Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurates 10 National Highway projects of 292 kms
Shri Nitin Gadkari
inaugurates 10 National Highway projects of 292 kms worth Rs.8,181 Crore in
Solapur, Maharashtra
Union
Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari today inaugurated
10 National Highway projects of 292 kms worth Rs.8,181 Crores in Solapur,
Maharashtra.
Why is it in news?
The
Minister said these road projects, which have the potential to bring Solapur
district and its environs into the mainstream of the country, will be important
for the well-being and development of the people of Solapur.
Highlights
· He said these projects will
help in streamlining the traffic in the city and reducing the incidence of
accidents and environmental pollution. It will be easier to connect the rural
areas of the district with the city, he added.
· Shri Gadkari said
strengthening road network is of great importance for Solapur district which
has important temples like Siddheshwar Temple, Akkalkot, Pandharpur.
· He said built with these
factors in mind, these highway projects will facilitate access to spiritual
sites in the city and district and will also help in smoothing the
transportation of agricultural goods.
· In order to alleviate the
frequent water scarcity in Solapur district the Minister said several lakes
have been constructed in Solapur district on the pattern of Buldhana pattern
through NHAI since 2016-17.
· He said many available
reservoirs were deepened and the soil and stones obtained from them were used
for road construction. He said through this, about 73 villages in Solapur
district have come under water.
· The water level in the area
has increased by 6,478 TMC and 561 hectare area has come under irrigation. 2
water supply schemes have benefited from this project and 747 wells in the area
have been recharged.
Shri Sarbananda Sonowal reviews projects of Paradip Port
Shri Sarbananda Sonowal reviews
projects of Paradip Port, gives directions for augmenting capacity to 500 MMTPA
by 2030
Shri
Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways reviewed
Paradip Port project, also directing for augmenting its capacity to 500 MMTPA (Million
Metric Tonne Per Annum) by 2030.
Why is it in news?
The
Minister made his first official visit to Paradip Port Authority in Odisha as
part of regular review on 24th March, 2022. During the meeting, the
Minister reviewed:
(i)
various
infrastructure projects,
(ii)
PPA
Projects,
(iii)
functioning
of the Port,
(iv)
ease
of business initiative,
(v)
green
initiative, and business development activity of the Port.
Highlights
· Shri Sonowal inaugurated
Container Scanner worth Rs 29.68 crore that can scan up to 25 Trucks
per hour in scan mode. The Container Scanner complies to International Security Screening standards and reduces the need for
manual inspection of Containers providing high performance imaging capability
with organic/inorganic material and celebration. It shall boost movement of
container traffic in the Port.
· The Minister laid
Foundation Stone for 2nd exit-cum-road flyover (Gati-Shakti Project) as part of additional Port connectivity
from National Highway at Paradip Port.
· This Road-cum-flyover of
2.4 kms long serve as alternative Entry/Exit option to/from the Port,
facilitating in safe and congestion free movement of vehicles.
· Costing Rs 93 crore it will
help segregation of Cargo traffic from passenger movement to/from Port
Township.
· Shri Sonowal also
inaugurated the Sewerage Treatment Plant and Paradip College Boy’s Hostel and
participated in Plantation dive at Aayush Garden .
· The Minister also
inaugurated the Biju Convention Centre and held meeting with Stakeholders. He
also reviewed progress with officials of IDCO,
IOCL, on Paradip Petroleum, Chemicals
and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR).
· During the review of
progress of PCPIR, he stressed on
collaborative approach for faster development to bring overall development of
the area.
Indian Railways continues its momentum of Coal Supply to power plants
Indian Railways continues
its momentum of Coal Supply to power plants
Why is it in news?
Railways
deploy additional rakes to transport coal to power plants
During 2021-22, Coal Supply through Railways witnesses a record 111 Million
tonnes
Many steps have been taken to prioritize loading of coal to power sector
Highlights
·
To
ensure swift supply of coal across power plants, additional trains and rakes by
Indian Railways have been initiated to augment transportation of coal through
its network.
·
Indian
Railways has ramped up the coal transportation resulting in 32% more coal
freight loading between Sept' 21 - March' 22.
·
There
has also been an increase in 10% freight, by efficiently mobilizing resources
after April' 22.
·
During
the year 2021-22, Indian Railways has augmented the transportation of Coal
through Railways by a record 111 Million tonnes and loaded a record 653 Million
Tonnes of coal as compared to 542 Million tonnes in the previous year i.e. a
growth of 20.4 %.
·
Further
during the period Sept-21 to Mar-22 loading of coal to power sector was
augmented by 32% in just 2 quarters.
·
In
April 2022 , IR has taken many steps to prioritize the loading of coal to
power sector which has led to increase in supply of coal of more than 10 %
within one week time.
·
This
improvement has been possible due to various measures undertaken by Indian
Railways some of which are listed below :
- The movement of Coal trains have been prioritized and
the each and every train is being intensively monitored during the entire
cycle from Loading to movement and finally unloading.
- Through this prioritization and monitoring the Transit
time of coal trains to long distance Power has been reduced significantly
by 12-36% for critical power plants.
- Indian Railways has prioritized the movement of coal
to long distance Power houses as well which is reflected in the fact
that the average lead of coal trains has increased by 7 % in the
last 5 days as compared to the average leads of 1st to 10th April.
- Despite this increase in the average lead of coal
trains the time taken between two successive loading of the same rake for
these stocks has reduced by 10%.
- With these operational innovations Indian Railways has
augmented the supply of coal trains to Power houses as well as has
loaded more coal.
