Udaipur: Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari visited Udaipur on Monday and inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 17 road projects worth more than Rs 25,000 crore. He also addressed a public gathering at Sir Padampat Singhania University in Bhatewar and said that he will make Rajasthan’s roads like America’s by 2024.
Gadkari was accompanied by Union Minister of State for Road Transport VK Singh, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary, Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari, Ministers of State Gautam Kumar and Sanjay Kumar, MP Arjunlal Meena, BJP state president CP Joshi, and other local BJP leaders.
Gadkari inaugurated various projects, including the construction of 6-lane of 93-km Chittorgarh-Udaipur section costing Rs 11 crore, the construction of 2-lane paved shoulder of 44-km Beawar-Asind section costing Rs 206 crore, the construction of 2-lane paved shoulder of 43-km Asind-Mandal section at a cost of Rs 104 crore, the construction of 4-lane of 14-km Beawar-Gomati section (Baghana to Mada Ki Bassi) at a cost of Rs 104 crore, and the construction of 4-lane of 16-km from Bhamrasiya at a cost of Rs 14 crore. He also inaugurated the widening work of Modi-Kurabar road MDR-150.
He also laid the foundation stone of some projects, such as the construction of 2-lane paved shoulder of 26-km Gagaria-Munabav section at a cost of Rs 235 crore, the construction of 6-km elevated highway in Sanchore city at a cost of Rs 363 crore, the 18-km road in Sakroda at a cost of Rs 20 crore, the widening work of 11-km Balukhal to Amlawada-Ali-Moukhampura road at a cost of Rs 13 crore, the widening and strengthening work of 13-km Ghanoli-Delwara road at cost of Rs 17 crore, and the construction work of 7 bridges on railway crossing under Setubandhan project at Chenpura Gate, Jhilai Gate (Tonk), Rico Gate (Bharatpur), Hindaun Gate, Harsoli Gate, Double Gate (Alwar), Sanchore Gate (Sanchore).
Gadkari also recalled the words of former US President John F Kennedy and said, “He always repeated one thing that America is not rich because its roads are good, but its roads are good because America is rich.” He said, “The country should be free from poverty, hunger, and unemployment. The farmers’ fields should get water and the youth should get jobs. The country’s imports should stop and exports should increase.”
He also spoke about the issues of logistics cost, construction industry, green hydrogen energy, electric mobility, and alternative sources of steel and cement. He said that he is trying to reduce the logistics cost to 9 percent by 2024, which is currently 16 percent. He said that he is trying to reduce the use of steel in construction work by adopting alternatives. He said that green hydrogen is the fuel of the future and India is in an excellent position to become an energy exporter due to its potential in green hydrogen. He said that electric mobility will be the most effective transport system by 2030 and India should be a leader in this sector.
He said that as one of the fastest growing countries in the world, India plays a crucial role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the Agenda 2030. He said that he is focused on creating world-class road infrastructure in the country and promised that by the end of 2024, the road infrastructure will be equal to the standards of America.
