10 Indian states with longest National Highways

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The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to award tolling and maintenance contracts for 3,000 km of highways for five to nine years, according to an Economic Times report.

The Government of India has already undertaken major initiatives to upgrade and strengthen National Highways through seven phases of National Highways Development project (NHDP).

The National Highways have a total length of 71,772 km to serve as the arterial network of the country. Here are  the top 10 Indian states that enjoy the longest stretches of these Highways.

At No.10 is Gujarat, with 3,281 kms of National Highways passing through the state. 

At No.  9 is Bihar with 3,642 kms of National Highways.

At No.  8 is Orissa with 3,704 kms of National Highways.

At No.  7 is Maharashtra, with 4,191 kms of National Highways.

At No.  6 is Karnataka, with 4,396 kms of National Highways.

At No.  5 is Andhra Pradesh which is home to 4,537 kms of India’s National Highways.

At No.  4 is Tamil Nadu with 4,832 kms of National Highways running through the state.

At No.  3 is Madhya Pradesh with 5,027 kms of National Highways.

At No.  2 is Rajasthan which has 6,373 kms of National Highways. .

Topping the list is the state of Uttar Pradesh. The state has 6,788 kms of National Highways, according to the NHAI website.

1. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to award tolling and maintenance contracts for 3,000 km of highways for five to nine years, according to an Economic Times report.

   The Government of India has already undertaken major initiatives to upgrade and strengthen National Highways through seven phases of National Highways Development project (NHDP).

   The National Highways have a total length of 71,772 km to serve as the arterial network of the country. We look at the top 10 Indian states that enjoy the longest stretches of these Highways.

   (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)less 

2. At No.10 is Gujarat, with 3,281 kms of National Highways passing through the state. (AFP PHOTO/Sam PANTHAKY)

3. At No.9 is Bihar with 3,642 kms of National Highways

Culinary trail of India

Kashmir

Must try: Gustaba, Tabak Maz, Dum Aloo, Haak or Karam ka Saag

Punjab

Must try: Dal Makhani, Makke di Roti- Sarson da Saag, Chana- Bhature, Amritsari Machchi and Kulcha

Chandigarh

Must try: Butter Chicken, Tandoori Chicken, Mutton Pulao

Haryana

Must try: Kachri ki Sabzi, Cholia (Green Gram), Chaach-Lassi, Bajre ki Khichdi

Delhi

Must try: Chaat, Tandoori Chicken, Paranthe, Nagauri-Halwa, Chole Bhature

Rajasthan

Must try: Dal-Baati-Churma, Ker-Sangari, Lal Maas Gatte, Pyaaz ki Kachori

Gujarat

Must try: Thepla, Dhokla, Khandvi, Handvo, Panki

Madhya Pradesh

Must try: Lapsi, Bafla, Bhutte ki Khees, Bhopali Kabab

Maharashtra

Must try: Shrikhand, Thalipeeth, Vada Pao, Modak

Goa

Must try: Vindaloo, Xacuti, Bibinca, Prawn Balchao

Karnataka

Must try: Bisi Bele Bhaat, Kesari Bhat, Mysore Pak, Dharwad Pedha, Chiroti

Kerala

Must try: Sadya meal, Avial, Malabar Parotha, Payasam, Irachi Stew

Tamil Nadu

Must try: Appam, Dosai, Iddli, Sambhar, Rasam, Chettinad Chicken, Pongal

Pondicherry

Must try: Kadugu Yerra, Vendakkai Patchaddy

Chhattisgarh

Must try: Bafauri, Kusli, Red Ant Chutney

Andhra Pradesh

Must try: Hyderabadi Biryani, Mirchi ka Salan, Ghongura pickle, Korikoora

Orissa

Must try: Fish Orly, Khirmohan, Rasabali, Chhenapodapitha

Tripura

Must try: Chakhwi, Mwkhwi, Muitru

Mizoram

Must try: Zu (a special tea)

West Bengal

Must try: Bhapa Illish, Rosogolla, Mishti Doi

Meghalaya

Must try: Jadoh, Kyat

Manipur

Must try: Iromba, Kabok, Chakkouba

Nagaland

Must try: Momo, Rice beer and Cherry wine

Assam

Must try: Maasor Tenga, Pitha

Arunachal Pradesh

Must try: Apong

Sikkim

Must try: Momo, Thupka, Gundruk, Phagshapa and Sael Roti

Jharkhand

Must try: Thekua, Pua, Pittha, Marua-ka-roti

Bihar

Must try: Litti, Sattu, Khaja, Khubi Ka Lai, Anarasa, Tilkut

Himachal Pradesh

Must try: Sidu, Aktori and Dham

Uttarakhand

Must try: Aloo ke Gutke, Kaapa, Jhangora ki Kheer, Chainsoo

Uttar Pradesh

Must try: Kabab, Biryani, Bedmi Aloo Kachori, Halwa, Benarasi Chaat

World Tobacco Atlas rings alarm bells for India

India is the third largest producer of tobacco in the world. A new Tobacco Atlas brought out by the World Lung Foundation says over 390,000 hectares are being used in India to grow tobacco.The Atlas pegs India's direct healthcare costs due to tobacco at $1,195 million!


According to the Planning Commission, revenue collected from tobacco products annually in India is $1.62 billion, while the annual direct health cost of three tobacco- related diseases (cancer, coronary artery diseases and chronic obstructive lung diseases) is $6.32 billion.


Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh account for over 90% of the total tobacco production in the country. There is a global evidence of deforestation linked to tobacco production.


