News Analysis India

Tag: National Highway

  • Cyrus Mistry’s death: National Highways turning death traps in India

    Express News Service

    The former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry’s accident shows that national highways are turning into a death trap. Potholes on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai national highway was one of the major causes of Cyrus Mistry’s death.

    As per the local police of Palghar, Dr Anahita Pandole who was driving the Mercedes MH 47-AB-6705 while trying to avoid the potholes lost control of the car and rammed into the divider of the Surya River bridge at Palghar. This accident killed former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry who was 54 years old. 

    According to the data, in the last one and half years, in 96 road accidents on Ahmedabad- Mumbai national highway, 106 people lost their lives and 46 people became permanently disabled. The curve locations at Mendwan Ghat, Somata, Charoti flyover and Amboli are turning out to be the death trap for the people who drive rashly.

    In India, every year, five lakh accidents take place, where 1.50 lakh deaths are reported. 65 per cent of deaths are of people between the age group 18 to 34 years.

    Mumbai-Agra and Mumbai Ahmedabad national highways are potholes ridden. 

    “During the monsoon season, due to the bad quality of roads, the potholes became a regular phenomenon. Sometimes, we have to find out the road with potholes. These potholes-ridden roads not only causing health problem like spine but it has been killing the people as well,” said Advocate Mahendra Sandhansiv who stays in Mumbai and frequently uses Mumbai-Agra national highway.

    He added that the central government charges road tax and even collects the heavy toll charges, but when it comes to service, it’s pathetic.

    “The highways are constructed but no proper mention of safety sites and safety measures taken. Government plays with the life of the people. In Mumbai, four people died while in Thane, seven people died due to potholes. In some places, the Government attends to the potholes but very poor quality and the wrong type of materials like paver block materials are used to fill the potholes that make the road uneven creating problems while driving the vehicles. I hope the death of Cyrus Mistry, the former son of Tata Sons, wakes the government and road department and public works department of the state government from slumber,” he added.  

    The former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry’s accident shows that national highways are turning into a death trap. Potholes on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai national highway was one of the major causes of Cyrus Mistry’s death.

    As per the local police of Palghar, Dr Anahita Pandole who was driving the Mercedes MH 47-AB-6705 while trying to avoid the potholes lost control of the car and rammed into the divider of the Surya River bridge at Palghar. This accident killed former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry who was 54 years old. 

    According to the data, in the last one and half years, in 96 road accidents on Ahmedabad- Mumbai national highway, 106 people lost their lives and 46 people became permanently disabled. The curve locations at Mendwan Ghat, Somata, Charoti flyover and Amboli are turning out to be the death trap for the people who drive rashly.

    In India, every year, five lakh accidents take place, where 1.50 lakh deaths are reported. 65 per cent of deaths are of people between the age group 18 to 34 years.

    Mumbai-Agra and Mumbai Ahmedabad national highways are potholes ridden. 

    “During the monsoon season, due to the bad quality of roads, the potholes became a regular phenomenon. Sometimes, we have to find out the road with potholes. These potholes-ridden roads not only causing health problem like spine but it has been killing the people as well,” said Advocate Mahendra Sandhansiv who stays in Mumbai and frequently uses Mumbai-Agra national highway.

    He added that the central government charges road tax and even collects the heavy toll charges, but when it comes to service, it’s pathetic.

    “The highways are constructed but no proper mention of safety sites and safety measures taken. Government plays with the life of the people. In Mumbai, four people died while in Thane, seven people died due to potholes. In some places, the Government attends to the potholes but very poor quality and the wrong type of materials like paver block materials are used to fill the potholes that make the road uneven creating problems while driving the vehicles. I hope the death of Cyrus Mistry, the former son of Tata Sons, wakes the government and road department and public works department of the state government from slumber,” he added.  

  • Protest over centre’s Agnipath scheme spreads to other parts of Bihar

    Express News Service

    Patna: Protest over the centre government’s Agnipath scheme for short-term recruitment of Army personnel spread to other districts of Bihar on Thursday. Braving the scorching sun, hundreds of job aspirants put up road blockades, burnt tyres and disrupted the movement of trains in Jehanabad, Nawada and Saharsa districts in the early hours of Thursday.

    Reports said the job seekers put up a road blockade and held demonstration near Prajatantra Chowk in Nawada town. They later proceeded towards the railway station, squatted on tracks and disrupted the movement of trains. As a result, several trains, including Howrah-Gaya Express and Gaya-Kiul passenger remained stranded at Warsaliganj and Tilaiya railway stations, respectively.

    Nawada sub-divisional Umesh Kumar Bharti along with other officials rushed to the spot and tried to remove the protestors, who were not in a mood to relent.

    Sub-divisional police officer Upendra Prasad said efforts were on to pacify the protestors and restore traffic on the route. “We have sought additional forces to deal with the situation,” he said.

