CM Virbhadra Singh meets Gadkari to discuss road and transportation issues

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh met Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari here today to discuss road and transportation matters related to his state.

Interacting with media after the meeting, Singh said, "We (Himachal Pradesh) depend a lot on road transport as railways is almost non existent in our state"

"We discussed on roads and national highways being built under "Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojana". We asked for a four lane road passing through the center of state to be built between Shimla and Kangra". He also said, "We need to connect all the areas of upper and the lower hills, open up the areas and provide good transportation," he added.

When asked about the difficulties in transporting fruits and vegetables to Delhi via roads as the condition of all the roads is so bad that even if they are repaired it will take many years, the chief minister said, "Our priority will be maintenance of existing National Highways. They should be properly maintained"

He added, "New National Highways have been sanctioned this year as it was done during previous years. We requested him to speed up the work that's already in progress."

Singh also mentioned that, "A survey needs to be done to identify the areas where tunnels can be built to shorten the travel time."

In the end he said, "The minister's response was very positive, the officials present discussed on almost every road issue. I hope that there will be positive results".