Cement, Energy and Environment

Wi th the new generation of cars such as Mercedes, Lancer, Mondeo, Sonata, Civic, City Ikon, Accent, Corsa, and so on, on can maintain speeds of 140-200 kmph. But are the expressways safe, their state-of-the-art design and layout notwiths tanding? Usua ll y, the motorways are two-or-three - track one fa s t track adjacent to the median; the middle drive track and the third for heavy vehicles. Driving, especially overtaking, on these expressway requires skill, for which wither the government or the pub li c/private secto r need to offe r training, especially for drivers of trucks, light commercial vehicles and travel agency cars. The training programme must be made mandatory; an additional test conducted for drivers and an endorsemen t made on the driving license allowing them to drive on the expressways. This should reduce accidents considerab ly and improve the driving s tandards. The other important aspect is maintenance. This, as of now, means repairing damage, but not periodic cleaning and upkeep of the expressways. Compared to Indi a, in o ther developed countries, including the Far East, the expressways are maintained well. Debris h·om vehicles is almost nil, yet, the roads are regularly cleaned. The highways are clean and pollution– free and safe for high-speed d riving. According to the recent highway statistics, the maximum number of accidents happen because ofbursting of tyres, one reason for which could be the debris. So the need to keep the highways clean. The highways Department may well invest in modern road sweeping machines to maintain the expressways for modern high-speed cars. Courtesy: Cemen t News Digest, P 17, Vol. VII, No. 4, 20-26 Apr 02. Email: cmabb@bom3vsnl.net.in Web: www.cmaindia.org Fax: 022-2040582 NINTH PLAN GROWTH LOWEST IN 20 YEARS The Economics Times, 26 Apr. 02 Even as the country moves to the Tenth Plan periodwith ta ll growth projections of 8 per cent, the previous plan period has wih1essed the lowest growth in the last 20 yea rs. As per the available da ta, growth during the Ninth Plan period, i.e. 1997-02, was one of the lowest in the last four plan periods, or 20 years. As per the advance estimates of 01-02, the GOP growth for the Ninth Plan period (1997-02) stands at 5.4 per cent. Th is is much lowe r than the growth ach ieved in the previous three plan periods. According to an official st<'ltement, the growth slippages in the Ninth Pian period was on account of poor agricultural performance and a shortfall in public investment and savings. The GOP growth in 1997-02 was 1.3 per cent lower than the 6.7 per cent growth achieved in Eighth period (1992-97). The Indian economy grew by 5.6 per cent in the Sixth Plan period (1980-85) and by 6 per cent in the Seventh Plan period (1985-90). As per the data, growth levels peaked d uring the Eighth Plan period when it touch 6.7 per cent. Growth suffered a major fall in the Ninth Plan period a t 5.4 per cent. Courtesy: Cement News Digest, P 4, Vol. VII, No. 4, 20-26 Apr 02. Email: cmabb@bom3vsnl.net . in Web: www.cmaindia .org Fax: 022-2040582 PARADIGM SHIFT IN FAVOUR OF BLENDED CEMENT A.K. fain, Fax: 022-6917362. Email: opp@adityabu ·la.com The use of Pozzolanic materials in construction is known to mankind for over 2000 year s. Pozzolanic materials such as volcanic ash and natural tuffs mixed with lime have been used in Roman buildings and Egyptian structures and have w ithstood the test of time.