Observing that all efforts should be made to use alternatives to steel and cement in the construction of roads, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari today said the cost of construction has to be reduced and the quality of construction improved in the road sector.
Inaugurating the mobile cold mixer cum paver machine and the patch fill machine for pothole repairs, he emphasised that proven technology, economic viability, availability of raw material and effective marketing were necessary for successful completion of projects.
Gadkari said that due to various reasons there was hesitancy in the system to adopt proven technology. Total synchronisation in communication, coordination and cooperation was required for implementing new systems and technologies.
He complimented the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) for its design for constructing a cement-concrete road in Nagpur in 1997 which has not seen any potholes to date.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh said the increasing application of Science and Technology in the Road Transport and Highways sector was adding great value to India’s developmental journey. He said the use of affordable, sustainable and recyclable technologies in the sector was fast building the arterial network of India. He reiterated that India’s ascent in the coming decades would be determined through Science, Technology and Innovation.
Referring to the dedication of two pieces of equipment of ‘Mobile Cold Mixer Cum Paver’ for constructing blacktop layer using bitumen emulsion and ‘Patch Fill Machine’ for pothole repair to the nation, Singh said: ”These are the perfect examples of Atmanirbhar Bharat as both the equipment are completely built indigenously.”