial resources
• Can local government decide on the use of local resources ?
• Predictability of inter-governmental transfer
• Principles of financial devolution
• Level of adoption of the budget
• Sources of local government funding ((taxes,user charges, borrowing, central government, international aid)
• Can local government raise resources from capital markets without approval of from higher levels of government?
• Percent of funds devolved from higher levels of government

Decentralization - Political:

• Dismissal of mayors, councilors and officials
• Progress of deciding political agenda
• Legislation on de-centralisation (yes/no)
• Number of gender equity oriented initiatives undertaken by local organisation or institutions
• Percentage of elected and nominated members by sex/ethnic group
• Control by higher level of government
• Access to government positions by all groups

Local government:

• Process of selecting mayor
• Regulatory framework that governs promotion of civil servants
• Career prospects of civil servants
• Pay scale of civil servants
• Tacit knowledge about the power structure

Planning and predictability:

• Openness of procedures for contracts/tenders for municipal services
• Appointments by higher government
• Annual budgeting
• Percent recurrent resources for Pvt Sector/CBO
• who supplies and regulates various services
• independent decisions, regulation/taxes, auditing, removal from office
• Sources of income
• Transparency of local taxation
• Consistency/regularity of local mayor election

Responsiveness:

• Percentage of population served
• Access of public to stages of policy cycle ( planning, budgeting, monitoring, etc) delegation of public service
• Integration of planning and budgeting
• No of public hearings and participants from different income/ethnic groups
• Are data collected and used by gender and district
• Existence of conflict mediation at local level (budgeted)

Empowerment:

• Existing participatory processes
• Group equity in participatory planning and decision making
• Equal access to education and information
• Existence or not of information on differential situation and needs of women and men
• Legal entitlement to different assets to all categories of people
• Self determination of groups in relation to resource management
• Civil freedoms - press, association, justice
• Social group and watch dog for programme implementation
• Number of CBO’s and specific organisations  addressing gender issues
• Access to basic needs

Effectiveness:

• Consumer satisfaction ( survey/complaints)
• Capacity for delivery of services ( including spatial coverage)
• Income/expenditure of local govt/capita
• Legislated local government functions
• Targets, programme, financial
• Economic development ( city Product)
• Environmental quality

Freedom, justice, fairness and equity ( concentrated on equity first):

• Equity in tax system
• Incorporation of excluded groups in the consultation process
• Resource allocation to services benefiting the poor/ the rich
• Access to basic services for disadvantaged groups Eg spatial distribution of services
• Quintile distribution of city product
• Ratio of price of water in formal informal settlements
• Existence of public hearings
• Existence of local media
• Resource allocation towards formal/informal  settlement
• Rental; to income ratio in formal and informal settlement

Accountability and transparency:

• Fairness in enforcing laws
• Clarity of procedures and regulations and responsibilities
• Existence of sanction, performance standards and disclosure laws
• Codes of conduct for professional associations

Forward Looking:

• Social development plan
• Vision/mission statements
• Forward/strategic Plans
• Communication strategy
• Gender perspective
• Revenue growth ( total and own)
• Funds known in advance
• Setting budgets/targets
• Existence of planning department

Participation:

• Role of  key groups in planning , decision making, implementation, monitoring and evaluation
• Freedom of media and existence of local media
• Percentage of people voting by sex and social groups
• Process of public discussion on key issues
• Use of referendum on key issues
• Right of establishing association

Private sector:

• Extent of civil society organization ( monitoring )
• Predictability of enforcement
• Integrity of auditing and monitoring
• Existence of enabling city legislative environment
• Predictability of institutional change
• Credibility of rules
• Existence of an official admin structure

Security:

• Percentage of unsafe city areas-crime rates (murder, rape)
• Police corruption- feeling of safety
• Efficiency
• Per capita revenue
• Cost of various services
• Percentage economic Growth
• Recycling/re-treatment/sustainability
• Percentage on salaries
• Employees per delivery service
• General administration share
• Number of local government employees/ 1000 population

Civil society:

• Resource requirements to organised groups
• Status of local leadership ( formal, informal, legitimate, non legitimate, respected, non respected, independent
• Existence of emergency laws against public meetings, tradition of public action
• No of NGO’s
• No of procedures need e to register NGO’s

Planning and management:

• Functional responsibilities for service provision (sewerage, water, education, health, social services, green space etc)
• Possibility that the mayor is good!!!!

