Media Workshop, Gangtok, 24 April, 2012

Dainik Jagran

25 April, 2012 (Pg-04)

Anugamini

25 April, 2012 (Pg-05)

Himalayan Mirror

25 April, 2012 (Pg-04)

Sikkim Express

25 April, 2012 (Pg-06)

Sikkim Mail

25 April, 2012 (Pg-01)

Sikkim Mail

25 April, 2012 (Pg-02)

Sikkim Reporter

25 April, 2012 (Pg-02)

Samay Dainik

25 April, 2012 (Pg-01 & 02)

The Sentinel

26 April, 2012 (Pg-10)

Sikkim Now

26 April, 2012 (Pg-01)

Sikkim Now

26 April, 2012 (Pg-02)

The Assam Tribune

28 April, 2012 (Pg-08)

Dainik Agradoot

28 April, 2012 (Pg-05)

Eco-friendly roads pleaded

STAFF REPORTER

Gangtok: Frosty or rain, day or night. Weather conditions could be rendered irrelevant as the ‘cold mix’ technology

promises to roll out a new era of rural road carpeting works in Sikkim besides reducing the carbon footprints of such

developmental activities.

The promoter of ‘cold mix’ technology, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) under the Ministry of Science &

Technology and its exclusive licensee for the Northeastern region, Bitchem Asphalt Technologies are here in Sikkim

to woo the State authorities for integrating the energy efficient and environmental friendly knowledge with PGMSY

roads.

CRRI chief scientist Dr PK Jain, during a media interaction here at the Press Club of Sikkim (PCS), highlighted the

advantages of ‘cold mix’ approach over the traditional ‘hot mix’ technology where bitumen and mineral aggregate

are heated in high temperatures to produce the binder for road black-topping.

“In the hot mix technology, heating of mineral aggregate and bitumen consumes around 1500 liters of diesel on an

average for every km of road. Wood is also burnt along with tires. These produce lot of carbon emissions polluting

the environment and are hazardous for the labourers. The solution is cold mix technology which was originally

invented in France and re-engineered by us to Indian conditions”, said Dr Jain to media at Press Club of Sikkim on

Tuesday.

The CRRI chief scientist explained that a large percentage of heating part is avoided in the ‘cold mix’ technology.

“The mineral aggregate and bitumen are prepared at the factories in liquid form ready to be rolled out in the roads.

This not only saves energy costs but also is safe for the health of the labourers as there are no toxic gas emissions.

This technology is best suited for Sikkim during construction and repair of roads as it works in rain and cold weather

conditions also”, he said.

Bitchem CEO Rajiv Agarwal said if artificial lights are provided, one can use the technology to carpet roads even in

night hours. He pointed out that ‘cold mix’ technology is highly energy efficient as it requires only 100 liters of fuel

on an average for one km of a rural road. The cost is marginally higher than the ‘hot mix’ technology but is very

environmental friendly and also protects the labourers from exposure to harmful gases, he said.

The Forum of Indian Journalists on Energy, Environment, Education, Health and Agriculture (Fijeeha) had

organized the press meet at PCS. Its founder Navneet Anand highlighted the various Green initiatives adopted by the

Sikkim government for environment protection.

“Adoption of Green rural roads (through the ‘cold mix’ technology) in Sikkim can play a vital role in the

development of the State as well as achieves its Green Mission Programme. It is time that the State took progressive

steps to ensure Green rural roads which shall work as a model for the rest of the country”, said Anand.

http://sikkimreporter.com/archive/25%20April/index.htm

Green rural roads can help Sikkim achieve its Green

Mission

Experts recommend use of green technologies including cold mix to expedite road construction

Gangtok, April 25: Sikkim’s Green Mission Programme started in 2006 has catapulted the State as among the most clean and green in the country. This has been possible due to the various innovative environment-friendly initiatives taken by the Green Chief Minister Pawan Chamling. Along with the protection and conservation of its rich biodiversity, the adoption of green rural roads in the State can play a vital role in the development of the State as well as help achieve its Green Mission Programme, said experts at a media workshop on Tuesday.

“Sikkim under the leadership of the visionary leader Pawan Chamling has scaled amazing heights in introducing environment-friendly programmes and it is time the State took progressive steps to ensure green rural roads which shall work as a model for the rest of the country,” said Dr Navneet Anand, convenor of Fijeeha (Forum for Indian Journalists on Energy, Environment, Education, Health and Agriculture at a workshop on Need for Green Rural Roads in Sikkim on Tuesday at the Sikkim Press Club. The seminar was also presided by Dr P K Jain, Chief Scientist, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), Rajeev Aggarwal, CEO, Bitchem and Mr Deepak Dogra, VP, Bitchem.

Roads are integral to the growth of societies and it is imperative for Northeastern States to embrace the many new alternative and superior technologies of road construction including cold mix, public waste and jute. This would not only ensure enhanced rural connectivity critical for growth but also give a much-needed push to the Central Government funded scheme Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), which aims to provide connectivity to all unconnected habitations in the rural areas in a time bound manner.

Dr Jain of CRRI, the nodal body for roads research in India, said, “Today there are many new environment-friendly and sustainable technologies available for roads construction, which are specially suited to hilly, cold or rainy conditions like in North East and it is imperative we use these to enhance rural connectivity and prosperity by increasing the construction season.”

He said that the initial results of some such environment-friendly technologies including cold mix in Assam, which has been used to construct more than 1000 Kms in last three years has yielded positive results which has helped the State gain substantial progress in the quality of rural and State roads. He recommended Sikkim to use this technology as well.

CRRI has been constantly striving to push new and sustainable technologies in road construction across the country. Recently, it has given an exclusive license to Bitchem for cold mix technology in NE region. Bitchem Asphalt Technologies is India’s pioneer in introducing and commercializing the cold mix technology in India. Aggarwal of Bitchem informed that Assam had taken a lead in introducing the environment-friendly cold mix technology in rural roads construction and over 1000 km of rural roads have been built using this time was ripe for other States including Sikkim in NE to follow.

Cold mix technology is considered greener, safer and facilitates faster roll out suiting the climatic and terrain conditions of the Northeastern region. According to National Rural Road Development Agency (NRRDA) of Ministry of Rural Development, road construction and repair work done using hot mix is often sub-standard and there is a need to use cold mix for the same.

The terrain in and around 70 per cent of the Northeast region is hilly and mountainous and the entire region gets very heavy rainfall ranging from 2500 mm to 6000mm which makes communication difficult. Unlike plains, the construction of roads in hilly areas is different, extremely difficult and much expensive and hence it important to innovate and use new technologies for faster and enduring roll out of roads.(IANS)

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