Automobile
Delhi-Mumbai highway to only take 12 hours: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari
In some very good news for those who travel by road, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has shared several updates regarding the road network in India. Amongst the updates, one of the biggest highlights has to be the fact that travelling from Mumbai to Delhi will soon be able to cover this distance in just a matter of 12 hours. And that’s not it, those wanting to travel all the way to Srinagar from Mumbai will be able to cover this distance in 20 hours.
On Tuesday, on the progress in the building of infrastructure, the minister said that road travel between Delhi to Jaipur; and Delhi to Haridwar now takes 2 hours. Similarly, the travel time from Delhi to Amritsar is now four hours. Gadkari said that connectivity between Delhi to Mumbai will be improved such that the travel time is reduced to 12 hours and added that “we will complete within this year”.
“From Ladakh, Leh to Srinagar we will go to Mumbai…. before the end of this year, we will try that from Srinagar you are able to reach Mumbai in 20 hours,” the minister said. Work is on in full swing for the Zojila tunnel in Kashmir and is expected to be completed by 2024, much before the scheduled target of 2026, he said. Gadkari said currently 70 per cent of goods and 90 per cent of the passenger traffic are travelling by road, as he highlighted the importance of becoming more competitive and reducing logistics costs.
Road projects worth Rs 62,000 crore have been undertaken in the national capital to ease traffic congestions, and tackle the problem of pollution, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday. Replying to a debate on the Demands for Grants for Road Transport and Highways Ministry, 2022-23, in the Lok Sabha, Gadkari recalled how he used to get stuck for an hour in Dhaula Kuan traffic every time he used to travel to and from the airport.
In 2019, Gadkari had inaugurated a three-lane underpass at Parade Road junction near Dhaula Kuan in Delhi to ease the traffic moving from Delhi to the airport and Gurugram. “We are trying to lessen pollution. My department is spending Rs 62,000 crore only on tackling Delhi pollution. We made Ring Road and other roads so that pollution comes down,” Gadkari said. The minister further said it is his endeavour to make the road infrastructure in India at par with the United States by 2040.
In this context, he referred to a famous quote by former US President John F Kennedy, “American roads are not good because America is rich, but America is rich because American roads are good”. Highlighting the improvement in highway connectivity and road infrastructure, Gadkari said that it now takes only 40 minutes to travel to Meerut from Delhi, as against four hours earlier. “Our aim is to reduce the cost of construction and improve the quality,” he said, adding the milestone of 38 km/day road construction, which is a world record, was achieved by India last year.
Automobile
Improved version of Hyundai Creta launched in Indian market: Check it out here
Hyundai India launched the much-awaited Creta Knight Edition in the country at a starting price of Rs 13.51 lakh (ex-showroom, all-India). This new variant is available in both petrol and diesel engine options and can be had either with a manual or an automatic transmission unit. To read more about the Creta Knight Edition, click here. In addition to this, the company has also introduced a model-year update for the Hyundai Creta with new feature additions.
The 2022 Hyundai Creta is now available in a new Denim Blue colour option and the Highline TPMS is now standard across all variants. The SX (O) trim now also gets a glossy black centre console. Furthermore, the company will offer the iMT option on the 1.5-litre petrol ‘S’ variant to further expand choices for the customers. The new S+ variant powered by a 1.4-litre T-GDi petrol engine with 7DCT now gets an additional set of features, such as –
– Smart panoramic sunroof
– 16-inch black alloy wheels
– Smartphone wireless charger
– Rear Disc Brakes
– Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
– Vehicle Stability Management (VSM)
– Hill start assist control (HAC)
– Paddle shifters
– Metal pedals
– Electric and auto-folding ORVMs
– Power window auto up/down
Mechanically, the SUV continues to be powered by the existing petrol and diesel engine options.