The Supreme Court of India has issued a series of nationwide guidelines aimed at improving road safety on national highways, addressing issues such as illegal parking and accident blackspots.
On the back of an aggressive asset monetisation push, the government will press the throttle on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model - under which private developers fund highway construction - for future highway development, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said.
Multiple avalanches on the Srinagar-Leh national highway at Zojila Pass have resulted in the deaths of seven people, including a child and two women, with rescue operations ongoing.
A massive traffic jam on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway in Maharashtra's Palghar district stranded more than 500 students and commuters for nearly 12 hours.
A landslide triggered by continuous rainfall has disrupted traffic on National Highway 75 near Kadaba taluk in Dakshina Kannada district, halting vehicular movement between Bengaluru and Mangaluru. Authorities are working to clear the debris and restore traffic flow.
After months of dry weather, fresh snow covered Shimla. The weather forced a closure of the Srinagar-Jammu highway. Flights were also cancelled for safety reasons.
The Maharashtra Highway Traffic Police have advised motorists to avoid the Mumbai-Pune Expressway until regular traffic movement is restored.
Following two blasts targeting the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor in Punjab, the Railways Ministry is intensifying security measures, including increased patrolling, expanded surveillance, and drone deployment, to safeguard railway infrastructure and prevent further disruptions.
'Within six months I expect petrol, diesel, and electric vehicles (EVs) to reach cost parity,' says Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
A stretch about 50 metres long on the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway near Pursari village is showing signs of land subsidence with cracks appearing on it.
A devastating flashflood in the Kheer Ganga river on August 5 demolished nearly half of Dharali -- the key stopover en route to Gangotri with many hotels and homestays, and neighbouring Harsil, where an Army camp bore the brunt of the flood fury, barely giving time to the victims to run to safety.
A man died and his wife was severely injured after a mudslide levelled several houses in the Idukki district of Kerala. Residents allege unscientific road widening work was responsible for the tragedy.
The amount sought by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would be the 'largest civil penalty ever assessed' against an auto maker by the auto safety agency, according to the US department of transportation.
Heavy rains battered Jammu and Kashmir, triggering floods, damaging infrastructure, and disrupting normal life. Authorities issued advisories and rescue operations were conducted.
'This tragedy will not be the last -- you shall witness another tomorrow, perhaps another the day after, and increasingly more.'
Six Border Roads Organisation personnel, involved in road clearance operation, had a narrow escape on Friday when two avalanches hit an arterial road near the highway, a defence spokesman said.
The labourers, who are said to be of Nepali origin, were engaged in the construction of a hotel.
Monsoon hit the state on June 20 and has since then cost it Rs 5,000 crore in damages.
The National Highways Authority of India will this year witness the highest ever growth out of the last decade. But Gadkari himself admits his biggest failure as India's roads minister has been his inability to curb loss of life in road accidents.
An old bridge across Kali river in Uttara Kannada district collapsed in the small hours of Wednesday, resulting in heavy traffic along National Highway 66, connecting Goa to Karnataka.
"I am shocked why it was not followed. This is even there in the manual of the Indian Road Congress. Had that been followed then there would have been no casualties. There have been gross violations," Maitra said.
After record rains wreaked havoc in Jammu and Kashmir over the past two days, the death toll in related incidents rose to 41, most of them victims of the landslide on a Vaishno Devi pilgrimage route, while there was some let-up in the showers on Wednesday, allowing relief efforts to pick up pace.
Relentless heavy rain led to a landslide on the route to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop the Trikuta hill on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least five people and injuring 14, officials said.
The death toll from cloudburst and flash flood-related incidents in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh has risen to 14, with a search underway for 31 missing individuals. Extensive damage to homes, infrastructure, and livestock has been reported across the district.
The IMD issued a "Nowcast" warning, forecasting thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and intense spells of rain with gusty winds reaching 50-60 kmph at isolated places in Mumbai in the next three to four hours.
Indian roads are far more unsafe than its railways. A sense of urgency is required to tackle India's embarrassing record on road safety.
The minister has sought the help of US technology, expertise and innovation to make road safety a priority in India.
The government noted in its order that "the right to conduct a public meeting on public roads and streets is a subject matter of regulation as Section 30 of the Police Act, 1861 itself mandates."
Switching off the engine affects the vehicle's braking ability and this possibly resulted in the truck hitting other vehicles on the bridge slope on Sunday, as per a probe conducted into the accident by the Regional Transport Office (RTO), he said.
The main rail and road routes in Andhra Pradesh, connecting the south and east, remained cut off as the Penna river in spate caused heavy destruction on Sunday.
The Haryana government, which had earlier ordered suspension of mobile Internet services in Karnal from Monday 12.30 pm to Tuesday midnight, decided to suspend these services in four adjoining districts as well.
'India can learn from Sweden that witnessed just one accident last year.'
When I asked Krishna Gopal Sengupta, who had travelled through Bangladesh from Chittagong to Petrapole if the interim government had made any impact at ground level, he said, "it's been only a couple of days. They will need some time." Shyam G Menon reports from Petrapole, India's entry point with Bangladesh.
Nearly a decade ago, the first fully electric vehicle (EV) caught fire on the road in the US. It was a model from Tesla, the world's most admired EV maker. A metal fragment punctured the underbelly of the vehicle, penetrating its battery pack, leading to a fire. Indian lawmakers and automakers have had nine years to study the incident (in fact, three Tesla Model Ss caught fire in two months in 2013) but seem to have learnt little.
While inaugurating the projects, Modi said highways construction has reached 27-km a day from mere 12-km a day during the Congress regime.
The clashes broke out this morning when protesters attending a non-cooperation programme to demand the government's resignation faced opposition from the supporters of the Awami League, Chhatra League, and Jubo League activists.
'Our target is to award Rs 25 lakh crore worth of projects that would result in creating 25 million jobs'
The cars, some 482,000 Passats, Golfs and Jettas sold in model years 2009 to 2015 in the United States, are peppy and fun to drive, owners say.
A fresh batch of 6,162 pilgrims, including 1,360 women and 222 Sadhus on Monday left the winter capital for the twin base camps of Baltal and Pahalgam in Kashmir, officials said.
'If you go by the essence of the Constitution of India, I don't see any problem in having a separate PM for J-K.'
