downtoearth-subscribe

Transport

  • Food stocks down to week's supply

    Foodstuffs are running low and the prices of fresh vegetables have shot up as deliveries were disrupted by the tarai banda which has entered its sixth day. Traders warn that if the supply situation worsens, the resulting acute shortage of food and vegetables would lead to further price rises. "Rice and oil stocks held by major wholesalers in the Kathmandu Valley are down to half of normal levels,' Satish Kumar Bohara, joint secretary of the Nepal Rice, Oil and Pulse Producers Association, told the Post. According to Bohara, stockpiles of rice and oil have dwindled to 5,000 and 1,500 tons respectively in the marketplace. "The existing supply can fulfill the needs of the valley's 2.5 million population for hardly seven to 10 days,' he said. "The prices of foodstuffs, which are sourced mainly from the eastern tarai, will skyrocket due to the severe scarcity.' He attributed the disruption in supply to the tarai unrest, fuel shortage and load-shedding, which has brought production to a complete halt at rice mills. The banda in the tarai has also impacted the transport of vegetables, and fewer shipments are arriving at the marketplace. According to Binaya Shrestha, planning officer of the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Board (KFVMDB), the inflow of vegetables at the Kalimati wholesale market has plummeted to around 500 tons per day from over 750 tons a week ago. Vegetables from India and the tarai account for 25 percent of the total supply during this season. "The delivery of fish and lemons from India was almost nil during the past week,' Shrestha said. However, traders said that the prices of popular vegetables, barring some items, had not gone up because of the bumper harvests in the districts around the Kathmandu Valley. Tarai farmers are supplying vegetables at throwaway prices to the valley, which is the only major market for them. "But this state of affairs will not last for long. If the transport situation does not improve immediately, a hike in vegetable prices is inevitable because of the exorbitant freight charged by carriers,' said Bhoj Raj Rimal, a wholesaler of fresh vegetables at Kalimati. According to him, truckers have jacked up their rates to Rs 27,000 from Rs 15,000 previously for carrying a load of vegetables to Kathmandu from Lahan, a major vegetable trading hub. The collection, processing and delivery of dairy products have also been thrown into chaos by load-shedding and the acute fuel shortage which has resulted in fewer vehicles plying on the roads, said dairy producers. "Despite the problems, we have managed to get by so far,' said Sumit Kedia, general secretary of the Dairy Producers Association. He added that milk collection, processing and delivery would come to a complete halt if the fuel supply did not improve soon. Private dairies collect around 350,000 liters of milk daily from more than half a dozen districts. Posted on: 2008-02-18 22:10:15 (Server Time)

  • Top priority to roads, transport, power

    Of the seven broad development themes in the draft 10th plan document, which will be discussed and approved by the new parliament, the highest budget allocation, Nu 20.465 billion, is for building and maintenance of national highways, roads to hydropower projects, new power transmission lines and development of air and surface transport.

  • New models seen giving a boost to '08 vehicle sales

    New models seen giving a boost to '08 vehicle sales Bloomberg Domestic vehicle sales may rise this year as carmakers introduce new models, the country's automobile dealers group said. Vehicle sales excluding minicars may be higher than the 3.43 million sold in 2007, Yoichi Amano, chairman of the Japan Automobile Dealers Association, said Monday in Tokyo. Vehicle sales fell to the lowest in 35 years in 2007 as declining wages and a shrinking population cut demand for automobiles. Toyota Motor Corp. introduced a new version of its Crown sedan earlier this month and Honda Motor Co. brought out a new version of its Fit compact, the country's best-selling car, in October. Nissan forecasts gain Nissan Motor Co. forecast its sales in China will rise 11 percent this year as it introduces new car models. The company expects to sell 500,000 vehicles in the country this year, including light commercial vehicles, compared with 450,000 last year, it said in a statement Monday. The carmaker will introduce three Nissan-brand vehicles in the world's fastest-growing major car market this year, starting with the Qashqai sport utility vehicle in March. Last month, the company brought out the Infiniti M35 sedan in an effort to win customers from Daimler AG and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG.

  • Souped-up battery prepares to slay the gas guzzlers

    Souped-up battery prepares to slay the gas guzzlers

    The dream of climate-friendly, petroleum-free motoring is creeping closer - thanks to a clutch of breakthroughs in nanotechnology. Several recently reported lab findings promise to vastly improve the safety and performance of the high-capacity batteries that electric cars will need, at last making them a viable alternative to today's petroleum-powered vehicles. Feb 27, 2008

  • Speed not the only killer

    Reckless Tempo Drivers, Careless Pedestrians, Heavy Tonnage Vehicles Account For Accidents If you manage to reach home alive out of the traffic mayhem each day, especially Sunday, thank your stars. Reckless tempo drivers, a careless pedestrian doing an obstacle race between moving vehicles during peak hours, trucks jabbing a rickshaw, cyclist or a hawker and a bumper to bumper ride

  • Unified metropolitan transport body set up

    A Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority has recently been set up in the city.

  • Bill for nationwide Metro soon

    Chandigarh, Karnataka, Andhra keen on project

  • Stuck for 9 months, hi-tech turbine set to move

    India's most hi-tech power turbine is finally expected to be liberated from a narrow hill road between Mumbai and Nashik on Tuesday, almost nine months after it got embarrassingly stuck on its way to

  • On Metro Rail systems

    The article

  • London double-decker set to ply Shimonoseki's streets

    A distinctive red double-decker bus from London on loan to the city of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, was unveiled to the press Wednesday ahead of the start possibly this spring of its scheduled

  1. 1
  2. ...
  3. 674
  4. 675
  5. 676
  6. 677
  7. 678
  8. ...
  9. 697