Top 12 Urban Governance issues/indicators: 
 

1. Consumer satisfaction (survey/complaints)  2. Openness of procedures for contracts/tenders for municipal services  3. Equity in tax system  4. Sources of local government funding ((taxes,user charges, borrowing, central government, international aid)  5. Percentage of population served by services  6. Access of public to stages of policy cycle  7. Fairness in enforcing laws  8. Incorporation of excluded groups in the consultation process  9. Clarity of procedures and regulations and responsibilities  10. Existing participatory processes  11. Freedom of media and existence of local media  12. Autonomy of financial resources

 

Selected candidates will be given training and quality benchmarked articles will be published in reinventing cochin website and also in the local dailies.

 

Interested candidates can forward your resume to shobha@cppr.in

 

Beginning of the road

For the last four years, I was aware of the concept of " Reinventing Cochin" what I call the pet topic of the Team CPPR. Now, my thoughts are revolving around the domain of urban governance and Cochin Corporation.By the 74th amendment act, we implemented decentralization in urban areas. The concept of Grama sabha was a manna from heaven for the rural India.But, what about the urban areas????
When I explored the possibility of an internship related to Cochin, in connection with urban governance I came to know about the Area Sabha, which is already in air by a vibrant civil society in India. Can we fill the gap between Corporation and the common people with the help of this idea?

There is an observation that, if we consider the possibility of a facilitator role in bridging the gap between the authority and the public what is the role of lay man????
How are the representative motives of the political parties represent the human needs including basic needs?
Why the inert mindset of the urban middle class is prevalent in recent elections?
Why the so called new generation negating the impact of public life in the society?
These are some questions which I have in my mind, at present.
I will come up with new insights in the following days

Making roads in Kochi inviting to pedestrians

While urban planners are making some cities in the world more walkable, our cities are becoming increasingly hostile to pedestrians. SHYAMA RAJAGOPAL goes into the results of a pedestrian audit conducted recently by an NGO in Kochi.

Walking on the roads in Kochi is a nightmare.

Ask pedestrians and they will tell you why. Unruly traffic, overflowing gutters, encroachments, non-existent foot paths, accumulated garbage – the list goes on and on.

Identifying needs

So what exactly makes life so difficult for pedestrians on our roads.

A pedestrian audit by the Kochi-based Centre for Public Policy Research tried to find out the problems faced by pedestrians, what they thought should be done to facilitate safe walking and who they thought should take the lead in improving the situation.

A pedestrian audit, says the centre, is a road safety audit.

Or in other words, it is what the government agencies undertake to estimate the safety needs of the roads.

It seeks to ensure adherence to road safety rules and construction regulations, be a forum to showcase the opinions of all stakeholders, let authorities have a say and yet see how far one can hold them accountable in a non-confrontational manner. Though the centre’s initiative may not have covered a large number of people, it is, perhaps, the first one of its kind to find out what the pedestrians look forward to.

And to that extent, an intiative to make the city more ‘walkable’.

The centre points out that that the Indian road rules insist on footpaths with an even surface and continuity with a minimum of 1.5-m width.

And they should be clean and free from obstacles or encroachments.

Besides how many know that footpaths ought to have guiding blocks for visually challenged people and the kerb height should not exceed 15 cm?

The capacity of footpaths must, as far as one- and two-way footpaths go, differ according to the number of pedestrians traversing on it, points out another specification for Indian roads. But in most cities, a one-way road is indistinguishable from a two-way one. There are often no indications to show that a particular road is one-way. A motorist gets to know about it on being nabbed by the police.

The centre also refers to the lack of awareness of traffic signals among pedestrians. Many do not know that that a zebra crossing is a free-cross zone.

Most pedestrians take a criss-cross route to cross the roads in between the flow of vehicles. Many, perhaps, do not even know what the traffic lights indicate.

Unruly traffic

And what made Kochi roads unfriendly to pedestrains? About 76 per cent of those who took part in the audit listed unruly traffic as the main obstacle.

This was followed by overflowing gutters, garbage, absence of pedestrian crossings, unusable footpaths, two-wheelers usurping footpaths, encroachments and so on.In the audit, about 48 per cent of the respondents indicated that better traffic regulation is needed to make the roads pedestrian- friendly. Better regulation can be achieved by providing separate lanes for different types of vehicles, said about 47 per cent of the respondents. Nearly 43 per cent indicated that pedestrian pathways have to be improved.

And who are capable of making roads more pedestrian friendly?The majority (37 per cent) felt it was the government authorities who should take the lead.

Those who said the onus was on vehicle drivers made up about 20 per cent and that on the general public, 18 per cent.

A significant section – about 30 per cent – said that among others, all the three sections, should play a role in bringing about change.

