New Delhi, Feb 26 (IANS): While inaugurating two major road projects of the National Highway Authority of India in Haridwar via video conferencing on Friday, Union Education Minister and Haridwar Lok Sabha MP Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' said these projects will boost development in the area.
The projects inaugurated include the Muzaffarnagar-Haridwar section under NH-58, Chhutmalpur-Ganeshpur of NH-72A and four laning of Roorkee-Chhutmalpur-Gagalheri under AH-73 at a cost of around Rs 5,000 crore. Along with this, a total of 170-km-long construction work is involved. Apart from this, construction of a 80-km long road covering Almora, Pauri-Garhwal and Rudraprayag worth Rs 400 crore was also inaugurated.
He said these projects will not only help reduce travel time, but also be environmentally sustainable. "The travel time between Muzaffarnagar to Haridwar will reduce by 90 minutes. Apart from this, the 2.5 km elevated section and 1.6 km bypass will help in traffic management during Kumbh Mela and Kanwar Yatra," the Union Minister said.
Nishank said that since almost all the black spots have been rectified, accidents on the highway will come down.
Ambulance and patrol teams have been deployed on the entire highway section to help the travellers in any emergency while advanced highway traffic management systems including five cameras, variable message display systems and an emergency connectivity system have also been installed.
The Union Minister shared information about the initiative launched by the Education Department under which technical institutes including IITs, NITs and other engineering colleges approved by AICTE across the country have associated with the NHAI to adopt the adjoining areas around the NH for technical advancement.
Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways (Retd) Gen V K Singh, Union Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairying Sanjeev Balyan, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, several ministers from Uttarakhand and Members of Parliament also attended the video conference.