Road

Nearly 40,000 km of rural roads constructed using plastic waste till date with 13,000 km completed in the last two years alone, a senior official said on Tuesday. Speaking at a media interaction, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Vini Mahajan said over 55 per cent of villages have been declared 'ODF Plus Model' while 5 lakh waste collection vehicles are in operation and there is a significant progress in greywater and plastic waste management. Under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, nearly 40,000 km of rural roads have been built using this sustainable technique, with 13,000 km completed in the last two years alone, she said. "These innovations showcase our commitment to sustainability and the future of sanitation in India," she added. She emphasised the invaluable collective support from all Central ministries, states and UTs to the 'Swachhata Hi Seva-2024' campaign. Mahajan highlighted that sanitation is a societal issue that unites us all, drive

HAM and EPC will continue to dominate project awards along with an increase in the share of BOT projects in FY 2025

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has constituted a panel of experts for the technical review of tunnel projects on National Highways. According to a communication by the ministry, the panel comprises experts from ONGC, RVNL and THIDCL for tendering expert advice during the appraisal of long tunnel (length of more than 1.5 km) projects. Proposals for long tunnel projects (length of more than 1.5 km) on NHs must be submitted to the Director General (Road Development) for technical review and obtaining expert advice from an advisory panel well before submitting the proposal for appraisal of Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) and Standing Finance Committee (SFC), it stated. In the communication to states, NHAI and National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation, among others, the ministry stated that the proposal must include details of geological studies, alignment report, design of tunnels, safety measures during operations along with cost ...

Bloodstains on the road and helmets, bullet shells, vehicles with shattered windscreens and flattened tyres... A day after terrorists ambushed an Army patrol, a wooded mountain road on Tuesday told the story of fierce resistance by troops and a gunbattle that carried on for several hours. On Monday, five Army personnel were killed and five injured when heavily armed terrorists hurled a grenade and opened indiscriminate fire on two army vehicles around 3.30 pm on the Machedi-Kindli-Malhar mountainous road near Badnota village, about 150 km from the district headquarters Kathua. It was the fifth terror attack in Jammu in a month, an escalation in the relatively peaceful region compared to Kashmir Valley officials attributed to attempts by Pakistani handlers to reignite terrorism. Recapping what had happened, officials said the soldiers displayed courage and resilience despite facing casualties and engaged them for several hours. The terrorists, believed to be a group of three, are ..

"Of the total awards of 12,300 kilometres by the National Highways Authority of India in FY22 and FY23, 20 per cent continue to await an appointed date for more than one year," CareEdge said

In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, local people have put up a banner saying "no road, no vote" outside their village in the Gauriganj tehsil here, drawing attention to their problems. A banner came up outside Purey Alpi Tiwari hamlet in Sarmeny village under Jamo block on Monday warning to boycott the coming elections with the locals raising slogans. Amethi, which is considered as a VVIP constituency, was represented by the Nehru-Gandhi family until Union minister Smriti Irani wrested the Lok Sabha seat in 2019. Gauriganj SDM Digvijay Singh on Tuesday said information about the villagers' protest has been received and effort will be made to solve the problem following further investigation. Omprakash Ojha, a resident of the hamlet, told reporters that there are seven small roads connecting the village to nearby areas but all of them are unpaved. "Due to lack of access to the village, we have to perform the marriages of our sons and daughters elsewhere. Even bikes cannot mov

Demanding an adequate compensation for the land acquired for hydro power projects and employment for youths, farmers and labourers of 16 affected panchayats here on Friday blocked the Shimla-Kinnaur road for about two-and-a-half hours. Protestors took out a rally in Nirath Bazaar and later blocked the road, about 110 km from the state capital Shimla. Former CPI(M) MLA Rakesh Singha said that besides addressing the locals' issues, the protest was held to express solidarity with the farmers "facing injustice" at the national level. Now, farmers and labourers are going to organise protests and move forward to fight for their rights until their demands are fulfilled. The main objective was to protest against the project builder allegedly not fulfilling the demands, including adequate compensation and jobs to locals in projects in the area, the protestors said. Long queues of vehicles were seen on both sides of the road blocked by the protestors. People from 16 panchayats have reached h

