Bangalore: Oscar asks IRC to build maintenance-free roads
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Oct 24: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Oscar Fernandes has asked the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) to work towards providing maintenance-free roads in the country by utilizing the Rs 2500 crore funds earmarked for maintenance to be utilised for construction of new roads.
Roads across the country, including in the constituencies of senior ministers like the Union Home, Finance and himself were in pathetic shape, he said.
“When technology (for maintenance-free roads) is available, why should it not be implemented,” the Minister asked the road engineers at a regional workshop jointly organised by IRC and Karnataka Public Works Department here on Thursday.
Fernandes said the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has not been able to take up state highways which are recommended by the State Government due to the land acquisition problems.
The State government has asked the NHAI to take up several state highways (4300 km), including Bangalore-Mysore, for upgradation and maintenance.
He said the NHAI would be ready to take up road up-gradation of state Highways to national highways if there opportunities for further widening of roads and land acquisition. There was no provision for the land acquisition in many state highways.
Difficulties in the acquisition of forest lands have also come in the ways for taking over of state highways by NHAI.
“If the State government sort-out land acquisition problems, we are ready to take up upgradation of road projects,” Fernandes said.
Due to land acquisition problems and road safety issues, upgradation of a national highway connecting Kozhikode in Kerala with Kollegal in Karnataka via Mysore has been delayed.
The State government requested to Centre to take up upgradation of 212 km of road at a cost of Rs 518 crore. But no one firm has come forward to take up the project, he said.
Rahul is natural choice for PM's post: Oscar
Senior Congress leader and Union Surface Transport Minister Oscar Fernandes has asserted that Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was the Congress party’s natural choice for the post of Prime Minister if it was voted to power in the 2014 polls.
Speaking to reporters in Bangalore on Thursday, he expressed confidence that the Congress party will come back to power against after the next Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP has named Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2104 Lok Sabha elections.
Conference on HIV/AIDS
Fernandes said delegates, including MLAs and Chief Ministers of eight states, will participate in the conference which would be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at the Banquet Hall of the Vidhana Soudha on Friday.
Giving details about the conference, he along with State’s Health and Family Welfare U T Khader and Public Works Minister H C Mahadevappa said delegates from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Pondichery, Goa, Orissa, Kerala and Maharashtra would participate in the meet.
MPs, MLAs, elected members of rural and urban local bodies would participate in the event, they said.
Discussions on various aspects of AIDS and the best practices adopted in different states to prevention spread of the disease, Fernandes said.
Fernandes favoured insurance cover for the HIV positive and AIDS patients and said he has urged the insurance companies to provide life insurance to patients infected with the virus.
HIV/AIDS Patients Must Be Given Insurance Cover
He demanded the insurance firms to come out with products to provide coverage to the HIV-AIDS patients. But the insurance premium would be high compared to normal products, he said.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) proposed to make mandatory for insurers to offer insurance cover for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Health and Family Welfare Minister U T Khader said the Government has decided to open six Anti Retroviral Therapy centres at Bangalore (Jayanagar), Chikballapur, Bijapur, Chikkodi, Gulbarga and Belgaum from next month.
Currently, there were 55 ART centres in the State.
He said Karnataka was one of the states with a relatively advanced HIV epidemic.
According to the latest HIV Sentinel Surveillance done in 2010-11, the HIV prevalence among general population was 0.69 per cent.
There was significant decline in adult HIV prevalence in the State from 1.5 per cent in 2003-04 to 0.69 per cent in 2010-11.
“According to estimates, 2.45 lakh people are living with HIV/AIDS in the State”, he said.
He said virus infected people have been provided with free travel facility to ART centers to ensure better access to medicines and free supplementary nutrition.
A total of 78,000 patients have been receiving treatment at ART centres.