Page 2 - Road Transport

168 roads closed as fresh spell of snow, rains lash parts of Himachal

Higher reaches and tribal areas received fresh spell of snow while low and middle hills were lashed by intermittent hail and rains on Saturday as the local MeT office predicted wet spell in Himachal Pradesh till April 4. A Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus turned turtle near Maling in the Kinnaur district after skidding on Saturday morning in the snow but no casualty was reported, an official said. Traffic came to a halt at the Atal Tunnel in Rohtang near Manali following heavy snow. Kalpa and Kukumseri received 5 cm of snow followed by Keylong with 3 cm of snow in the past 24 hours. A total of 168 roads, including three National Highways, were closed for vehicular traffic in the state on Friday night as per the data of the state emergency operation centre. Most of these roads are in a difficult terrain in Lahaul and Spiti, where 159 roads are still to be opened. Intermittent rains accompanied by lightning and gusty winds were witnessed in the state's capital Shiml

Routematic bets on artificial intelligence to tap corporate commuters

Benguluru-based corporate commute start-up Routemataic is set to transform corporate transport by focussing on individual commuter needs

Nitin Gadkari announces 4 projects across India worth Rs 1,885 crore

These projects are located in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Assam. The development of an existing ropeway has been proposed between Ujjain Railway Station and Mahakaleshwar Temple in MP

U'khand CM Dhami thanks Gadkari for approval of four-lane Kotdwar Bypass

According to the CMO, the Chief Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Devbhoomi Uttarakhand is setting new dimensions in the field of road connectivity

Several strategic roads in Sikkim blocked due to heavy snowfall: BRO

Several strategically important roads in North and East Sikkim are blocked due to heavy snowfall, the Border Road Organisation (BRO) said in a statement on Thursday. Strategically important roads along Lachung and Lachen axis and the national highway to Nathu La and Tamze have experienced exceptionally heavy snowfall causing disruption of socio-economic activities and posing a challenge to all road users. "Due to disturbance from western Himalayan region, the weather in Sikkim has taken a swift turn because of which Northern and Eastern part of Sikkim is experiencing heavy snowfall," it said.. Further, post devastating flash floods in Sikkim, the lines of communication, leading to North Sikkim, especially to Lachen Valley have suffered extensive damage, the BRO said, adding it had restored connectivity for the armed forces deployed along Lachen Valley via Donkyala pass, located at 18,200 feet. Following an unprecedented heavy snowfall, a team of 758 BRTF under Project Swastik of ..

Link road to Mopa airport to be completed by April: Gadkari in Goa

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday reviewed the progress of various infrastructure projects in Goa. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, several MLAs and senior state government officials were present in the meeting chaired by the Union minister of road transport and highways. "During the meeting, it was decided that a major link road to Manohar International Airport at Mopa will be completed by April 2024. Work on the six-lane elevated corridor at Porvorim, the foundation stone of which was laid by Gadkari on Friday, will begin in January," a senior official said. "The road connecting the highway to Mormugao Port in Vasco town would be completed by April next year. The new bridge across Zuari river in Borim village has been granted tentative approval by National Highway Authority of India," he added. The Union minister reviewed the appointment of a consultant for a 'Ring Road' to curb congestion on the Goa stretch of the Mumbai-Kanyakumari and Goa-Hyderabad highways, he said.

Chennai needs at least 2,000 km more of modern stormwater drains: Official

Ten days after Cyclone Michuang brought more than 50 cm of rain inundating many parts of Chennai, a senior official of Greater Chennai Corporation said the city needs to add at least 2,000 km more of modern stormwater drains with a higher capacity to handle showers of this magnitude. The city currently has around 2,950 km of drains, most of which have an inadequate handling capacity of 2-5 cm per hour, S Rajendiran, GCC chief engineer for stormwater drains (SWD), told PTI. "Chennai has a road length of 5,500 km. At least 5,000 km of drains with higher capacity are required for the city to handle such heavy rains. New drains coming up in the northern, western and southern parts of the city are being built to handle rain precipitation of 7-8 cm/hour," he said. The official was referring to the 767 km of drains being constructed at a cost of Rs 3,520 crore in Kosasthalaiyar river basin (North and West Chennai) and 360 km of drains built in Kovalam river basin (South Chennai) at Rs 1,71

Centre launches new car programme for safety rating of passenger vehicles

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways stated that the programme shall be applicable on type approved vehicles of category M1, manufactured or imported in the country on or after October 1, 2023

Awarding of highways halved over a year, MoRTH expresses concern to Cabinet

Experts noted these approvals would be needed for the ministry to be able to infuse funds for awarding new projects

MoRTH proposes uniform cyber security & management system for four-wheelers

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has proposed uniform Cyber Security and Management Systems (CSMS) provisions for certain categories of four-wheelers, passenger and commercial vehicles to protect their functions from cyber threats. MoRTH, in a draft titled 'Approval of vehicles with regards to Cyber Security and Cyber Security management system', said that the application for approval of a vehicle type with regard to cyber security shall be submitted by the vehicle manufacturer or by their duly accredited representative. "Based on the discussion in the 66th meeting of Automotive Industry Standards Committee (AISC) held on 14th July, 2023, the Committee agreed to formulate an Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) for approval of vehicles equipped with Cyber Security and Management Systems (CSMS). "The purpose of this standard is to establish uniform provisions for CSMS fitted to motor vehicles of categories M and N," the draft report said. According to the draft repo

