The work has started on the first – of- its- kind Katra (J&K) – Delhi Express Road Corridor which will be ready by 2023 and when it becomes functional, the travel time from Katra to Delhi will get reduced to around six and half hours, and from Jammu to Delhi to just about six hours.
Disclosing this here today, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh stated that once this Express Road Corridor becomes functional, people will prefer to travel to Delhi by road instead of undertaking journey by train or by Air. The hallmark of this road corridor is that it will connect the holy cities of Katra and Amritsar, and at the same time offer connectivity for some other major important religious shrines between the two destinations, he said.
Dr Jitendra Singh further informed that after completion of the survey by M/s Feedback Consultants Ltd, the process of acquisition of land is nearly complete and the work on the ground has started. Estimated to cost over Rs. 35,000 crores, he said, the important cities through which this Expressway Corridor will pass include Jammu and Kathua in J&K, and Jalandhar, Amritsar, Kapurthala and Ludhiana in Punjab.
Meanwhile, Dr Jitendra Singh said, simultaneous widening of the National Highway between Pathankot and Jammu is also being undertaken, to upgrade it from 4 – lane to 6 – lane, which will also prove to be a great boon for the commuters between Jammu, Kathua and Pathankot.
Scheduled to be completed within a timeline of three years, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the road corridor will prove to be a path-breaking revolution in promoting industry and investments in the entire region. It will also pave the way for the growth of economic hubs in cities like Kathua and Jammu, he added.
Pertinent to mention that Dr Jitendra Singh, who is a Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) representing Katra Vaishno Devi, had been pursuing this project since 2015 and had for the first time about three and half years ago announced during a programme at Katra that he had submitted a proposal to this effect which had been accepted by the Minister for Road Transport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari but it would take time because of procedural issues etc.
Thanking Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for the liberal Central funding to build a series of landmark new roads and bridges in the region during the last six years, Dr Jitendra Singh recalled that some of the monumental works include the state-of-the-art Chenani-Nashri tunnel, which was inaugurated by PM Shri Modi and which is the first to be named after Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee.
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