Around 50% of tobacco leaves produced in developing countries in Africa and Asia are cured with wood. Between 1962 and 2002, tobacco curing and manufacture of cigarettes has destroyed and degraded 680 sq km of scrub forests, or nearly 868 million tonnes of wood (Indian Institute of Forest Management).


Tobacco is a sensitive plant prone to many diseases. It needs up to 16 rounds of pesticide application during a three-month growing period.Methyl bromide, widely used as a fumigant in developing countries, contributes substantially to ozone depletion and is a toxic contaminant of groundwater.


Cigarette butts are among the most common forms of litter. Worldwide, approximately 4.95 trillion cigarette butts are estimated to be littered each year. Cigarette butts contain all carcinogenic chemicals, pesticides, and nicotine.


There occurred twice as many deaths from oral cancers as lung cancers (Lancet). The number of oral cancers was more than twice the number of lung cancers in individuals between 30 and 69 years, indicating that the range of fatal cancers caused by tobacco in India differs substantially from that in high-income countries.


In India, the tobacco crop supports 36 million people engaged in production, processing, marketing and exports (Central Tobacco Research Institute).

- The Times of India

incredible India

A Hindu devotee dressed as a monkey god smokes before taking part in a religious procession to mark the Gajan festival in Kolkata (April 12, 2012). Devotees offer prayers during the month-long festival in hopes of winning the god's favour and ensuring fulfilment of their wishes, as the festival ends on the last day of the Bengali calendar year on April 13.

Boys ride a motorbike on their way back home after taking a bath in a canal at Chachura village, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh April 4, 2012.

A woman pumps mustard oil in the right ear of a two-year old girl, who according to her mother is suffering from Mithua or Protein-Energy Malnutrition (PEM), along a roadside in Kaudihar town in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh April 8, 2012. The woman claims she possesses divine powers, tries to cure PEM by pouring mustard oil in ears and pumps them with an aluminuim rod using her mouth.

A boy performs a stunt with the rim of a bicycle during a religious procession to mark the Hindu Navratri festival in Jammu March 31, 2012. Devotees worship various forms of Hindu goddesses during the festival, whose name literally means nine nights. 

An Indian Hindu devotees dressed as Lord Shiva rides on a motorcycle before a Maha Shivaratri procession in Amritsar on February 20, 2012. The festival of Maha Shivaratri is marked with fasting and prayer offerings in a night long vigil.

Children dressed as Mahatma Gandhi arrive on a bus to take part in a peace march in Kolkata January 29, 2012. Four hundred and eighty-five children from the Training Resource and Care for Kids (T.R.A.C.K.S), a charity for single mothers and children living without support at railway stations, took part in a peace march on Sunday in an attempt to create a Guinness World Record for being the largest gathering of people dressed as Mahatma Gandhi.

A Hindu devotee pours milk over a cobra during a Nag-Panchami ritual at the Shiva Temple in Amritsar on August 4, 2011. The Hindu festival of Nag-Panchami, observed during the monsoon and sees prayers and tributes to snakes, is observed by many as the day of victory of Hindu God Lord Krishna over the Kaliya snake leading to Krishna also being known as 'Kaliya Mardan'.

A Sufi Kalandar (wandering ascetic) performs an act of self torture during devotion at the annual Urs (death anniversary) of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer on June 2, 2011. Also known as Gharib Nawaz or 'Benefactor of the Poor', he established the Chisti order on the Indian subcontinent and is the most famous Sufi saint of the Chishti Order in the region.

Ramu, a 7 months old monkey, scratches as he rests with his dog friend Kalu in Sonahat, 29 May 2003 an Indian village on the border with Bangladesh. Indian troops on the border with Bangladesh are getting some unusual help in their patrols as Ramu, sitting on his canine friend's back accompanies troops each day on patrol.

An Indian man participates in a bicycle balancing competition during 71st Rural Olympics Games 2006 in the village of Kila Raipur in the northern Indian state of Punjab, on 18 February 2006. The games are a composite of sports and cultural events, including bullock cart race, kabaddi, loading and unloading of tractor trailer and wrestling, as well as musical and dramatic presentaions.

An Indian riot policeman helps a fellow policeman as he climbs a wall adorned with movie posters while taking positions during a violent demonstration in Gurgaon, a New Delhi suburb, 26 July 2005. Indian riot police and workers of the Indian unit of Japan's Honda Motor clashed for a second day on New Delhi's outskirts after nearly 130 people were injured in pitched battles on 25 July, officials said.

Assam state Zoo veterinarian Bijoy Gogoi carries a tranquilised leopard from a well in Guwahati on March 28, 2009, after the animal fell into the well in a village on the outskirts of the north-eastern Indian city. The fully grown female leopard was later taken to the Guwahati Zoo, becoming the second leopard to have been rescued from this particular area of the city in a month. Earlier another leopard was rescued on March 15.

An elephant crosses a railway track which runs through the Mahananda Wildlife sanctuary on the outskirts of Siliguri in west Bengal on September 16, 2010. 

An Indian langur monkey takes a nap on a PVC pipe in Ahmedabad on October 18, 2010.

An Indian dancer performs during the press presentation of the show "India" on December 15, 2009 in Frankfurt am Main. The show, produced at a cost of 7 million euros with 75 dancers, artists and musicians, will start on December 17 in Frankfurt and the will tour to Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Vienna (Austria) and Brussels (Belgium).

A man takes a nap on a bed being transported by a cycle rickshaw driver in Amritsar on March 7, 2010.

An Indian barber Shahrukh Khan (L) shaves a customer's beard at a roadside barbershop in Amritsar on September 12, 2011.