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April, 2005
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• BRO clearing snow from Manali highway
• Mumbai makes helmet for two-wheelers compulsory

     Srinagar: Just a day after the lauch of Srinagar- Mazaffarabad bus service on April 7, Congress President Sonia Gandhi will inaugurate world's heighest and longest cable car project 'gandola' at Gulmarg and lay foundation stone of the south campus of Kashmir University on April 8. Sonia will also meet the representatives of a cross section of the society in Srinagar. The cable car venture aims at giving a boost to tourism and projection of Gulmarg as a skiing spot. It will also connect Gulmarg with Aferwat situated at an altitude of 13,400 metre and 13 kms away. In a move aimed at availing higher education to the people of south Kashmir, Sonia will also lay foundation stone for south campus of Kashmir University in Anantnag. The preparations for the events were finalised at a high-level meeting of some ministers and Congress leaders, including Mir, PCC Chief Peerzada Mohammad Syed, Taj Moiuddin and Abdul Gani Vakil. Interested in the programmes, Congress has asked all district presidents to ensure maximum participation of people.
-April 5, 2005

BRO clearing snow from Manali highway (Go to Top)

     Manali (HP): The Border Road Organization (BRO) has begun clearing snow from the treacherous highway leading to Manali, one of the highest motorable roads in the world. The BRO declared aims to open the strategically important Rohtang Pass, which runs close to the India-Tibet border across dizzy Himalayan heights by early May. Snow ploughers and a few bulldozers cleared the pass located at a height of 13,500 feet (4,112 meters). The pass remains open only six months in a year from May to October. The BRO moved eighteen thousand tonnes of snow in two months to open the Rohtang Pass. At some points snow deposits were as high as 60 feet, and sometimes it would take days just to clear a few metres. The Rohtang Pass literally means the "mound of dead," because of the extreme conditions which have claimed innumerable lives over the years. The weather changes unpredictably, and temperatures dip to as low as Minus 40 degrees Celsius. The working conditions are harsh, the sun is extremely bright. There is always the danger of an avalanche. And bad weather can prove fatal. The Manali-Keylong highway at which Rohtang Pass is located 51 kilometers from Manali, is also hit by bad weather. "The snowfall this year has broken all records of the past 40 years. The snow accumulation has been more than 40 feet and so it has been very difficult to even trace the road. It is also difficult because weather plays havoc sometimes," said Maninder, incharge of General Roads Engineering Force of the BRO. The quick clearing of the pass by the BRO proved decisive in India's border skirmish at Kargil in May 1999 when Indian troops evicted Kashmiri guerrillas occupying the mountain heights. The Srinagar-Kargil-Leh and Shimla-Manali-Leh roads are the only two links with the northern tip region of Ladakh bordering Pakistan and Tibet. The BRO, established as an arm of the Indian Army on May 7, 1960, is responsible for constructing and maintenance of vital border highways across the entire Himalayan range. The BRO has also undertaken fencing of India's porous borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
-April 2, 2005

Mumbai makes helmet for two-wheelers compulsory (Go to Top)

    Mumbai: Helmet usage became compulsory in Mumbai from Friday for two wheeler and pillion riders. The orders followed a recent Bombay High Court ruling. The rule extends to 20 areas apart from Bombay and adjoining Thane, whereas other cities of Maharashtra state, - Pune, Nagpur and Aurangabad, will implement the rule from July. Head gear has been made compulsory as a move to help reduce the number of deaths due to road accidents. City police caught nearly 100 riders on the first day of the rule, who were riding without helmets. And all the offenders had different stories to tell. "It's so hot. Already my head aches because of the heat, I find it very uncomfortable to wear the helmet," said Kishore Rahate, an offender. Nasir Hussain, another offender said: "Helmets for pillions riders should not be a rule. Buying two-three helmets is too expensive, the women and children should be exempted." The state government had made wearing of helmets compulsory in January but the law was put on hold after a shortage in supply of helmets. Manufacturers said that around 500,000 helmets were manufactured per month in the state, which could be increased to a maximum to 750,000. The manufacturers have said they could increase production if the police were serious about enforcing the rule. Every five minutes, an Indian dies of fatal injuries in road accidents. The number of injuries due to traffic accidents is approximately 20 times the number of deaths. India has the highest road fatality rate in the world with one percent of the world's vehicles and accounts for six percent of the world's road accidents. For most Indian nucleus lower middle class families, a two-wheeler is a family vehicle and often a couple and children are seen riding the vehicle.
-April 2, 2005

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