Browsing by Author "Sarkar, Askoke Kumar"

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Alternative materials for wearing course of concrete pavements: A critical review
(Elsiever, 2020-03-10) Singh, Ajit Pratap; Sarkar, Askoke Kumar; Lahoti, Mukund
The existing worldwide road length of concrete pavements is significant. Furthermore, concrete pavements have a number of specific applications, even though they are second to asphalt pavements in terms of current popularity. Besides, asphalt is a rapidly depleting resource, which might mean that concrete is the chief material for the future. However, concrete pavements have their drawbacks, such as high construction cost, low tensile strength, and significant contribution to global carbon-di-oxide emissions. The present study aims to address these drawbacks by reviewing the prominent alternative materials that may be utilized to replace cement and/or aggregates in concrete. The potential of alternatives such as coal ash, silica fume, nano-silica, fly ash, slag, and recycled concrete aggregate is investigated. In addition, the effects of adding fibers (as both fiber-reinforced concrete and engineered cementitious composite) to concrete pavements are discussed. This review will also help pavement engineers and researchers to ascertain which combination of materials to use so that mechanical properties better than conventional concrete are achieved. The specific advantages and disadvantages due to various combinations of materials, in several types of concrete pavements such as conventional concrete, roller-compacted concrete, and self-compacting concrete are discussed in detail.
Assessment of Socio-Economic Impacts of PMGSY Roads Using Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making Tool
(ASCE, 2017) Singh, Ajit Pratap; Sarkar, Askoke Kumar
Rural roads are one of the significant aspects which contribute to the social and economic well-being of rural households. They assist in overall development and welfare of the rural inhabitants. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is one such initiative taken by Government of India with a view of developing rural regions. It has been launched to enhance rural connectivity with a viewpoint of producing better economic and social prospects for rural inhabitants. The current study is an attempt to assess the impacts incurred by the construction of PMGSY roads on the socio-economic status of rural habitants. The study develops a novel model to assess the socio-economic impacts of rural roads constructed under PMGSY scheme, by employing Mamdani fuzzy interference system. A case study of Jhunjhunu District of Rajasthan State, India, is considered to validate the effectiveness of the model. Total of 33 sub-criteria under five main criteria have been considered as significant indicators to assess the change in socio-economic status of the habitations.
Development of a Need-Based Approach for Rural Road Network Planning
(Springer, 2017-06-22) Singh, Ajit Pratap; Sarkar, Askoke Kumar
Road connectivity has a catalytic effect on the economic and social development and poverty alleviation in rural areas. In most of the developing countries, priority of connection is entirely based on demand. But mere connectivity does not satisfy accessibility to basic needs. In this paper an attempt is being made to develop a need-based approach for rural connectivity which would ensure accessibility to the basic facilities. Using GIS platform, a network was developed using need-based approach on it. Similarly using the demand-based connectivity network was prepared. Then both the networks were compared. It was found that the need-based network was connecting more number of villages and providing better accessibility though the length was higher. The paper has suggested that it is not necessary to construct high quality roads for each link and depending on the usage and population served they could be constructed as earth, gravel or black top/concrete roads. Considering the budgetary constraints a methodology has also been suggested to prioritize the construction of the links.
Evaluation of access to health care in rural areas using enhanced two-step floating catchment area (E2SFCA) method
(Elsiever, 2016-10) Singh, Ajit Pratap; Sarkar, Askoke Kumar
The study concerns with the quantification of accessibility to health facilities which is a prime concern in rural areas. In order to assure access to health care, planning commissions and policy decision makers require definite and reliable measures of accessibility values, thus that appropriate health care shortage areas can be analyzed and a policy decision can be taken accordingly to pacify the problem. Thus in this paper enhanced two step floating catchment area (E2SFCA) method, a special case of gravity model is used to quantify the present accessibility levels to health in rural areas. E2SFCA method which is an enhancement of two step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method differentiates the accessibility of the population within the catchment area by introducing a distance decay function. At the point when calibrating the distance decay from the travel behavior of patients in the study areas, it is revealed that sigmoidal functions are more likely suitable for the high population density regions and also plain terrains and decline functions for low population density regions and difficult desert or hilly areas. The paper yields health care shortage areas.
