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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Haridwar, Dec 22: Shankaracharya of the Jyotirmath Peeth in Uttarakhand Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati on Sunday criticised RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for his "politically convenient" position on restoring temples.
Avimukteshwaranand said a list of temples destroyed in the past by invaders be prepared and archaeological surveys of the structures be carried out to "restore Hindu pride".
"When he wanted power, he went around speaking about temples. Now that he has power, he is advising not to look for temples," he said on Bhagwat's remarks.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Bhagwat recently said that it was not acceptable that new temple-mosque disputes are raked up after the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The seer said a lot of atrocities have been committed against the Hindus and their religious places have been destroyed in the past. "If now, the Hindu society wants to restore and preserve its temples, then what is wrong in it?"
The Shankaracharya also criticised Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement on BR Ambedkar in Parliament that has triggered a huge row between the ruling BJP and the Opposition.
Defending Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Avimukteshwaranand said the scuffle outside Parliament was due to Shah's remarks on Ambedkar.
He said that there are a lot of people who support Ambedkar's ideology so everyone is using his name for their politics.
Shah has been under fire from several opposition parties since Tuesday over a comment he made referring to Ambedkar during a debate on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha.
The next day, the BJP leader held a press conference and accused Congress of twisting facts and distorting his comments.
The seer also condemned alleged atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh and said that the central government should take strict action on the matter. He said that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh living in India should be sent back. He slammed the central government accusing it of lack of action on the matter.
Bhagwat has recently expressed concern over the resurgence of new temple-mosque disputes and asserted that certain individuals, after the construction of Ayodhya's Ram Temple, seem to believe they can become "leaders of Hindus" by raking up such issues.