Unacceptable and preventable

Road accidents must be prevented

Road accident fatalities hit all-time high last year in India: Govt data

The year marked an increase of 11.9 per cent in accidents, 9.4 per cent in fatalities, and 15.3 per cent in injuries compared to 2021

Road tax imposed on commercial vehicles entering HP slashed up to 70%

The Himachal Pradesh government has reduced the special road tax (SRT) imposed on the entry of commercial vehicles registered outside the state has been reduced by 6070 per cent, officials said on Tuesday. According to officials a notification in this regard is likely to be issued later in the day. The decision has come as a relief to the tourism industry in the state which had earlier said that the tax on tourist vehicles has made group tours to Himachal unviable for the tour operators and as a result the occupancy levels in hotels have declined. A tax of Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 per day varying on the seating capacity was imposed from September 1, 2023. President Federation of Himachal hotels and Restaurant Associations (FOHHRA) Gajender Thakur had earlier said that levying taxes on entrance of commercial vehicles carrying tourists in the state at this point of time when the tourism industry has suffered heavy damage due to the recent monsoon season will further crumble the tourism .

Road connecting Mizoram with Myanmar to be completed by Nov: Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said a cross-border road under the ambitious Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP) to link south Mizoram's Lawngtlai district with Myanmar's Sittwe port will be completed by November this year. Addressing a rally at West Phaileng in Dampa assembly constituency in west Mizoram's Mamit district bordering Bangladesh, Gadkari said the 26-km road project costs Rs 1,132 crore. "The road under the Kaladan project will be completed by November and it will be helpful to connect Myanmar's Sittwe port," he said. Gadkari, the union road transport and highways minister, said that infrastructure and communication have to be developed to bring all-round development. "If the infrastructure is good, we get investment in industry and agriculture, by which we can create jobs. And by creating jobs we can eradicate poverty, which is the basic principle behind development," he said. Addressing the rally ahead of the November 7 Mizoram assembly poll

Road logistics industry anticipates favourable demand in FY2024: ICRA

Rating agency ICRA on Wednesday said that it anticipates a favourable demand scenario for the road logistics sector in FY2024, aided by stable domestic consumption and investment demand. It said the industry's revenue growth is pegged at 6-9 per cent in FY2024 on an elevated base of FY2023, driven primarily by demand from varied segments like e-commerce, FMCG, retail, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and industrial goods. "ICRA expects the outlook for the sector to remain stable," it said. According to ICRA, downside risks to the estimates remain from any material tapering of demand due to elevated inflation and interest rates and global supply-demand shifts impacting the Indian economic scenario. The industry debt coverage metrics are expected to ease marginally in FY2024 compared to the FY2023 levels with a likely contraction in operating margins because of inflationary input cost pressures, primarily elevated crude oil prices and debt-funded capital expenditure for vehicle replacemen

India, US eyeing collaboration in batteries, minerals: Advisor to PM

Amid the quest for energy transition and ambitious net zero goals, India and the US are looking to collaborate in the fields of battery technologies and critical minerals, said Tarun Kapoor, the special advisor to the Prime Minister.He was speaking at the 20th Indo-US Economic Summit, organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC).The theme of this year's summit is 'Sharing ideas & potential for a substantial partnership between India and the US for the next 25 years'.Addressing a session on infrastructure, road transport and highways, he noted that both countries are already collaborating to set up funds for renewable energy, and are also working on payment security mechanisms for electric buses."We have a good scope of collaboration even further in terms of getting more investments into the country, partnerships between companies in India and US companies particularly considering the technology play which is happing all over the world," he said."Batteries and ...

Hurdles in biofuel use: Few vehicles, weak ethanol-blended petrol rollout

Last week, Union Ministers had called for quick adoption of biofuels in the transportation sector

Centre will not make six airbags mandatory for cars: Nitin Gadkari

No deadline for BS7 implementation but industry should make the transition

Gadkari inaugurates multi-level flyover in Pune, pitches for skybus service

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways on Saturday inaugurated a multi-level flyover built at Chandni Chowk in Maharashtra's Pune and said it will address traffic congestion in the city. He also pitched for skybus services here. While Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was not present at the event, deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar attended the inauguration. The main issue of traffic congestion in Pune will be resolved as the bridge constructed here at Chandni Chowk has a total length of 16.98 km. An amount of Rs 865 crore has been spent on this project and now the work on the 2.2-km-long Chandni Chowk interchange has also been completed, Gadkari said. The internal and external service roads have been aligned with Mumbai-Banglore National Highway, he said. The Union minister also suggested that the state government develop skybus services in Pune, saying roads in the city have little scope for expansion. I advise Ajit Pawar and Chandrakant Patil (higher and technical ..

Telangana Guv seeks clarity on bill to absorb RTC staff as govt employees

Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Saturday sought clarifications from the BRS government on a draft bill meant for absorption of state Road Transport Corporation employees into government service. Amid concerns expressed by the TSRTC staff that the bill should be passed in the ongoing assembly session, she assured them of safeguarding their interests. The state government recently decided to recognise the employees of the state-run corporation as government staff and proposed to table the bill in the assembly. The Raj Bhavan on Friday had said it received the draft bill on August 2, and the Governor needed some more time to examine it. On Saturday morning, sections of RTC employees held a strike for a couple of hours and took out a demonstration to the Raj Bhavan demanding the Governor permit the state government to introduce the bill in the assembly. Subsequently, the Governor (who was out of station) invited representatives of the employees to Raj Bhavan and addresse