Exploring Rural Road Impacts Using Fuzzy Multi-criteria Approach
(Springer, 2019-05-10) Singh, Ajit Pratap; Sarkar, Askoke Kumar
The purpose of this article is to develop a novel strategy to explore the impacts of rural road construction on quality of neighborhood (social environment). There has been broad consensus that rural roads assist in change in socioeconomic status of rural regions and have been justified by traditional methods. However, conventional assessment techniques lag in incorporating uncertainties and singularities associated with evaluation process of impacts. These limitations enable researchers to rely on more perceptible techniques. Fuzzy multi-criteria framework is one such approach which can deal effectively with such qualitative and quantitative assessment. It handles uncertainties and vagueness with ease. The present study proposes fuzzy Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (F-PROMETHEE) technique for assessing the impacts of rural road construction on quality of neighborhood. Efficacy of proposed technique is illustrated by employing a case study for the habitations connected in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan state, India. The habitations are connected under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) scheme. The results indicate a significant change in factors contributing to quality of neighborhood and provide essential information to the decision and policy-makers to take necessary initiatives for sustainable rural development.
Impact of rural road construction on the local livelihood diversification: evidence from Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in Jhunjhunu district, India
(Springer, 2019-04-12) Singh, Ajit Pratap; Sarkar, Askoke Kumar
Rural roads contribute significantly to the socio-economic and cultural development of rural habitations/villages. Improved road infrastructure facilitates rural population to look for work beyond their respective communities. They fuel the development of non-farm markets and create possible livelihood diversification opportunities for rural people, thereby decreasing their liability to economic distresses. The developing countries like India have been introducing various schemes to improve the status of their citizens. In 2000, Government of India launched Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) with a broad objective of improving the mobility of the rural population to achieve sustainable development in a phased manner. This article proposes a comprehensive approach to investigate the impact of the development of rural road infrastructure on livelihood diversification of the target population at the habitation level by employing fuzzy framework. It also accounts econometric modeling to assess the influence of diversification and control variables on household income. The effectiveness of the proposed model is illustrated by taking a case study of the construction of PMGSY roads in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan state, India. The findings reveal that newly constructed roads have been used prominently for agricultural activities. However, there is minimal growth in other occupations leading to low diversification of livelihood due to unawareness and lack of resources. It is, therefore, necessary that the policy makers should focus to implement reliable schemes to maximize livelihood diversification in a sustainable way. Thus, rural population can be served in an effective manner by promoting both farm and non-farm activities.
Pavement condition assessment using soft computing techniques
(Elsiever, 2018-11) Singh, Ajit Pratap; Sarkar, Askoke Kumar
Roads are the lifeline of a nation which provides a reliable and easy access to different areas across the country. Once the roads are constructed, their condition goes on deteriorating with time. Therefore, implementing periodic pavement maintenance is equally important as that of construction for the satisfactory performance throughout their design life. This study develops an approach for pavement condition assessment and their prioritization which can be dealt with a variety of performance indicators for evaluating different aspects of pavement performance. Pavement stretches with low ratings will have a high probability to be scheduled for maintenance and rehabilitation, depending on the availability of funds and the importance of roads.
Quantification of accessibility to health facilities in rural areas
(Elsiever, 2015-09) Singh, Ajit Pratap; Sarkar, Askoke Kumar
The accessibility to medical facilities plays an important role in the overall health system of a country. Accessibility often refers to spatial or physical accessibility and is concerned with the complex relationship between the spatial separation of the population and the supply of health care facilities. There is a need to understand the current health care needs and also the existing practices. The traditional planning approach for rural transportation believes that building roads would ensure access to various infrastructure and services by motorized vehicles. However the impacts of such investments on rural development and also on health care have been found to be extremely mixed. Therefore an attempt has been made to quantify the impact of such investments on health sector. Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) program, an Indian Government initiative is an example of one such investment. The accessibility to medical facilities of the villages connected by PMGSY roads is compared to villages which are not connected by any means, so that the effect on accessibility in the presence of a well constructed road can be determined. Quantifying accessibility in terms of health care contributes to a wider understanding of the performance of the health systems which in turn helps the policy decision maker(s) in identifying the deficiencies of the system so that remedial measures could be taken. However, it would be incomplete if the distance (or travel time), quality of service provided at the health care center and affordability of the users are not considered while quantifying accessibility. Therefore by integrating all the important factors influencing accessibility along with multi criteria decision making tools, a methodology is developed. This methodology includes three different multi-criteria decision making analysis tools: Simple Additive Weightage (SAW), Fuzzy aggregation method and Fuzzy preference decision analysis. Further these three methods are critically analyzed for their suitability to quantify accessibility to medical facilities.
