Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation of the 1.5 km long 2-lane Panduka-Srinagar RCC bridge at a cost of ₹210 crore on Son river in Bihar on Monday.
Gadkari said with the construction of this bridge, facilitate traffic between Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
The foundation stone was laid in the presence of Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, and Bihar BJP President Sanjay Jaiswal, among other ministers, local MLAs and MPs.
Gadkari said the bridge, once completed, will reduce up to 70 to 150 kilometres of distance that about 60 lakh people had to cover to travel to Patna, Varanasi, Delhi or other towns via Dehri for treatment, education, market and industry essentials, including other necessities.
The traffic pressure on the Dehri bridge will also reduce and Aurangabad, and Sasaram cities will be able to get rid of the problem of jams, he added.
“It will bring connectivity and development of agro-based industries to better the lives of the poor and thereby help in providing employment and curbing decades prevailing left extremism”, he said and thanked BJP Sasaram MP Chhedi Paswan for his continued efforts for sanction of the bridge.
Further, dispelling the misconception that the Centre was against the development of non-BJP-ruled states, Gadkari said, “I do not do politics in development works. I would request Tejashwi Ji to come to Delhi with whatever problems you have. I will sanction all projects.
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Tejashwi Yadav praised Gadkari for his commitment, progressive approach and work for people in Bihar.
“We have no worry till Gadkari Ji is minister”, Tejashwi said and demanded sanction for additional ₹5,000 crore for the construction of an elevated road to Purvanchal Expressway.
The union minister further said that the government has taken the task to complete ₹3 lakh crore road projects including 13 green expressways and economic corridors in Bihar by 2024.
“The bridge and road projects would be completed by 2024 and the state’s road network would be equal to America,” he said.
Panduka Bridge details:
The central government has allocated ₹210.13 crore for the bridge. The Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam has been given until 2024 to complete the 2.15 km long (1.5 km main bridge and 650 meters approach), 18-meter wide bridge connecting Panduka in Rohtas to Srinagar in Garhwa district of Jharkhand.
