A Guinness World Record Holder
Rajpath Infracon Private Limited from Pune, a dynamic infra-company constructed a bituminous concrete road of 75+ kilometers single lane, to create a new World record for continuously paving the longest possible stretch of bituminous concrete from June 3 rd to June 7 th , 2022. This was executed on the National Highway no. 53, between the cities of Amravati and Akola in the state of Maharashtra. The paving was done round the clock for a 105 hours and 33 minutes to make the new Guinness World Record.
Success, as with most things, starts with attitude. An optimistic attitude and perseverance for the cause of achieving the goal, is the key factor behind success. There lies the mantra of Rajpath Infracon Private Limited for the extraordinary and remarkable success that was displayed before the World to achieve a new Guinness World Record.
Many were already convinced and had declared that this was going to be an impossible task to accomplish. But it is all a mind game at the end of the day. Transforming the impossible to possible is Rajpath’s hallmark. We collectively pooled our positivity, determination and af firmed this was indeed going to happen. We were going to make a new Guinness World Record for India and dedicate it to the Nation, to commemorate the Azadi ka Amrit Mohotsav.
They say, Rome was not built in a day. Similarly, this Project was also challenging, and not limited to our attempt from June 3rd to June 7th, 2022. Everything about this task was learning for us- passing the eligibility, completion of the documentation, and constant communication with the Guinness Record Team in the UK. Our strategy was clear- make it right first time! We had set our eyes on the target to achieve 75+ kilometres of continuous paving, and connected with our reliable, dependable partners of machinery and materials and shared our plans with them in confidence without ambiguity. Not only did we win their wholehearted support but also their zeal. This way we built a formidable team that would be fail-proof.
At our end, we established a Core team of think tanks first. Then there were various other teams like the Technical, Operations, Purchase, Finance, IT and Admin etc. that fed inputs to this Core team and helped them strategize. We were fairly sorted when it came to processes because of our ISO, ERP systems and customized monitoring software- Jawali Sutra. The planning and brain-storming went on for 5 long and intense months. The micro-management was also meticulously premeditated, that included arrangements of not just fooding round the clock from an ISO certified Canteen at odd hours, but also fire-fighting arrangements as well as a dedicated Ambulance with doctor’s services. We ensured that nothing went amiss when the D- day arrived.
During the 5 days all we could see was the fish’s eye – like Arjun’s aim, and nothing else. Our front and back-end Teams worked tirelessly, round the clock. They did not change, ate food in the nearby fields or on the machines and never left their posts. It may get hard to believe, but those leading the Teams did not sleep a wink for 5 days. With such focus, dedication and effort, everything moved like a huge, well-oiled, self-fuelled, efficient machine.
The statistics of the entire project were incredibly astounding too! During the attempt out Team’s tenacity and perseverance was tested to the limits. The field-team had to combat the 47o C temperature of the scorching sun and survive a 150 o C of the freshly paved bitumen concrete for full 5 days. In all, 36,634 Metric ton of bituminous concrete was paved in a 105 hours and 33 minutes with the help of 728 workers. 80 Tippers, 5 Batch Mix plants, just 1 sensor paver with a hopper, 6 Tandem Rollers and 2 Pneumatic Tire Rollers were used. Such a target has never been dreamt of, set or achieved before in the domain of infrastructure, in road construction and paving, especially in India.
This particular section of road that was awarded to us had been waiting renovation for over 10 long years. Several earlier attempts to improve the situation had not work out and road kept claiming lives in accidents and injuring passengers. The poor, eroded and heavily used road continued to hamper connectivity and remained without attention for a long time. This section sees a load of heavy traffic of passenger vehicles as well as trucks and trailers carrying goods, as major cities across the country fall on this route. This contributed to passenger woes, delays in transportation of important commodities to cross this particular patch during travel, not to mention the overall losses in trade and time.
This Achilles heel will now be healed with the construction of a high-quality road that will retain its state and structure for a minimum 15 years at least. It will make a crucial contribution to economic development and growth of the various regions along this road route and bring important social benefits too. Not only will commutation and communication improve, it will speed-up transportation substantially and the highway will now also be safe and reliable. Products will be able to move to and from across 6 states, and will be a driver to thrive the economy of this region.
This stupendous success was coupled with many other vital activities that were conducted behind the scenes. The Plantation drive to plant 98000 plants, geo-tag, nurture and sustain them was conducted since April 2022 and promoted on the World Environment Day on June 6, 2022. 34 huge Farm Ponds were constructed that helped sustain the local farmers during the harsh summer months and ameliorate the grave situation of the water-starved villages in the region, this summer.
This exemplary effort has been humbly dedicated to our Nation to commemorate the grand 75 years of Indian Independence- ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mohotsav”. The honest intent was also to endorse support for the project of ‘Gati-Shakti’, launched by our Honorable Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi under the able leadership of Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Mr. Nitin Gadkari, for multi-modal, integrated and seamless connectivity, for the movement of people, goods, and services across our vast country.
Today, there are many challenges being faced by the highway sector such as ensuring availability of construction materials and machinery, timely completion of projects and availability and release of funding, availability of trained human resources, and addressing concerns on land acquisition, and safety. India has the second-largest road network in the world, spanning 5.89 million kilometres.
There will be a huge requirement of road construction materials to meet the targets of infrastructure development and meeting this requirement without adulteration or substandard quality of raw material, at the right time at the right price for the construction and maintenance of roads is in itself a huge challenge.
Our effort of aiming for the new Guinness World Record was not merely to win accolades or business expansion and growth.
I have always harboured this earnest dream to reach out to the aspiring youth of rural India and offer them opportunities to grow. I came from a rural background, and this is how far I have reached. I want to reach out to this segment of our youth and show them that the infrastructure sector is full of opportunities; it has rich prospects to break the barriers and offers great careers. I hope achieving such world records will just reinforce their faith that India is no longer a nation to feel hopeless about, and seek jobs overseas.