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Nitin Gadkari to visits Himachal on August 4
Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari will assess the damage caused to the road infrastructure of Himachal Pradesh due to rains, floods and landslides
Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari is likely to visit the flood-affected areas of Kullu and Manali on August 4 public works department (PWD) minister Vikramaditya Singh said here on Friday.
The PWD minister said the Union minister of transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari, will visit Himachal Pradesh on August 4 on his request to assess the damage caused to the road infrastructure by the heavy rains, floods and landslides.
In view of the Union minister’s tour to the state, the chief minister will hold a review meeting with the PWD and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) on Monday to take stock of the situation.
The meeting will discuss issues which would be taken up with the Union minister. As per the tentative schedule, Gadkari will visit Kullu and Mandi to assess damage to Kiratpur-Manali four-lane highway. He will also review the situation on the Kalka-Shimla four-lane.
A team of NHAI experts will also be accompanying the minister during his visit to the state.
With chief minister (CM) Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and the state Congress president Pratibha Singh upset over lack of coordination between the government and the party, her son Vikramaditya Singh, who is also the state PWD minister, expressed hope that the matter would be solved amicably.
While interacting with media in Shimla on Saturday, Singh said, “This is an issue beyond my jurisdiction. PCC chief Pratibha Singh has spoken to the AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge. The state party president and chief minister will sit together to solve the issue amicably.”
Hitting out at the leader of the Opposition, Jai Ram Thakur, Singh accused him of playing dirty politics at a time when the state is reeling under disaster.
“The leader of opposition must understand that ‘Operation Lotus’ will never succeed in Himachal and strong Congress government will complete its full five year term,” he said.
Singh was responding to Jai Ram’s remark that while no systemic change has taken place under the Congress regime, a government change may take place at any time. The PWD minister said the situation was not right in Himachal due to natural disasters and this was the time to work together to pull the state out of its problem. “People have chosen the BJP to sit in the opposition. The leader of the Opposition should keep aside his greed,” he added.
