The Hindu             21.10.2013

Laying of BT roads inaugurated in Veppanahalli

Staff Reporter

Minister for Municipal Administration and Rural Development, K.P. Munusamy inaugurated laying of Black Top roads in various rural areas in Veppanahalli Panchayat Union in Krishnagiri district on Sunday.

The road works were being implemented under the Pooled Assigned Revenue Fund 2013-14.

Participating at the Boomi Pooja functions, Mr. Munusamy gave instructions to the officials to finish the road laying works along with the construction of quality storm water drains on both the sides of the road.

The minister cautioned the government to never compromise on the quality of the works. While participating in the Boomi Pooja, the minister also received petitions from the public and also heard the grievances patiently.

He also assured the public that he would personally follow up the petitions and would take action to redress their grievances on merit basis as quickly as possible.

The roads for which Boomi Poojas conducted and the estimated cost include Viruppachandram Road to Avuganapalli Road in Kathiripalli at a cost of Rs. 48 lakh, Theertham-Tharanisandiram at Rs. 33.20 lakh, Kothakrishnapalli-Kurubarapalli Road at Rs. 33.30 lakh, Kurubarapalli-Bhathipuram Road at Rs. 30 lakh, Periya Soolamalai Road at Rs. 10 lakh.

Mr. Manthirachalam, Project Director, District Rural Development Agency, K. Ashok Kumar, Chairman, District Panchayat and representatives of local bodies concerned participated.

Business Line             09.10.2013

ACC brings road repair solution to Chennai

Addressing officials of ChennaiCorporation after a demonstration of the new product, Anil Banchhor, Chief Executive-Concrete Business, ACC Ltd, said roads repaired with Ultra Thin White Topping can be opened for traffic within 24 hours.

Mumbai-headquartered ACC Concrete has seen good adoption of its new product in the city, where 10 per cent of roads under construction use UTWT.

The solution can be used in air pavement repairs, bridge deck repairs, and reconstructions in loading docks and port-related work.

Though the costs of laying bitumen roads are lower by 15 per cent, their lifecycle and maintenance costs are higher in comparison to the new method.

Input costs

Banchhor said the products’ roll out comes at a time of rising input costs: “Railway freight costs have increased, and so have prices of diesel. So, our input costs are on an uptrend. But, we have not seen any slump in demand.”

Avijit Chaubey, Head-Research and Development, says the concrete sets fast, and requires planning to make sure the mixture does not harden on the way to the work site.

Abrasives may be needed in some cases to reduce the degree of slipperiness.

The company has launched two more products for road repair — Speedcrete and Supercoat — for overlay operations. It recently tried these on Mumbai roads.