E-Paper
By 2024, roads worth ₹5 lakh crore will be built in Uttar Pradesh: Gadkari
Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said the Zoji La tunnel, in Kargil of Jammu and Kashmir, would be complete by 2024, two years ahead of schedule that would help save ₹5,000 crore
Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said the Zoji La tunnel, in Kargil of Jammu and Kashmir, would be complete by 2024, two years ahead of schedule that would help save ₹5,000 crore.
Gadkari also said by 2024 roads worth ₹5 lakh crore would be completed in Uttar Pradesh and added that a bridge like the Worli Sealink in Mumbai has been cleared for Prayagraj.
Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said the Zoji La tunnel, in Kargil of Jammu and Kashmir, would be complete by 2024, two years ahead of schedule that would help save ₹5,000 crore.
Gadkari also said by 2024 roads worth ₹5 lakh crore would be completed in Uttar Pradesh and added that a bridge like the Worli Sealink in Mumbai has been cleared for Prayagraj.
|#+|
“The bridge would have a revolving restaurant, a viewing gallery and would be a great tourist attraction, too,” he added.
Campaigning for BJP in Lucknow, Gadkari said the country was changing as the Narendra Modi government’s focus was solely on development and ensuring progress and prosperity of people in rural areas.
When complete, the 14.5 km Zoji La tunnel would be Asia’s biggest bi-directional tunnel that would offer great strategic push to the armed forces.
“One thousand people are working on this tunnel. I have instructed that the tunnel be complete two years ahead of schedule of 2026 and this would save ₹5,000 crore. This tunnel is just one example of how the country is changing,” Gadkari said.
“For development, energy, water, transport and communication are a must. I remember as BJP chief when I used to come here, I had to face a lot of problems in delivering my speeches as a generator would invariably be buzzing behind the campaign stage. Today, I don’t hear it. Earlier, UP was known for generators, but today that is not the case as there is enough power supply now,” said Gadkari.
“As for roads, I have lost count of how many of them have been sanctioned, built and are coming up. I remember, travel time between Meerut to Delhi used to be 4.5 hours, today it is 40 minutes. We are working on the Lucknow-Kanpur expressway which, when complete, would reduce travel time to 30 minutes. Construction works worth ₹1.90 lakh crore are currently underway, another over ₹1.2 lakh crore works have been sanctioned and by 2024, when the Zoji La tunnel is complete, roads worth ₹5 lakh crore would have been completed in UP,” he said.
“I come from Vidarbha region of Maharashtra where more than 10,000 farmers committed suicide as the ground water had dried up. This leads to drought and in turn results in farmer suicides. I have travelled extensively in the state. UP doesn’t have such issues, there are rivers like Ganga and Yamuna and the people of the state are labourious. This is the birth state of Lord Ram, this is the land of Buddha. This is a land rich in history, culture and heritage, good land, water and all resources and yet, despite all these facilities UP hasn’t developed economically. Due to those who ruled the state for long time, who only developed themselves, the people of the state remained poor,” he added.
BJP’s Noida lawmaker Pankaj Singh and party’s candidate from Lucknow (north) assembly segment Neeraj Bora were present on the occasion.
‘Flying buses’
for Prayagraj
Earlier in Prayagraj, Gadkari said “flying buses” would start operating in the Sangam city for the benefit of people. Hinting, perhaps, at starting overhead bus-like pod service as an urban mobility solution for rapid transport, the minister said that a detailed project report in this regard was being prepared and he had also informed UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya about this.
Addressing a public meeting near Jhalwa crossing in Allahabad West constituency, from where BJP’s Siddharth Nath Singh is seeking a re-election, he said that he also had a dream to start a sea plane service for Prayagraj that would enable even him to fly from Delhi and arrive in Prayagraj by landing in the Sangam waters. “This is also going to become a reality soon,” he claimed.
The union minister said that hydrogen fuel would also be used now in running vehicles. He said sugarcane was abundant in the state. With the help of this, ethanol would be made to be used as fuel for vehicles. The cost of vehicular fuel would come down to ₹68 from over ₹100 per litre of petrol due to the use of ethanol.