Volvo Asian Race and Cochin city

Another dream project getting pegged in the bureaucratic meddle ton.  It is a long wait for the cochiates to receive Sports lovers and travellers from all over the world at the occasion of Volvo Asian race. If I am not mistaken, this challenge is in the air for more than year. it means this has provided enough time to local authorities to prepare for the gala event. But what is the reality; newspaper and media reports say that we have a long way to host the event though the first leg has already been kicked off. 

My immediate comment to the whole issue is that it creates an opportunity to think about the vast resources and potential around us which is yet to be utlised in a proper way. Marine Drive is in a saggy condition. All the hooplah around the tourism ministry's development plans reflect the lack of coordiantion and vision. it also ensures that they are not responsible for the work they are doing. No matter what happens after the inauguration is not worth to mention.  Why cant we invite global tenders to beautify Marine Drive? Leave it to the entrepreneurs to work for the community and social responsibility. Let it be a tourist spot of world attention. Similar is the case with the other tourist spots in and around city. Let Mattanchery and Fort Cochin are in the custody of the local communities and allow them to organise weekly festivals and shopping centres. Let it be the Queen of Arabian Sea in actual sense; festivals and theatres and colors everywhere

At least two dozen pedestrians are killed or injured on Kochi’s roads every year

KOCHI: Walking might be good for health, but not along Kochi’s roads. Many roads in the city, including arterial ones do not have footpaths, forcing people to walk along uneven road shoulders. Insensitive motorists do not care for pedestrians and brush past them at high-speed. Pedestrians are not safe even at zebra lines, where motorists in all civilised countries slow down to give them preference. Out in Kochi, they intimidate pedestrians by trying to speed past before they manage to cross the road.

Walking along even roads with footpaths is quite a nightmare. Pedestrians have to endure spit (people insist on spitting on the footpath even if there is an open drain on the side), dirt and rotting garbage that adorn the city’s roads.

Then there are slabs which are missing or the ones that sharply protrude out from the footpath, which kill or maim at least two dozen people in Kochi each year. An example is the ill-maintained footpath along the Rajendra Maidan-Menaka stretch, where vendors occupy a good share of the footpath.

Despite police action in some stretches, cars and bikes continue to be parked on the footpath in front of commercial establishments. Fallen tree stumps and branches are left to decay on the footpath, forcing pedestrians to venture into the road.

As for senior citizens and handicapped people, climbing the footpaths is quite a tiresome proposition.

Pedestrians have to risk their life to cross busy intersections since the signal lights aimed at guiding pedestrians malfunction in most places.

Fed up with inaction on the part of the Corporation of Cochin and the PWD that have to maintain the footpaths and ensure that roads have zebra lines at least in junctions, a pedestrian audit was conducted in between the Judges Avenue Junction at Kaloor and the St Antony’s Church there a few days ago. The initiative to mobilise support for pedestrian rights came from the Centre for Public Policy Research.

“Motorists must remember that they too become pedestrians once they venture out of the vehicle,” said Jaismon Antony, an active member of the agency who is pursuing his degree course in sociology from Sacred Heart College, Thevara.

“Some respondents in the survey said that many pedestrians cross the road carelessly. We plan to carry out such campaigns in other parts of the city too, so that the Corporation takes note of the hassles pedestrians encounter. Unlike in most foreign countries, pedestrians here get a raw deal. Pedestrians turn more vulnerable in unlit roads,” he said, citing the death of a senior citizen near Janatha Junction on SA Road after he fell into an uncovered drain.

The Centre plans to bring out a manual that details the specifications for pedestrian-friendly footpaths. Their next initiative – a campaign to reduce the number of bus stops in cities.
Bus stops increase when people are reluctant to walk to the next bus stop along unsafe and ill-maintained footpaths.

Better footpaths would mean that more people take to walking up short distances – an inexpensive and non-polluting way to travel.

The Centre, formed by a group of visionary students can be contacted at 0484-6469177, or log on to reinventingcohin.blogspot.com.

