New Delhi, Aug 4: The country has more than 21 crore two-wheelers and over 7 crore four-wheelers and above category of vehicles registered, Parliament was informed on Thursday.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari said out of the total vehicles, 5,44,643 are electric two-wheelers while 54,252 are electric four-wheelers and above, as per the centralised data base -- VAHAN -- as on August 3, 2022.

Data further revealed that there were 2,95,245 two-wheelers and 18,47,539 four-wheeler and above category of vehicles with fuel types of CNG, ethanol, fuel cell hydrogen, LNG, LPG, solar, methanol etc.

Replying to a separate question, he said the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is primarily responsible for development and maintenance of National Highways. National Highways are generally maintained in traffic-worthy condition.

During the rainy season, damages sometimes occur to National Highways in few places due to flooding, landslides, heavy downpour etc. But the restoration works are promptly carried out and traffic restored to normal, he added.

The minister noted that development and upgradation of National Highways is a continuous process.

He said MoRTH has been taking up projects such as the construction of expressways, capacity upgradation of existing National Highways, rehabilitation and reconstruction of existing pavements, rehabilitation and reconstruction of existing bridges and structures and construction of Road Over Bridges (RoBs) on existing National Highways depending upon traffic demand.

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Karachi (PTI): A preliminary report over the recent explosion near Pakistan's busiest airport here has indicated that the attack was executed with the assistance of a foreign intelligence agency, a media report said on Saturday.

The report, submitted by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) to the anti-terrorism court, stated that the suicide bombing targeted Chinese engineers as part of a conspiracy to damage Pakistan-China relations, The Express Tribune reported.

On Sunday, two Chinese nationals were killed and 17 people injured in the suicide attack by a Baloch insurgent group that targeted a convoy of Chinese workers.

The explosion near the Jinnah International Airport on Sunday night also killed the suspected suicide bomber.

The preliminary report identified the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as being involved in the attack and indicated that the attack was executed with the assistance of a foreign intelligence agency, the Tribune said.

It suggested that an unidentified terrorist parked their vehicle close to a convoy of Chinese nationals before detonating the explosive, the report said.

Upon hearing the blast, police arrived at the scene and found injured individuals, including personnel from police and Rangers.

The Chinese nationals were working at the Port Qasim Electric Power Company on the outskirts of the city and were returning home when their convoy was attacked.

A case has been registered at the Airport police station under the supervision of the station house officer.

The CTD’s report includes charges of murder, attempted murder, assault, use of explosive materials, and terrorism, among other counts.

Earlier this week, an initial investigation report confirmed the tragic event involved 70 to 80 kg of explosives.

On Friday, China said it has dispatched an inter-agency working group to Pakistan following the deadly suicide bomb attack in Karachi.

Thousands of Chinese personnel are working in Pakistan on several projects under the aegis of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home to a long-running violent insurgency. Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several attacks targeting CPEC projects.

The BLA accuses China and Islamabad of exploitation of the resource-rich province, a charge rejected by the authorities. It has fought a long-running insurgency for a separate homeland.

The group in the last two years carried out similar suicide bomb attacks in Karachi targeting foreign nationals.



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