Gadkari promises to make Yamuna navigable

Union Road, Transport and Waterways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday repeated his promise of making the Yamuna river navigable and launching special craft that can land on water, hoping that he would be able to come to Agra by one such machine in May 2017.

Gadkari also announced that a barrage downstream of the Taj Mahal would be constructed soon.

Gadkari was in Agra to launch a slew of road projects including the Rs 425 crore southern bypass, Rs 43 crore road widening project between Agra and Fatehpur Sikri, a flyover at Pathauli intersection, Rs 1,000 crore Agra-Bareilly 225 km-long highway and a Rs 1,664 crore Agra-Etawah six-lane project.

Gadkari said the country was confidently marching ahead and it was necessary to provide efficient and cost effective logistic support to boost exports.

"Our cities have to be made pollution-free. A huge technology push will help change the face of the country," the minister added.

He said that according to an earlier estimate, 2 km of road was being constructed daily but now 28 km of road is being constructed every day.

The Rs 15,000 crore ring road network in Delhi should be completed in about 400 days, he added.

--IANS

bk/vgu/bg