Modi to open Babatpur-Varanasi Ring Road on Sunday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate two national highways in Varanasi on November 11. The highways have been built at a cost of Rs 1,571.95 crore and have a combined length of 34 km, the government said on Tuesday.

"The 16.55-km Varanasi Ring Road Phase-I has been completed at a cost of Rs 759.36 crore, while the work of four-laning and construction of 17.25-km Babatput-Varanasi road on NH-56 cost Rs 812.59 crore," the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways said in a statement.

"This will reduce travel time, fuel usage and pollution in the area. The Ring Road will provide easier and more convenient access to Sarnath, an important site for Buddhist pilgrimage," it said.

The Babatpur Airport highway will link Varanasi to the airport and go on to Jaunpur, Sultanpur and Lucknow.

In a separate event, Modi will also dedicate to the nation an inland waterways terminal on the river Ganga in Varanasi.

Currently, there are National Highway projects with a combined length of 2,833 km under or awaiting execution at an estimated cost of Rs 63,885 crore to link Varanasi to other places in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Of these 15 road projects of 1,143 kilometre length are under various stages of construction.

--IANS

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