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Roads

  • Road to nowhere

    The Tasmanian government's grandiose plans to build a road right across the Tarkine -- Australia's largest remaining wilderness -- have run into rough weather. Situated in north-west Tasmania, the

  • Road guide

    Road guide

    Rail and road are the single most intrusive human activity into wildlife habitat. Unlike wildlife biologists, who have sourcebooks on how to manage wildlife ecosystems, road and rail route planners

  • Andaman Trunk Road ignores SC order, affects Jarawas` lives
  • Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project cleared

    the controversial Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project has got a fresh lease of life. The October 6 order of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (kspcb) withdrawing the consent

  • Controversy over J&K government's plan to revive Mughal road

    The revival of a historic road should ordinarily not attract the wrath of conservationists. But in Jammu and Kashmir it did. The state government's decision to upgrade the almost five century-old

  • US steps up efforts to protect forests; bars development projects

    US steps up efforts to protect forests; bars development projects

    The us federal district court of northern California upheld the

  • Road to Amarnath

    In the recently concluded summer session of the state legislative assembly at Srinagar, a new controversy on the "road to Amarnath' has divided the Jammu and Kashmir government. Gurcharan Singh

  • Top priority to roads, transport, power

    Of the seven broad development themes in the draft 10th plan document, which will be discussed and approved by the new parliament, the highest budget allocation, Nu 20.465 billion, is for building and maintenance of national highways, roads to hydropower projects, new power transmission lines and development of air and surface transport.

  • UP govt determined to move ahead with Expressway project

    Even as the Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh, especially the BJP and the Samajwadi Party (SP) continue to rally against Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati's pet project, the Ganga Expressway, the state government remains unmoved in its bid to go ahead with the project. The Opposition's scathing attack on the BSP government for allegedly giving undue benefits to the contractor of the project, JP Industries, at the cost of the farmers, as well as rendering thousands of hectares of fertile land into concrete waste are being seen by the government as a ":absolutely baseless and superfluous':. An official in the industries department said, according to the concept paper prepared by the irrigation department and an estimation of state public works department, embankments to be built along the proposed Ganga Expressway will save around 3.40-lakh hectare land from floods. ":It is expected that this 3.40-lakh hectare of land, which is single crop yielding due to floods at present, will be converted to multi-crop fertile land after the completion of the expressway and embankments. Hence, thousands of farmers will be able to reap benefits of at least double crop,': the official said. The proposed 1,047-km, access-controlled, 8-lane expresway from Ballia to Greater Noida is to be 155 metre wide, including the width of the embankments and service roads. According to the government records, the proposed land-parcels to be given to developer for development, which is around 12,281 hectare, largely includes infertile and barren land.

  • USAID-funded roads, drainage systems opened

    The newly-constructed eight km of low maintenance, durable roads and drainage structures in the Pottuvil, Ampara district, funded by The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) were opened recently, said a US Embassy press release. In the past, the roads flooded and became almost impassable; today, with the professionally-constructed roads and drainage structures, residents and visitors can travel with ease. The finished roads have had a major impact on the community in Pottuvil. Because the roads are now paved, the reduction of dust in the town is significant. Additionally, the local population's access to many essential services, including schools, health clinics and places of worship, has been dramatically improved by the new transportation systems. USAID, the US Government agency in charge of delivering development assistance from the American people, funded the project, and UNOPS implemented its construction. For the opening ceremony, USAID and UNOPS welcomed representatives from local government and the community. They were joined by A.H.M. Ansar, Divisional Secretary A.L.M. Asmy, Assistant Divisional Secretary, A.L. Mohamed Rauf, Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman, and A.M. Abdul Majeed, Opposition Leader, Pradeshiya Sabha, Mike Gould, Senior Engineer from USAID was joined by Rainer Frauenfeld, Fergus Gleeson and Fraser Sparks from UNOPS. The project began in September 2006, with the initial work being done on the construction yard in Pottuvil. In December 2006, work began on a concrete block casting yard. In March 2007, the concrete blocks produced at the casting yard were used to begin the road construction. In December 2007, just over one year after the project began, the entire eight km network of roads and drainage systems was successfully completed. The end result did more than just produce roads and drainage, it created jobs and experience. It also built human capital. The concrete block construction yard created in excess of 50,000 labour days with a workforce of some 400 labourers, significantly improving individual livelihoods and the overall economy of the tsunami and conflict-affected Pottuvil.

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