But 18 years after that, official statistics reveal that 78% of the country’s highways are one-way or two-way roads and nearly 40% of rural, intra-district and state highways are not metalled. Third, in times of a security crisis such as fighting insurgencies, roads help the security forces to reach the affected areas. Read: Three agencies are behind hellish highwaysAs regards state highways’ non-metalled roads, policymakers who propose that concrete cement roads will fix the problem should reconsider their suggestions. Though a concrete road has a longer lifespan (30 years) as compared to a bitumen road (15 years), concrete is more difficult to repair. On the other hand, damages to a bitumen road can be easily rectified.

Source: Hindustan Times October 17, 2016 09:00 UTC