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Five new roads along India-China border to be aligned soon, says Gadkari
The Centre has set aside a budget of Rs 10, 000 crore for the Baijnath-Tharali-Karnprayag road, the Askot-Dharchula-Malpa-Lipulekh road, Baijnath-Bageshwar-Kapkot-Munsyari-Seraghat-Joljivi road, Pana-Musapani-Mana road and Joshimath-Malari road.
DEHRADUN: Five strategically important roads would soon be aligned along the India-China border touching Uttarakhand under the centrally funded Bharat Mala scheme, Union minister Nitin Gadkari announced.
“Besides, seaplanes will soon start landing on the Ganga and other rivers and water bodies like Tehri lake dotting the state under a new project to be introduced nationwide,” the road transport and highways told reporters after reviewing the Chardham all-weather road project and the Namami Gange project on Monday.
Gadkari said the Centre set aside a budget of Rs 10, 000 crore for the Baijnath-Tharali-Karnprayag road, the Askot-Dharchula-Malpa-Lipulekh road, Baijnath-Bageshwar-Kapkot-Munsyari-Seraghat-Joljivi road, Pana-Musapani-Mana road and Joshimath-Malari road. The five roads would be aligned in a 570 km area.
He directed officials that the tenders for the Chardham all-weather road project is completed by March. Works worth Rs 50,000 crore pertaining to road and highway construction would be completed by 2019, he said. “By that time most of the (road-related) work will be complete and many related works will have been initiated.” Ten saplings would be planted for each tree chopped down for the project, he added..
Gadkari asserted the road project would not affect the sensitive ecology of Uttarakhand. He said action would be taken against all individuals, organisations including religious groups if they were found encroaching upon the roads and national highways coming up across the central Himalayan region.
About the seaplane project, he said, it would be introduced to boost tourism in the state. “I have already asked the chief minister to submit as many proposals as possible for setting up floating jetties, river ports and water ports. I assured him that all proposals will be approved,” Gadkari said, adding that all rules pertaining to the seaplane project would be ready within three months. “So far, only the US and Canada have rules for a mode of transport like this. A nine seater seaplane costing Rs 12 crore can land on water, airstrips and on agricultural fields.”
Plans were afoot to introduce hover crafts and seaplanes during the 2019 Mahakumbh in Allahabad, Gadkari said. He said infrastructure development started picking up pace under the chief minister and chief secretary Utpal Kumar Singh. “They are doing very good work.”