    Similar protests by job aspirants were held in Saharsa and Jehanabad districts. The district authorities deployed armed police forces to bring the situation under control. Alarmed over the protest spreading to other districts, the state police headquarters alerted all the SPs and asked them to initiate preventivesteps accordingly.

    Earlier on Wednesday, hundreds of job aspirants took to the streets and blocked National Highway 28 in Muzaffarpur by burning heaps of tyres and hoardings. They also squatted on railway tracks at Buxar railway station on the Howrah-New Delhi line.

    Job aspirants claim that their career would be jeopardised if the Agnipath scheme was implemented as only up to 25 per cent of the recruits or Agniveers may get a regular commission.

    Regular recruitment rallies were stopped around two years ago after the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic. After two years of waiting for the regular recruitment, the government has offered them a short-term recruitment scheme, which will only create uncertainties in their lives, job aspirants were heard shouting in protest across the state.

    ““Bharti do ya arthi do’ (recruit us or kill us) was among the slogans as the protesting jobseekers burnt tyres and hoardings in heaps on NH-28 in Muzaffarpur, which connects Bihar’s Barauni with Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

    In Muzaffarpur, hundreds of people laced with wooden sticks took to the streets and registered their protest outside the Army recruitment office. Later, they blocked a road in Maripur by burning tyres. They also insisted that an Army officer should come to the spot and listen to their grievances.

    In Buxar, demonstrators squatted near parcel go-down of Buxar railway station, disrupting the movement of a train for at least one hour. Later, they cleared tracks following intervention by the RPF, GRP and district police personnel.

    A protester said, “The army should raise the age bar as youths have lost two years due to the pandemic.””The government is playing a game with us like PUBG,” quipped a protester. 

    Another protester in Buxar said, “What can we do in these just four years as even MPs and MLAs get five-year terms.” In Begusarai too, NCC cadets and youths preparing for Army jobs put a road blockade at the Har-Har Mahadev roundabout. They also carried placards, demanding rollback of the Agnipath scheme and revival of the old recruitment process.

  • IAF plane with Rajnath, Gadkari to conduct mock emergency landing on highway in Rajasthan’s Barmer

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A plane of the Indian Air Force (IAF), carrying Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, will conduct a mock emergency landing on a national highway in Rajasthan’s Barmer this week, sources said on Monday.

    The two ministers will be inaugurating the 3.5 km-long strip on the national highway in Barmer this week as it is ready to handle emergency landings of the IAF’s fighter jets and other aircraft, sources mentioned.

    It is India’s first national highway to be used for emergency landing of IAF aircraft, they added.

    In October 2017, fighter jets and transport planes of the IAF had conducted mock landings on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway to show that such highways can be used by the IAF planes for landing in case of an emergency.

    The Lucknow-Agra Expressway comes under the Uttar Pradesh government.

    According to the sources, officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) worked in coordination with IAF officials to develop the airstrip on the national highway in Barmer.

    They said at least 12 national highways across the country — apart from the aforementioned one in Barmer — are being readied so that they can be used as airstrips by the IAF planes in an emergency situation.

    The parts of the 12 national highways that will be used as airstrips are being identified and prepared, sources added.

  • Delhi COVID crisis: One side of Singhu National Highway opened to let oxygen tankers in

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH:  Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday alleged that Haryana government was hindering the supply of oxygen to Delhi while Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar claimed the oxygen supply problem has already been resolved.

    Khattar while clarifying queries regarding shortage of oxygen in hospitals said though there were some initial difficulties in the supply to Haryana, Delhi and other states from Panipat plant, the problem has been resolved.  

    “I have even held a detailed discussion with Prime Minister  Narendra Modi on this issue,” he said.

    He said a roster has been made for filling of oxygen cylinders and then loading them on lorries at Panipat Oxygen Plant.

    “From now on, one truck will be loaded for Haryana and one truck each for Delhi and Punjab,” he added.

    Khattar also informed that 170 Metric Tonnes of oxygen was being supplied to Delhi between  10 pm to 6 am on Thursday from the Panipat plant. Furthermore,  Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had made a call and expressed satisfaction over the supply from the plant, asserted Khattar.

    He further said Panipat plant has a capacity to produce 260 MT of oxygen per day, out of which 140 MT is supplied to Delhi. 

    Meanwhile the Samyukt Kisan Morcha claimed it has decided to remove barricades on one side of the highway at Singhu Border, to give free passage to oxygen tankers, ambulances and other such emergency services. 

    The SKM said the protesting farmers are committed to causing least inconvenience to ordinary citizens.  

    “While the BJP and the government baselessly accused the protesting farmers of obstructing oxygen supply to Delhi, it was seen that the police misdireced oxygen tankers towards the protest site instead of guiding them correctly.” 

    “It is the government which is to be squarely blamed for barricading the roads and obstructing free passage. At all protest sites, farmers have already allowed passage of vehicles,” said Dr Darshan Pal, senior leader of SKM.