Road repair: by private firms! Patna: For the better upkeep of the roads, the state government has approved its new road maintenance policy. Under this policy, the upkeep of the road would rest on the contractors for the period of five to nine years. The state government gave its nod to the ambitious policy earlier this week. The principal secretary of the Cabinet Department, Brajesh Mehrotra told the press, “Under this new policy, the state government has changed its entire mechanism of road maintenance. Under this new policy, the state government proposes a performance based maintenance. The... 

  Roads to Patna: east, west, north, south! Patna: according to the latest reports, Patna is now to be connected from all sides north, south, east and west – with four-lane roads. Work on such roads in all directions has been set in motion. While tender for one such road is likely to be floated soon, tenders for other projects have already been awarded. Road construction minister Nand Kishore Yadav said on Tuesday that in the next three years there would be a network of four-lane roads all around the state capital. The first four-lane road is likely to be completed in 2014, he added. On... 

Now a 552-km road along the Indo- Nepal: better connectivity for Bihar too!   Patna: according to reports, recently, the central government approved the construction of 552-km long road along the Bihar-Nepal border, from Madanpur in UP to Galgalia in West Bengal. An amount of Rs 1,702 crore for this two-lane road to be completed by 2015-16 has been sanctioned even though the total cost, will be above Rs 2,552 crore. The Centre will provide the states with funds for the construction and maintenance of the road, said Road Construction Dept minister Nand Kishore Yadav. The state government... 

Now a Mercedes Benz bus service: Patna-Tata-Ranchi-Gaya!   Patna: now bus rides between Bihar and Jharkhand will compare with the smoothest and best of experiences had travelling between myriads of routes between Mumbai-Pune-Hyderabad-Bangalore-Chennai and further down south. According to reports, a Mercedes Benz luxury bus service between Bihar and Jharkhand with GPRS, TV and WI FI facilities will begin from December 12. The buses each cost Rs 1.20 crore and would run between Patna and Tata, Ranchi and Gaya. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar rode one of the buses between Raj Bhawan... 

After Patna and Gaya, Darbhanga gets its city buses!   Patna/Darbhanga: after the commuters of Patna and Gaya got their ring route bus service, it is now the turn of Darbhanga!  According to reports, the Bihar State Road Transport Corporation (BSRTC) will soon start plying seven buses in Darbhanga. The agreements and respective permits for the seven vehicles under the ring route bus service for Darbhanga have been finalised and most buses have been delivered. Thus, the corporation is likely to launch these buses within a week. The vehicles would be operated from the bus depots of the... 

Soon 105 buses to ply on 30 routes between Bihar and Uttar Pradesh Patna: after a long wait, the Uttar Pradesh government has finally permitted the running of buses along 30 routes between Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The Bihar State Road Transport Corporation will soon start services on these routes in the PPP mode. BSRTC will begin its services with 105 buses that will include 12 Volvos, 25 AC buses and the rest will be semi-deluxe. If things go as planned, the service will start by the next month. Some months ago when the Bihar government sent a proposal to the UP government for the running... 

Engineering vs environment: now a debate over what to do with Gandhi Bridge, Patna Patna: according to reports, the Gandhi Setu in Patna is now a subject of debate among the engineering experts. The National Highways Authority of India [NHAI] took the decision recently to assume the responsibility for its rehabilitation only last fortnight when Union ministry of road transport and highways secretary A K Upadhyaya visited Patna. . Soon after the visit, an NHAI expert team visited Patna to take a close look at the condition of 29-year-old bridge and work out a plan for its overhaul/repair.... 

Attention, Rajendra Bridge, Mokama opened to heavy traffic now: at 20 kms per hour! Mokama: According to latest reports, Rajendra Setu has been opened to heavy traffic since 15th July. This was confirmed by the SDO Shivkumar Pandit. Now 16-wheel vehicles will be allowed to play at a speed of 20 kms ph. For the past several months the bridge was closed to heavy traffic which put enormous pressure on the Mahatma Gandhi Setu, Patna. The endless congestions and traffic jams had made life difficult for regular travelers and traders. Travelers did everything to ensure they did not have to cross... 

Mahatma Gandhi Setu to be redone by NHAI: finally, a decision comes through! .. Patna: according to the latest reports, the superstructure of the 29-year-old Mahatma Gandhi Setu is to be dismantled and redone. The decision came after a meeting between AK Upadhyaya, the Union ministry of road transport and highways secretary and the state officials including road construction department (RCD) secretary Pratyaya Amrit. Upadhyaya said ‘The National Highway Authority of India will be assigned the task to dismantle and redo the superstructure’. The state government had pleaded for the takeover of... 

Gandhigiri by Muzaffarpur traffic police: roses with advice before fines! Muzaffarpur: according to latest reports, traffic police in Muzaffarpur has decided to launch a week long Gandhigiri campaign in the town. As part of an awareness drive that is to carry on for a week, the traffic police will gift a violator a rose flower, but only after delivering a brief speech on traffic rules. This is the brainwave of the Muzaffarpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Rajesh Kumar. This bold drive puts an end to a common myth – that only metropolises and bigger cities in India have a traffic...