Roads in India stretch for miles, according to one figure, the network of roads in India is spread over 6 million kilometers, of which thousands of kilometers are built every day. This makes India’s road network the second largest in the world after only the United States.
The vastness of the road network can be confusing at times, in today’s time we have the convenience of GPS which helps us to find the distance of the place where we are going or the road we are traveling on. Color codes on miles just help us in this, to know whether we are on a national highway, state highway, rural highway, district road, or village road.
Why are milestones in the first place and what purpose do they serve?
In today’s era technology has enabled situation awareness by many times, almost a decade ago technology was not accessible to everyone. The milestone helped commuters to travel, especially in sparsely populated areas, it helped them know whether they were on the right route and how long it would take them to reach their destination. The colors above a third of these milestones also have a purpose. Suppose you suddenly woke up in an area where there were not many people around and internet connectivity is not available. Then how do you know where you are stuck? For this, the colors on the roads come as a rescue. If you find a road nearby there will definitely be milestones on the road. The color-coded milestone will help you to know whether you are on National Highway or a District Road.
what does a yellow-colored milestone mean?
If you see a landmark with a yellow color on the side of the road, it means you are on a national highway. National Highways come under the direct control of the Central Government through the Ministry of Roads and Transport. These are usually major routes that connect one state to another and pass through important cities.
What do green-colored milestones mean?
If you see a landmark with a green stripe on the side of the road, you’re on a state highway. These highways are built and administered by the state governments.
If you find blue or black-colored milestones what do they mean?
If you see a blue striped landmark or a black and white landmark, you are traveling on a road to a city or district. As the name suggests, district roads provide connectivity within a district. At present, the length of the roads of the district is over 5.5 lakh km.
What code do we find on village roads?
If you see an orange stripe on a landmark, you are traveling on a rural road. Presently the length of rural roads is 3.93 lakh km. The orange stripe also represents the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
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