Gopalpur-Digha Highway To Be Game Changer For Coastal Odisha: Union Minister

Bhubaneswar: The upcoming 451-km-long highway between Gopalpur (Odisha) and Digha (West Bengal) will be a game changer for coastal Odisha, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan tweeted on Monday.

The mister also said that the new project will maintain the ecological sanctity of the coastal region as well as make it a prime tourist area of the country.

“Digha-Gopalpur coastal highway will also act as an economic corridor for the transport of agricultural and pisciculture produce to Paradip and Dhamra ports and also play an important role in the movement of supplies during natural disasters such as cyclones and floods,” Pradhan tweeted.

The Rs 7,500-crore coastal highway project was approved last year by the state government.

The Satpada-Digha stretch via Puri-Konark-Astarang-Ratanpur-Dhamara-Basudevpur-Chandipur will be included in the project.

“Expansion of National Cadet Corps (NCC) in the coastal areas will open new avenues for the youth of the region and further strengthen disaster management capabilities,” Pradhan added.

“Blessed with a long coastline and having India’s biggest container handling port and a petrochemical complex in Paradip, Odisha is strategically poised for synergised infrastructure push,” said the Minister.