Jaipur: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said that emergency landing facilities will be developed at 19 places, including Kharagpur-Balasore and Kharagpur-Keonjhar highways
He made this announcement after an Indian Air Force transport aircraft Hercules C-130J carrying Gadkari and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh landed at a newly constructed 3.5 kilometres long emergency landing strip on National Highway, just 40 kilometres from the international border. “This highway run-way will further strengthen the country’s security in protecting the borders which are strategically important,” Gadkari said.
The emergency landing strip at Satta-Gandhav stretch on National Highway-925 in Jalore, Rajasthan, has been constructed at Rs 43 crore, including land acquisition for Rs 5 crore.
Gadkari further said such facilities will be developed at 19 other places – Phalodi- Jaisalmer road and Barmer-Jaisalmer road in Rajasthan, Kharagpur-Balasore road in West Bengal, Kharagpur-Keonjhar road and near Panagarh/KKD, Chennai in Tamil Nadu, on Puducherry road, in Andhra Pradesh on Nellore-Ongole road and Ongole – Chilakaluripet road, in Haryana on Mandi Dabwali to Odhan road, near Sangrur in Punjab, on Bhuj-Naliya road in Gujarat and on Surat-Baroda road, in Jammu and Kashmir in the Banihal-Srinagar road, Leh/Nyoma area in Assam and on the Jorhat-Baraghat road, near Sivasagar, Bagdogra-Hashimara road, Hashimara-Tezpur route and Hashimara-Guwahati road in Assam.
The Union Minister said world-class national highways are being constructed at record speed. “Our national highways will also be of use to the army, which will make our country more secure and always ready for emergency situations,” he added.
Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Air Chief Marshal R S Bhadauria were also present.
