Transport : Lifeline For Development

Transport : Lifeline For Development

The history of humankind is replete with instances of migration - Africa to Asia & Europe; Central Asia to India (the 'Aryan invasion'); across the freezing Atlantic from North America to Alaska & the ARctic regions or visa versa. All this entailed transport of men & material. So, means of transport were always an important factor in human evolution - whether it be on foot, bullock carts, horses, donkeys, yaks, camels or the high flying aircraft carriers which reach you to places across the globe in a few hours. When we talk of transport today, what we actually mean are highways and super-highways, bullet trains flying by on fast tracks, the metro rail which has metamorphosed urban life, et al. Road transport is still the prime means of conveying people & goods from one place to another. This means that a country needs good, well maintained roads covering the length and breadth of the country, including remote and inaccessible regions. This is a generation of migration again, like our ancestors, when people move away from their hometowns to the big cities in search of livelihoods. Travelling for holidays has also become a big fad nowadays. And, of course, consumer and non-consumer items are also transported from one place to another, whether it be milk & vegetables or refrigerators & washing machines. Roads are, thus, to a large extent the nerve centre of the economy. Planning & building more roadways, connecting the remotest parts of the country is thus, crucial to a developing economy like India, specially with ' Make in India' policies of the government…..