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.
A few weeks ago, when Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari launched an electronic toll-collection system on the Delhi-Mumbai highway, television channels reported live from toll plazas showing vehicles with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in dedicated lanes that did not have to stop for paying cash.
State governments are gradually taking initiative as far as developing highways is concerned.
Two militants were killed on Tuesday in an encounter with security forces on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, about 12 kms from Srinagar, in Pampore, police said.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated a 418 feet national flag, the tallest in the country, at the Attari-Wagah border in Punjab's Amritsar district.
"Land acquisition is the biggest issue. Now contracts will be awarded if 80 per cent of the land is acquired and is in possession of National Highway Authority of India," minister for road transport and highways Kamal Nath said during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha. On members' complaints regarding 'very high' toll rates in public-private partnership projects, the minister defended the existing rates and said reduced toll would mean less roads.
Can a culture survive as a way of life, even as the language and writing at its core, alter with time? Can we be rational and Malayalee or do we have to necessarily be religious and proudly cultural to be Malayalee? asks Shyam G Menon.
Ola Electric Mobility Ltd on Friday said ministries of heavy industries, and road transport and highways have sought information from the company over gap in vehicle registrations as per the Vahan portal and sales as per the firm's regulatory filing. Besides, the ministries have also sought clarification on reports "regarding non-compliance to the requirement of trade certificates", Ola Electric Mobility said in a regulatory filing.
The earthquake rocked many parts of Thailand including its capital Bangkok, the venue for next week's summit of BIMSTEC regional grouping that is scheduled to be attended by Modi among other leaders.
The 300-km Srinagar Jammu national highway, the lone road linking Kashmir valley to rest of the country was thrown open for one way traffic on Wednesday evening, thanks to the round-the-clock efforts put in by the border roads organisation to make the road traffic worthy.
As even bigger road construction players are not willing to bet on BOT projects., NHAI will have to rethink its thrust on the BOT model.
'Some districts have said that areas which are away from the urban centres and where there have been minimal to zero Covid-19 cases may be exempted from the lockdown and construction activity should be allowed,' said a person in the know.
Hundreds of Kashmir-bound stranded vehicles were given green signal on Tuesday afternoon after the roads were cleared for vehicular traffic.
The Indian Air Force flew special sorties between Jammu and Srinagar on Saturday to carry stranded passengers and tourists at nominal bus fare rates.
The statement by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) comes in the backdrop of collapse of under-construction Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi on November 12.
The report showed that 53 road accidents take place every hour in the country.
The Supreme Court of India has directed all high courts, state governments, and union territories to ensure the availability of separate toilet facilities for men, women, persons with disabilities (PwDs), and transgender persons in all court premises and tribunals across the country. The court stressed the importance of public health and the right to privacy, stating that adequate public toilets protect women and transgender persons. The court also expressed concern about the condition of public toilets near toll plazas on national highways and emphasized the need for proper sanitation facilities in court premises for judges, advocates, litigants, and staff members. This decision highlights the importance of access to basic amenities in ensuring a fair and dignified justice system.
'It is typical of China's strategic deception of making virtue out of necessity,' observes Rup Narayan Das.
The launch of the first-ever direct train service from Delhi to Kashmir would be a big turning point in the Valley's mood and its integration with India. He had to thwart it at any cost, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Though the Border Roads Organisation pressed its men and machinery into service as and when the shooting of stones stopped, yet the clearance work continuously got disrupted by loose Panthal rocks.
The Bullet Train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad has achieved significant progress with the completion of 386 km of pier foundation and 272 km of viaduct. Track laying is expected to begin soon as all other infrastructure work is ready.
The terrorists opened fire on the camp housing labourers of a private company working on construction of a tunnel Gund area in the district, officials said.
Frustration continues to mount over the prolonged mobile internet suspension with a Senapati district-based Naga students body imposing highway blockade over the issue since October 5.
The Uttar Pradesh government is expecting over 35 crore pilgrims to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, a significant increase from the 24 crore who attended the 2019 Kumbh Mela. The event, which will take place over 45 days, will feature extensive security and sanitation measures, as well as a digital component. The state government has allocated Rs 7,000 crore for the event.
Two buses, one of Haryana state Roadways and the other belonging to Punjab Roadways were partially damaged in Panckula on the outskirts of Chandigarh.
The Delhi-Gurgaon Road witnessed traffic snarls on Tuesday after the authorities closed one carriageway and created a diversion for construction on the Dwarka Expressway.
At the heart of his criticism is the delay in decision making and a lack of monitoring. Some officials, however, blamed the delays on overambitious contractors.
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday ordered the Haryana government to remove within a week the barricading set up at the Shambhu border near Ambala where farmers have been camping since February 13 when their 'Delhi Chalo' march was stopped.
All tunnels being constructed in Uttarakhand will be reviewed, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Thursday after drilling began at the Silkyara tunnel with a heavy duty machine to rescue 40 labourers trapped there for four days.
Kashmir remained cut-off from the rest of the country for the second day on Thursday with road and air links to the Valley snapped due to snowfall, the heaviest in a decade in the month of January.
The arterial road that links Kashmir with the rest of the country was partially opened to traffic on Tuesday after remaining closed for a fortnight.
The first-ever trial train to Kashmir took off for the Valley on Tuesday not on traditional tracks but on the 300 km-long Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
The thrust will be on improving connectivity in economic corridors and remote and border areas with a view to hike trade and enable faster movement of cargo.
The patients alleged that they were not being provided with food and water and the condition of the beds was also not up to the mark as 10-12 of them were being kept in a single room.
Normal life was thrown out of gear in Kashmir on Saturday as most areas of the valley received snowfall, disrupting flight and railway operations and also leading to the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, officials said.
People are buying essential commodities from Jammu and flying in.
