Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan today said work done by researchers in the field of road transport should benefit the rural areas.
Speaking at an event at Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), the minister also asked the scientists to promote their research outputs in terms of use of innovative technologies in road construction, use of waste materials in road construction and measures for enhancing road safety.
He also asked scientists to examine ways to quickly transfer the semi-automatic pothole repair machine and the associated technology, developed at the CRRI, to all the panchayats of the country.
"He (Vardhan) visited the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Laboratory in New Delhi today. He enquired about technologies being developed in various laboratories which included pavement engineering area, flexible pavement, rigid pavements, geo-technical engineering, bridge engineering and traffic engineering and transportation planning area," a government statement said.
The minister said that according to reports about 18 kms of road is being constructed per day now, at a pace of 14 kms per day achieved earlier.
"Under these circumstances, we in research institutions should support such efforts to identify any gaps and transfer the required technologies to the land," the minister said.