Delhi PWD Minister Atishi on Saturday pulled up officials for alleged laxity in implementing road repair works and directed that all potholes be fixed by December 31. In an official communication to the principal secretary of the public works department (PWD), she directed that resurfacing of roads, where it is required, has to start latest by February 1 and must be finished by February 29. She also issued to the official an ultimatum to repair all potholes by the end of this year and asked for daily reports on the progress made. The minister directed the PWD principal secretary to ensure that timelines are strictly adhered to and strict action is taken against officers who cause delays. Expressing her displeasure at the state of disrepair of PWD roads, she said in the communication that it is shocking and unacceptable, and serious accidents are possible. Due to the PWD's laxity and apathy, Delhiites are at the receiving end, she said. "I have been directing the PWD for the past s

Himachal Pradesh saw a 13 per cent drop in the number of road accidents reported in the state this year, police officials said on Friday. There has been a 13 per cent reduction in road traffic accidents, 19 per cent dip in deaths due to them and 15 per cent drop in injuries between January 1 and December 1 as compared to the same period in 2022, a statement issued here by the police headquarters said. The reduction in the number of road accidents reflects the greater awareness among drivers in Himachal Pradesh and the improvement in identifying black spots on national highways and district roads, Director General Police (DGP) Sanjay Kundu said. The number of accidents has come down despite a 10 per cent growth in road lengths and a nine per cent growth of vehicle registration, he said. The state police is determined to reduce traffic accidents by adopting best practices being followed the world over, he said. A team of the World Bank has also complimented the Himachal Pradesh Poli

Specialty chemicals company Zydex Group is eyeing 15-20 per cent growth in revenues to Rs 375 crore from all its verticals including road, textile, agro, water proofing and paints in 2023-24 compared to previous fiscal year. Talking to PTI, Chairman and Managing Director Zydex Group Ajay Ranka said,"We are expecting 15 to 20 per cent revenue growth in all business verticals during 2023-24 compared to 2022-23." He said the company gets 35 per cent revenue from road vertical, 35 per cent from textiles, 10-12 per cent agro, 14-15 per cent from waterproofing and 3-4 cent from paints business. About the staggering impact of the pandemic (which hit in March 2020) on the businesses, Ranka said though market sentiments have improved, the textile sector is doing poor since October 2022. Rest of the sectors are however growing post pandemic. "Organic growth of the company is expected in the next two years beyond which inorganic growth will be looked into, once business verticals stabilize an

Three of the world's 10 slowest cities in terms of traffic speeds are in India, according to the findings by a US-based private non-profit research organisation. As per the report, Bhiwandi in Maharashtra, Kolkata, and Bihar's Arrah are among the 10 slowest cities in the world on the speed index. The study, conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), covered over 1,200 cities in 152 countries. According to the report -- 'The Fast, the Slow and the Congested: Urban Transportation in Rich And Poor Countries' -- the average travel speed of motor vehicles throughout the day is the highest in Flint (US), slowest in Bangladesh capital Dhaka, and is the most congested in Bogota (Colombia). It also said nine of the 10 cities with the slowest uncongested speeds are in Bangladesh, India, and Nigeria. Researchers used data from Google maps to analyse traffic in more than 1,000 cities having a population of over 300,000. Bhiwandi ranked 5th in the world's 20 slowest cities

The total capital outlay for roads and renewables in 2023-24 and 2024-25 is likely to jump by 35 per cent to Rs 13 lakh crore compared to that in the last two fiscal years, according to a report. Conducive policies, rising investor interest and strong execution speed are expected to drive the capital outlay in the sectors, the report by Crisil Ratings said on Tuesday. The pace of road construction and capacity addition in renewables is seen growing by 25 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively, in the current and next fiscal, and the capex growth is expected to sustain over the medium term, the report said. Crisil Ratings Managing Director Gurpreet Chhatwal said the pace of execution of renewable energy projects is set to increase 33 per cent to 20 GW per annum over the current and next fiscal as compared to 15 GW per annum in the past two fiscal years, supported by a healthy executable pipeline of 50 GW of projects as of March 2023. Similarly, road construction is set to improve 25

India's road and highway sector's growth is vital not only for economic development but also for creating a more inclusive and connected society, a report has said. The report, released at a CII conference here on the road and highways sector, also emphasised the crucial role of road infrastructure in stimulating economic growth, fostering investor confidence, generating employment, and enabling inclusive development, according to a statement. With a projected global infrastructure funding requirement of USD 3.7 trillion annually to keep pace with GDP growth, the significance of continued expansion and strengthening of India's road network remains paramount, the report stated. The report noted states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Rajasthan have played pivotal roles in driving National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) projects and investments. Rural road development has also gained traction, with rural roads accounting for 71 per cent of the overall road ...

