Highway blues

Minister for Shipping, Road Transport 038; Highways T R Baalu, along with the top brass of the NHAI, embarked on an on-the-spot highway progress assessment exercise last week, touring parts of Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi. The whirlwind assessment tour, it is heard, came at the behest of the PMO, which is getting increasingly impatient with the pace of work along the country8217;s highways. That, along with the dipping ratings of Baalu in the latest UPA report card, sent the minister rushing into action.