Inside and around...: IBS

This mail was sent to all the employees of IBS; it says:

SUB: Safe and efficient road system for the future of Kerala

Dear All,

This is a long mail, and it has nothing to do with IBS' business. I am writing this note to seek your assistance on an important matter for our state. Take your own time and read at your own pace, but please do read it and do what you can to help.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has approved the expansion of about 700 KMs of highways in Kerala, at an estimated investment of up to 10,000 Crores, over a 30 months period. However, the Kerala Government and the Opposition together has represented to the Prime Minister that the expansion should be limited to 30 meters (as against the NHAI standard of 60 Meters), quoting the impact of land acquisition on the people on the sides of the highways. Obviously, this has put the entire project at risk as NHAI will not and cannot consider it under the current highways scheme, and we could lose this approved funding and the essential expansion project. The immediate impact will be the Trivandrum-Kochi stretch of NH-47.

According to authentic statistics, Kerala has the highest vehicle density of 1:6 in the country (one vehicle for every 6 people, which is over 4 times the national average), which is comparable to USA (1:5), and the lowest level of highway system among other states. The annual traffic growth is the highest in Kerala, which will make the roads ever more congested in the coming years. Every day, Kerala witnesses 11 deaths and 120 grievous injuries due to road accidents, resulting in total or partial disabilities! The number families, more so belonging to the lower strata of the society, getting totally devastated every year is alarmingly high in Kerala. The productivity loss and increased fuel costs on the Trivandrum-Kochi stretch of NH-47 itself, due to congestion and lower average speed, is estimated to be about 2,700 Crores per year.