Car Pooling

This Article appeared in Indian Express

KOCHI: How successful is the concept of car-pooling against the backdrop of the police move to collect token fee from single-passenger cars entering the city?
The concept suggests that if a number of people are coming from nearby places they can share a single vehicle. This will help avoiding unnecessary entry of vehicles into the city and fuel consumption.
While some people express their doubts about the feasibility of the concept, some others point out that already there are people going for car-pooling.
The city police have already sent a proposal to the state government seeking permission for collecting token fee from single-passenger cars entering the city. Once the proposal is implemented, people can park their vehicles near the South and North over-bridges and enter the city in public transports.
“People can park their vehicles near the over bridge and opt for circular service of public transports. The concept of car- pooling can be effectively implemented if people are ready for shared travelling. Advocates, who come to the High Court from one place can share a single vehicle. The court staff can also opt for pooling. There are lots of advocates using four-wheelers. Once they opt for car-pooling that itself will considerably reduce the traffic,’’ said City Police Commissioner Manoj Abraham.
The concept would be suited for advocates coming from nearby places, said advocate Anchal Vijayan. “ concept is indeed welcoming. I think, it’s already a practise in some of the major cities like New Delhi. I feel that the concept can be used not only by advocates but also by others working in similar offices,’’ he said. What’s more? There are already people opted for car-pooling.
“ four-five people are coming from Kakkanad side. Hence, we decided that we can use a single car. Alternate vehicles will be used each day. Someday there will be four and some days five. Even though we didn’t start the system keeping this concept in mind, we find it very useful,’’ said a woman working with the High Court.

Pedestrian Audit - the what's, where's n why's...

For a city that’s going to play hosts to the Pedestrian Audit, the first-of-its-kind -venture in the State, the blog caricaturing the ‘metropolization’ of Kochi remains largely silent on the same. As one of the enthusiasts behind it, I believe it to be my solemn duty to remedy the situation by updating our reading public as to what a pedestrian audit is, why it is necessary and finally, what we seek to accomplish by executing it.

Starting from the basics, a Pedestrian Audit is a species of the genus known as a Road Safety Audit; an initiative usually undertaken by governmental authorities to estimate the safety needs of the roads. It’s more than just a plain analysis. It seeks to ensure adherence to road safety rules and construction regulations, be a forum to showcase the opinions of all stakeholders, to let authorities have a say and yet see how far one can hold them accountable in a non-confrontational manner.

As to the question of why do a pedestrian audit, I would say, it's because pedestrians, as a race(?) are everywhere. They are not an ethnic group found in some far-flung corner of the world. A passenger or a driver of a vehicle is a pedestrian the minute they step out of their transport. You may not find a vehicle, a driver or a passenger everywhere, but the world over, your sure to find a pedestrian, simply because of the pleasure an inexpensive stroll bestows. Inspite of being the largest road users to-date, they remain pitifully under-represented and their voices unheard.

A traveler of the Indian sub-continent will tell you that from the northernmost reaches of India to its southernmost tip, perhaps exempting our capital city of Delhi, all Indian roads are intercept with strategically formed potholes with patches of road left un-tarred, a testament perhaps, to the rather unusual aesthetic sense of our reigning governments. Signals malfunction and policemen either stray from their posts or point blank refuse to stay in places with heavy traffic flow, thereby contributing to haphazard traffic.

Overflowing drains find themselves covered in just-barely-there concrete slabs that are laid so that they form a semblance of a footpath, a myth which is almost immediately dispelled the minute one steps on them. They quiver like feathers, and one soon dreads the inevitable drench in gutter water. Medians are either non-existent or extent for miles at a stretch, prompting the frustrated pedestrian to demolish parts of it to make way for crossing the road… talk about “State-sponsored vandalism!!!” (term, curtsey Dhanuraj).

Apart from shaky footholds over gutters, Indian roads have no specific footpaths to speak off. Vehicles veer dangerously on roads and the Indian pedestrian, an agile and fearless breed of streetwalkers, jump out of the way in record time. In monsoons, this becomes a particularly challenging feat, as the Indian pedestrian finds it difficult to differentiate between a gutter and a foothold, with murky rainwater upto their calves.

Not very hard to gauge the safety levels (or the absolute lack of them!!!) of an Indian road, is it? We’re hoping to alert the public as to the hazards and pitfalls (pun intended!) of the Indian road, without them having to suffer a personal (read harrowing/traumatizing) experience of a gutter-bath or something equally vexing!

Thank others if you are safe in city

GARBAGE AND COCHIN

This article summarizes how Cochiates feel about their city

Article written by Justice V.R.Krishna Iyer.
Published in The Hindu, 22/06/2008


To save a city: of civic chaos and bathos in Kochi

V.R. Krishna Iyer

It is a shock and a shame that the beautiful city of Kochi has been degraded from a clean and green urban area into an ubiquitously waste- defiled territory — thanks to grave dereliction of municipal duty and administrative anarchy. The situation is aggravated by a paradox: on its streets and avenues, shops that sell gold and silver stand on the one hand and heaps of garbage and filth pile up on the other.

