audio, stills, text and or video: Go to http://www.zReportage.com to see more - India is awarding highway construction contracts at a record pace, and saving taxpayers money, as builders stop asking for subsidies and instead offer fees to lay and operate new toll roads. With the second largest road network in the world, the country is on a massive, nationwide road building campaign, cutting shops and houses in half to make way for new highways. The homes are ripped open, exposed for all the world to see, and the structures are not cut any further in order to minimize the costs of the demolition and to allow the inhabitants to continue to use what is left of their homes or businesses. India's investments in roads could rise to $145 billion in the next few years to 2017, according to a recent study. The country plans to spend a total of $1 trillion on roads, railways, airports and other infrastructure in the period. India is erasing pieces of its history in its head long rush into modernity.ÊWhile the legal and property issues have been largely settled in the Indian courts, the historical and cultural issues have not been as clearly addressed.
© David H. Wells/zReportage/ZUMA
Feb 13, 2013 - Thippasandra, Karnataka, India - A woman holds her granddaughter in front of an old damaged house, a building that was removed to make way for an upcoming highway. India, with the second largest road network in the world, is on a massive, nationwide road building campaign, cutting shops and houses in half to make way for the roads.
© David H. Wells/zReportage/ZUMA
Feb 10, 2013 - Yelahanka, Karnataka, India - Demolished walls of a building face the street that were partly removed to make way for an upcoming highway.
© David H. Wells/zReportage/ZUMA
Feb 13, 2013 - Dadaga, Karnataka, India - Rubble surrounds the bottom of a demolished wall of a building that was partly removed to make way for an upcoming highway.
© David H. Wells/zReportage/ZUMA
Feb 11, 2013 - Yelahanka, Karnataka, India - A headless mannequin and a few parts lie on the floor of an old building wall that was removed to make way for an upcoming highway.
© David H. Wells/zReportage/ZUMA
Feb 10, 2013 - Yelahanka, Karnataka, India - Rubble of a building that was partly removed to make way for an upcoming highway lies on the ground.
© David H. Wells/zReportage/ZUMA
Feb 13, 2013 - Thippasandra, Karnataka, India - A bicycle leans against a demolished wall of a building that was partly removed to make way for an upcoming highway.
© David H. Wells/zReportage/ZUMA
Feb 13, 2013 - Nagasandra, Karnataka, India - A woman enters an old and damaged house, a building that was partly removed to make way for an upcoming highway.
© David H. Wells/zReportage/ZUMA
Feb 13, 2013 - Banawadi, Karnataka, India - A man stands on top of a roof of an old and damaged house, a building that was partly removed to make way for an upcoming highway.
© David H. Wells/zReportage/ZUMA
Feb 13, 2013 - Bellur, Karnataka, India - A man sits in the living area of damaged walls that were partially removed to make way for an upcoming highway.
© David H. Wells/zReportage/ZUMA
Feb 14, 2013 - Channarayapattna, Karnataka, India - A man stands in front of an old and damaged house, a building that was partly removed to make way for an upcoming highway.
© David H. Wells/zReportage/ZUMA
