BATHINDA – Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, announced highway projects worth Rs 15,000 crore for Punjab, besides laying foundation stone for seven concrete road networks worth Rs 3,342 crore meant for the Patiala-Bathinda network.
Addressing a gathering at the Multi Purpose Stadium in Bathinda, Gadkari said: “I am not a minister who makes false announcements. See for yourself when work begins this year.”
The 222-kilometre highway projects on EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) mode for which the minister pressed a customary button to raise the curtain from foundation stones inside the stadium were: Patiala bypass (19 km); Patiala to Sangrur (41 km); Sangrur-Dhanaula bypass (18 km); Sangrur to Tapa (46 km); Tapa to Bathinda (41 km); Sangrur to Dogal Kalan (30 km); and Dogal Kalan to Punjab border (27 km).
Projects to be sanctioned before the yearend are: four-laning Amritsar-Bathinda; four-laning Jalandhar-Moga; two-laning Moga-Barnala; four-laning Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur till Himachal border; four-laning Chandigarh-Ludhiana; four-laning Kharar-Kurali; four-laning Ropar-Phagwara; four-laning Ladowal Bypass linking National Highway-95 with NH-1; improvement of Amritsar Bypass till Wagah border; and elevated road from Samrala Chowk to Municipal Corporation limit of Ludhiana.
Five railways over bridges to be sanctioned are: Kotkapura on NH-15, Faridkot on NH-15 on the Talwandi Road, Bathinda-Dabwali Road (NH 64), near Barnala on Bajakhana road (NH71), and on the Amritsar-Tarn Taran Road.
Addressing a press conference later, Gadkari said travel by rivers was the next biggest project before his ministry. “I have asked the Punjab Government to work out removal of canals on Satluj and Beas for waterways involving hovercrafts. There are 101 waterway projects under consideration to ease road and rail travel in the country.” Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal spoke of projects lined up for a revamp, making all roads four or six lane in Punjab.
