JAMMU, JUNE 17: TheUnion Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, on Monday announced that the National Highway Authority of Indian will execute the construction of nearly Rs 4,000 crore Chhatergala tunnel on the Kathua-Doda national highway so as to ensure an all weather connectivity between Kathua and Doda districts.
Disclosing this to media persons at Srinagar on Monday after a four hour long high level meeting chaired by him, Gadkari said the underpasses on the under construction Kathua Express corridor section, wherever demanded by public will be undertaken at the earliest. At the meeting, Gadkari reviewed the important road and tunnel projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
Union Minister of State Dr Jitendera Singh who accompanied Gadkari said that the proposal for Chhatergala tunnel had been initiated about six years ago and the DPR for it was also prepared by the BRO agency of Beacons. However, due to lack of funds, work on it could not be undertaken, he added.
Now, it has been decided that the NHAI will undertake construction of the new national highway from Kathua’s Lakhanpur and it will pass through Basohli, Bani to Bhaderwah and Doda, Singh said.
The construction work will begin from one end and when the construction of historic Chhatergala tunnel will be executed when the work reaches the tunnel site, he said, adding the highway once completed will provide all-weather connectivity between Lakhanpur and Doda district via tourists spots of Basohli and Bani. It will also reduce travel time considerably and give boost of business, employment and revenue generation, he added.
He said that the work on national highway section of the Kishtwar-Chatru road will also be expedited which will provide an alternative road connectivity for the ease of travel.
He also expressed gratitude to the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for having allocated major highway projects to his Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency, saying that work on another prestigious Chenani-Sudhmahadev national highway will also be expedited.
The new national highway which will go via Khileni to Goha will have proper linkage to the adjoining villages of Bergana, Humbal and Kalota which happens to be his own native village, Singh added.
Referring to the under construction Delhi-Katra Express Corridor, the MoS recalled that the express corridor had been approved after a lot of efforts way back in 2015. However, there were initial delays because Punjab had also demanded a similar express corridor between Delhi-Amritsar, he pointed out, adding that the project was finalised after arriving at a compromises to have an express corridor between Delhi and Katra with a stopover at Amritsar and Kathua.
The work on it is in the last phase of completion, he said, expressing satisfaction that the public demand for construction of underpasses at places like Hatli, Rajbagh, Chann Arorian, Chapper and Kootah had been accepted for the convenience of the local population.
