Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
In a major relief for people travelling on the VadodaraSurat section of NH-8 (New NH-48), Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi dedicated a new four lane, Extradosed Bridge across river Narmada at Bharuch to the nation today. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony this afternoon, the Prime Minister said that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will convert eight state highways of Gujarat to National Highways, and this will give a big boost to the infrastructure of the state. Also speaking on the occasion Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping said that it is a matter of pride that the Narmada bridge that is unique, has been dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister. He informed that the project has been completed in 34 months at a cost of Rs 380 crores. Shri Gadkari said that projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore will be carried out in Gujarat. The 1.4 km ‘Extradose’ cable stayed bridge is the longest in India and the second such bridge in the country after Nivedita Setu over Hooghly. The bridge is 20.8 metres wide, with 14.5 metre carriageway and 3 metre footpath. It is supported on 9 Pylons of 36 meter height on pile foundation of 1.5metre diameter. The bridge will be lit by more than 400 LED lights. The bridge is part of National Highways Authority of India’s project for six laning of Ahmedabad-Mumbai section of NH-8 (Total length of 6.745 Km between km.192.00 to km.198.745.) in Baruch district of the state of Gujarat. This section of NH 8 will have State of the Art Highway Traffic Management System (HTMS), Variable Message Sign Boards, Median Plantation, Traffic Aid Post, Medical Aid Post, RFID and Smart Card Swapping enabled infrastructure at the Toll Plaza and Theme Lighting on the main bridge.
Ministry of Road Transport’s New Format for Reporting Accidents
An expert committee was constituted by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to review the format for reporting of road accidents. The committee headed by Senior Adviser of the Transport Research Wing and consisting of experts from IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, WHO, senior officers from the Police and Transport Departments of States, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, submitted its recommendations, which have also been accepted by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Briefing the media in the capital today, Mrs Kirti Saxena, Senior Adviser of Transport Research Wing and Chairperson of the committee said that FIRs at police station suffer from under reporting of data from the accident site, which is therefore inaccurate and incomplete. She informed that the committee met a number of times to look into the weaknesses of the existing format for reporting accidents. After studying the way accidents are reported in various states and also in other countries, the new format was recommended to the Ministry. She also stated that the main role would be that of the police for whom workshops would have to be held. Prof. Geetam Tiwari from IIT Delhi and member of the committee elaborated on the salient features of the new format. She informed that at present reports are collected from police stations and State Governments send their report to the Centre. She expressed the hope that the new format would fill in gaps in reporting of accidents by minimizing subjectivity.
Prof. Sudeshna Mitra of IIT Kharagpur and member of the committee said that recording of the accident site will play crucial role in the task of reporting. She added that the GPS detail will enable to understand the road design at site. Besides, vehicle analysis and also person related details would help in analyzing the accidents. The recording of accident data is done in FIRs at police stations. These records are liable to be subjective as the police personnel fill it up according to their understanding and assign reasons for accidents as per their interpretation. There are apprehensions that due to limited technical understanding, the police persons recording the data are not able to recognize the role of road engineering defects, the nature of impacting vehicles and other such technical details that may have caused the accident. As a result, these aspects that are so vital for ensuring road safety but remain unreported or under reported. After a series of deliberations the committee has developed a uniform accident Recording Format to be adopted by the police in all states and UTs. The accident Recording Form has five sections designed to capture all relevant information like accident identification/location, road condition, vehicles involved and victim details. Section A contains accident identification details like location, vehicle type etc. Section B captures road conditions and features like culvert, gradient, pothole etc. Section C would capture details about vehicle – both motorized and non motorized, overloading etc. Section D would capture traffic violations by drivers and Section E would capture details about persons other than drivers involved in the accident. The form is simple and would be easy for the police persons at thana levels to understand and fill up. It also minimizes subjective elements. In addition to the above, the committee has also developed a set of corresponding annual road accident data Reporting Format consisting of 17 forms in which the states/ UTs would be required to furnish the annual road accident data to TRW of the Ministry within one month of the completion of a calendar year. This development is important as the data forms the basis for analyzing the cause of accidents, identifying black spots and taking corrective steps to eliminate the same. This is also the data that gets compiled by the Transport Research Wing of the Ministry in its annual publication Road Accidents in India. Over a period of time the data will reveal patterns which will provide solutions and enable action to be taken.
NHIDCL Started Work for Better Road Connectivity in NE Region
The National Highway & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) has started development work in NER and so far projects aggregation to 1188km at a cost of Rs.14,830 Crore. The improvement of NH 27 (old NH-54) connecting Dima Hasao and Cachar districts aggregating to about 130km is in progress as part of East West Corridor. Improvement of about 166km of NH-6 (62km of old NH-40 & 104km of old NH-44) in the Meghalaya is in progress. For improvement and maintenance of Malidhar-Badarpur section of NH-6 (old NH-44) of about 33km and for Dhaleswari-Bilkawthlir section of NH-6 (old NH-154) aggregating to about 147km works have been sanctioned by the Ministry and are in various stage of progress. In respect of Badarpur – Sabroom section of NH-8 (old NH-44) aggregating to about 387km, works for its improvement and maintenance have been sanctioned by the Ministry except for a length of about 114 km between Churaibari and Agartala. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is primarily responsible for the development and maintenance of National Highways in the Country. The maintenance & repair of National Highways is a continuous process the National Highways in the NorthEastern Region are kept in traffic worthy condition from time to time within the available resources. The total amount of funds allocated and expenditure incurred on the repair and maintenance of NHs in the North Eastern Region during the last three years and the current year is Rs.979.92 Crore and Rs.612.61 Crore respectively. This information was given by the Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Shri Pon. Radhakrishnan in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.