To bring down deaths, safety must get highest priority while constructing roads: Nitin Gadkari
Raipur (PTI): Union minister Nitin Gadkari has drawn attention to the rising number of road accidents and consequent deaths, and stressed on giving safety the highest priority while constructing pathways in the country.
Addressing the 83rd annual session of the Indian Roads Congress at Pt Deendayal Upadhyay Auditorium here on Friday, he said if anyone dies in an accident due to road engineering fault in the future, then he will hold himself guilty for it.
Highlighting the Centre's efforts to prevent road accidents, he urged government engineers to quit their jobs and start a good DPR (detailed project report) making company, assuring them to give work on a priority basis.
The Minister of Road Transport and Highways emphasized on production of bitumen and CNG from stubble in agriculture-dominated Chhattisgarh, arguing the move will cut dependence on fossil fuels and check pollution.
He announced a slew of road projects for Chhattisgarh and said he believes the state will have a road network similar to that of America in the next two years.
"Every year 1.50 lakh deaths due to road accidents are reported which has now increased to 1.68 lakh. Efforts are on to improve the shortcomings in road engineering and automobile engineering but defective DPR has created a major problem," the minister maintained.
He advised government engineers to quit their jobs and start a good DPR-making company.
"We have been making serious efforts to prevent road accidents. Nearly 60 per cent victims of road accidents are aged between 18 and 34 years. I would like to urge you to build roads where no accidents take place (due to defective engineering works)," he said.
Improvement in road engineering will curb accidents and save lives, Gadkari asserted.
"We have made rules in automobile engineering. If anyone dies in an accident due to road engineering in the future, then I will feel that I am guilty for it," he told participants at the event.
Pointing at the gathering of officials and engineers, the minister said no tenders should be issued without carefully examining DPR for projects.
Road safety should be given the highest priority to prevent accident deaths, he added.
Gadkari emphasized the significance of waste-to-energy technologies and urged Chhattisgarh to work on producing CNG and bitumen using paddy straw.
The Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) and the Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, have developed bio-bitumen from paddy straw and it is being used in Meghalaya, he told the gathering.
"It (paddy straw) can be used up to 35 per cent in bitumen. The country's requirement of bitumen is 90 lakh metric tonnes and capacity of refinery is 40-50 lakh metric tonnes. We are importing 50 lakh metric tonnes," Gadkari said.
If Chhattisgarh starts producing bitumen from stubble, it will be a waste-to-wealth move, he said.
Similarly, 400 projects for producing bio-CNG and bio-LNG from paddy straw have started in Punjab and Haryana. If Chhattisgarh will do the same, no petrol and diesel will be required in the state, the Union minister opined.
Gadkari underlined the need to develop robust infrastructure to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" (self-reliant India).
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Catholic Bishops' body slams Bhagwat's remarks
New Delhi: The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India on Thursday slammed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for his reported remark that Pranab Mukherjee, when he was President, had said tribals would turn "anti-national" if there is no "ghar wapsi"Catholic Bishops.'
In a statement issued here, CBCI, a body of Catholic Bishops, referred to reports which said Bhagwat, at an event on Monday, claimed that Mukherjee, while he was President had appreciated ghar wapsi and told him that had it not been for the Sangh's work on reconversion, a section of Adivasis would have turned "anti-national".The CBCI called the report "shocking".
"Fabricated personal conversation being attributed to a former president of India and its posthumous publication with the vested interest of an organization with questionable credibility raises a grave issue of national importance," the CBCI claimed.
"Is it not the violent ghar wapsi program of VHP and other similar organizations, curtailing the exercise of freedom of conscience of economically deprived tribals, the real anti-national activity?" it asked.
'Ghar wapsi' is a term used by the RSS and affiliated organisations to refer to reconversion of Muslims and Christians to Hinduism, based on the belief that they were originally Hindus before converting to other religions.
The CBCI also questioned why Bhagwat did not speak about it while Mukherjee was alive.
"We, the 2.3 percent of Indian citizens who are Christians feel extremely hurt by such manipulated and motivated propaganda unleashed," it said.
In a post on X following the statement issued by CBCI, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien said, "Speak up. This is a start!"
"Bishops body have issued a statement condemning remarks made by Dr Mohan Bhagwat and RSS for defaming the Christian community," he said.
O'Brien added that they should ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi more questions, including why Christmas Day has been turned into "Good Governance Day".
The TMC leader, in a blogpost earlier this month, had said "hard questions" must be asked to the government with regards to the Christian community, including why the FCRA has been 'weaponised', and why has Manipur been 'ignored'.