Kochi is Kerala’s growing industrial capital and tourist centre. It has five-star hotels, big business sky-peaks, crowded apartments and a huge High Court building that looks more like a shopping complex than a majestic justice marvel. The Arabian Seabounds the city on the west. The milieu used to be green everywhere with coconut trees and turbid but cool backwaters encircling it. Kochi was the loveliest urban space in South India.

But a lurid gloom has befallen this quondam beauty spot on account of unplanned development and putrid degradation.

It presents a situation that is too delinquent to be forgiven, too traumatic to be tolerated. Concrete jungles, miasmatic drains, narrow roads and tricky footpaths pose risks for pedestrians. Vintage Kochi was charming, with history speaking of little princelings and imperial relics. But now it is foul and filthy, hostile to sanitation, and so tragic in traffic that road safety is a common casualty.

On the roads, potholes and large pits come back to back. Cars, buses, two-wheelers, three-wheelers and other frightful automobiles are parked in glaring violation of the rules, impinging on street space and paralysing traffic. Cars and trucks and snaky wild-wheelers terrorise people everywhere. Police inaction makes crazy locomotion a common violation, and frenzied goondaism an urban outrage.

The traffic lights function fitfully. Road blockages that last for hours, and rash driving, mar tranquillity. With walkways disappearing, pedestrians have become aliens: freedom of movement is a forgotten right.

Yet, the gravest crisis that confronts Kochi is mega-garbage malignancy. The perennial presence of unsightly garbage, plastic refuse and contaminated water makes living in this city a hazard. What pathos and bathos of mismanagement! There are no dustbins, no buckets for plastics, no public sense of cleanliness. There is nothing of the old clean and green city, with its sunny beauty and plural divinity.

The people are even now well-dressed, pretty and smart. But each day, residents throw waste and dirty water into public places, and the municipal authorities turn a blind eye to such acts. And the malodorous city remains untidy, stinks and sinks in overflowing drains. The rain aggravates the situation, leaving the rags and offal putrefying. The High Court, from its high edifice, does judicial justice, and pronounces on disputes at a lofty level founded on sublime jurisprudence beyond the reach of the have-nots.

But the most sinister sin being committed by the Kochi Corporation is the grisly garbage catastrophe. What a tragedy, trauma and travesty. Horror here, horror there, horror everywhere, in the harrowing layers of putrid waste lying all over the place. Is there a government that has concern for Kochi? Is there a sense of urgency to liberate this city from the garbage syndrome? The media write pungently and poignantly, but municipal instruments and
governmental organs ignore or remain ineffectual in the face of this noxious nuisance. Why don’t the members of the Municipal Corporation resign with self-respect, decency and dignity, in protest, and design a better municipal management? Does the Opposition have a solution,
and an alternative process to dispose waste?

Tourists will soon discover Kochi to be Mega-Garbage Inc., a challenge to public health and civic happiness. This city has a dreaded trinityof pathologies: its ever-expanding Smart City status; the perennial garbage syndrome; and the rash rush of speed monster vehicles including ‘tipper’ trucks. This urban malignancy is writ large ubiquitously. This collapse of public sanitation and traffic sanity can be restored by law, if enforced by incorruptible officers and community cooperation.

But callous municipal sweepers, sleepy police constables and an indifferent health department hold the civic administration to ransom. If awarded a week’s prison holiday, such administrators will wake up. The defaulting contractors deserve a cancellation order and a heavy fine.

To function well, democracy needs determination with socialist conviction. What a scandalising scenario of criminal chaos in front of their ‘lordships’ and the learned Bar! An emergency ordinance, a suomotu High Court mandamus, extraordinary public health militancy, and a
people’s war on endemic vices are the desideratum. But the iron curtain of ministerial myopia and political power pachydermy blinds them to municipal justice. The law is dead, governance is tricken by bureaucratic neurosis, politicians are locked in party polemics or lost in foreign travel, and judges are Bench-busy with long lawyerly ‘submissions’. Justice is not mere logomachy but the right to life in dignity.

The polluters should pay. The Kochi Corporation and the district administration, by chronic inaction and delinquent default has made killer traffic an hourly road tragedy and mounting garbage a barbarity. These deserve popular, media and judicial censure.

We must plan to ban every high-rise concrete monster littering Kochi. Every apartment complex, under municipal orders, shall construct a biogas or biomass unit or make compost using the waste, and shall not use notified plastic items. Traffic shall be humanised and rationalised. The glut of automobiles should be arrested.

Kochi is also a colony under the mosquito empire, whose army wings sing, sting and suck your blood till you submit to disease. The people of Kochi should arise, awake and never rest till the city is truth and beauty again. Unless this is done, what is today Kochi’s chaos, bathos and Thanatos will be everywhere in India tomorrow.