Quantification of Level-of-Service Index for Bus Routes in Developing Countries: A Case Study in India
(J-Stage, 2013) Singh, Ajit Pratap; Sarkar, Askoke Kumar
Quality plays an important role in the market-oriented economy and the success of any transit system depends upon its quality of service. Since, the demand for transit is quite high in comparison with the supply in most of the Indian cities; quite often the level of service is not given a priority by the service providers. However, to improve the quality of service, it is necessary to identify the parameters to be considered important by the commuters for knowing their satisfaction levels for the present service. This paper is focused on the results based on the observations made through reveled preference (RP) survey to evaluate the quality of service.The model uses various Multi criteria decision making tools such as Numerical rating approach; Fuzzy set approach, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and AHP Fuzzy. The results from different approaches are compared and justified for their appropriate use.
Quantifying Accessibility to Health Care Using Two-step Floating Catchment Area Method (2SFCA): A Case Study in Rajasthan
(Elsiever, 2016) Singh, Ajit Pratap; Sarkar, Askoke Kumar
Spatial isolation of the villages from health facilities is a concern in rural areas. Quantifying accessibility to health care helps in interpreting the performance of health care system in a region. Thus in this paper a technique named two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method was used to measure level of accessibility. GIS platform was used to execute 2SFCA method. A case study was carried out in Alwar district of Rajasthan to quantify the accessibility of different habitations to health care. The outcome of the study helps the policy makers to identify the habitations not having access to health care and also to know the level of accessibility of the villages having access to health care. This will help to take appropriate measures in terms of improving road network and construction of new health care centers to improve the overall health care facilities in the district.
Real-time Optimal Bus Scheduling for a City Using A DTR Model
(Elsiever, 2013-12) Singh, Ajit Pratap; Sarkar, Askoke Kumar
Timetabling and vehicle scheduling is the basis of security and efficiency for various bus enterprises. It is necessary to take into account the passenger travel demand to meet both the social and economic benefits for these bus enterprises. A Demand- and Travel time Responsive (DTR) model has been applied to actualize a timetable for each bus stop on the basis of optimal bus frequency. This paper presents a model to optimize the bus scheduling by taking into consideration of both bus stop and route segments of the city in an integrated manner. In this study different real time data event parameters, such as bus stop departures and arrivals for buses operating on a line-based time-table and bus traffic costs have been applied to optimize the bus scheduling process. A bus headway time-table is also being developed.
Road safety analysis using multi criteria approach: A case study in India
(Elsiever, 2017) Singh, Ajit Pratap; Sarkar, Askoke Kumar
Road Safety Analysis (RSA) ensure prevention of loss of human life and damage to property which is a procedure to assess the safety standards of a road and helps in the overall decision making process of road management. Road are to be prioritized based on Safety levels to identify the most vulnerable roads to provide mitigation measures. In this paper a study was carried out to determine the priority of safety requirements of a certain category of rural roads, viz., Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) roads in the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan, India. Multi-criteria techniques were used to quantify the safety levels. Further analysis has also been done on the road having the worst safety features to rank various stretches. The parameters vital for safety have been selected and quantified using three multi-criteria decision making analysis tools: Simple Additive Weightage (SAW), Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy AHP methods and results are compared. The methodology presented herein gives an insight to prioritize roads for safety mitigation measures which is expected to be useful to various Decision Makers.