Ahead of the G20 Summit, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has planned a special drive starting August 16 for cleaning and upkeep of 26 prominent roads in the city, officials said on Saturday. The G20 Summit is slated to take place on September 9-10 at a recently-inaugurated state-of-the-art convention complex at Pragati Maidan. As the G20 Summit date approaches, the MCD has "accelerated its efforts to enhance the look and feel of the city," a senior official said. In order to keep the city clean, green and in good condition, the MCD has planned a special drive from August 16 to September 19, when the final meeting is proposed to be held in New Delhi. Under this special drive, 26 major roads from the point of view of the G20 Summit have been identified, which will be supervised by nodal officers. The nodal officers along with their teams, through the deployment of MRSMs (Mechanical Road Sweeping Machines) and multi-purpose vehicles, will look after the cleanliness work, up

Road Safety issue is as urgent as COVID-19 considering how crashes destroy lives and economies on a daily basis, UN's Special Envoy for Global Road Safety Jean Todt has said, emphasising that not enough is being done for the "pandemic on our roads." Speaking at the "Vision Zero Conference for Road Safety for All" that commenced here on Monday, Todt said that the issue of road safety doesn't garner the same kind of financial and social support yet as other subjects. "The COVID-19 experience provided an example of how humanity can bond together to discover and apply solutions when the emergency appears urgent enough to everyone. That example alone should show us that we are not doing enough for the pandemic on our roads --- we need to better persuade people that it is just as urgent as COVID-19 in how it destroys lives and economies," he said. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), road crashes kill more than 1.3 million people each year - more than two every minute - with

India's road network grew 59 per cent to become the second largest in the world as part of the development work carried out by the government in the last nine years, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday. India's road network stood at 1,45,240 km today compared to 91,287 km in 2013-14, the Road, Transport and Highways Minister said. He was addressing a conference on '9 years achievements of government' in the national capital. In the last nine years, India made seven world records in the sector. India's road network is the second largest in the world after the US, he said. The minister further informed that the revenues from tolls rose to Rs 4,1342 crore from Rs 4,770 crore in 2013-14. The government aims to increase the toll revenue to Rs 1,30,000 crore by 2020, Gadkari said. The usage of fastags has helped in reducing the waiting time at the toll plazas to 47 seconds. The government is taking various measures to reduce it further to below 30 seconds, he noted.

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Monday that by the end of 2024, the roads of Rajasthan will be like those in the United States, making it a happy and prosperous state. The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also said it is the aim of everyone at the Centre to make the country's villages happy and prosperous. Gadkari said this while addressing the gathering at a foundation stone-laying programme of various development works at Pakka Sarna village in Hanumangarh district. He said he often repeats the words of former US president John F Kennedy, who said, "America's roads are good not because America is rich. America is rich because of its good roads." "I promise you that by the end of 2024, Rajasthan's roads will be made at par with those of America's. Due to these roads, Rajasthan will also become a happy and prosperous state," Gadkari said. He said when governments change, the society should also change. "There should be freedom from pover

A portion of a road caved in on Saturday morning near a metro construction site in south Delhi's Maidan Garhi area, police said. The stretch of road is undergoing deep excavation work for the metro, Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) Chandan Choudhary said, adding, no one was reported hurt in the incident. The visuals circulated on social media showed the caved-in portion of the road. Police covered the area and barred people from going near it.

IL&FS has completed transfer of its fifth road asset - Pune Sholapur Road Development Company Limited (PSRDCL) - to Roadstar Infra Investment Trust (Invit) as part its debt resolution strategy. With this transfer, secured lenders of this asset will get full recovery of their dues under the Invit structure while the group lenders will be issued Invit units as settlements for their loans, IL&FS said in a statement. The four road assets that have already been transferred to the Invit structure include - Moradabad Bareilly Expressway Limited (MBEL); Sikar Bikaner Highway Limited (SBHL); Hazaribagh Ranchi Expressway Limited (HREL) and Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Limited (TRDCL), it said. The total Enterprise value of Invit, with these five assets, now stands at around Rs 7,300 crore. The new IL&FS Board, as part of its strategy to resolve Rs 99,000 crore debt (as of October 2018), had opted to use the Invit route to address nearly Rs 15,000 crore debt under its .

Ratings to be offered to insurers and OEMs to enable them to customise premiums based on driving behaviour, incentives on new vehicle purchases