Major Infra Push: Linking Remote Pockets Of Odisha With 6-Laning Of Kaliagura-Baunsaguar Stretch

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: The six-lane Kaliagura-Baunsaguar section of NH-130 will be developed under the Rs 1,539 crore Raipur-Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor project, informed Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari while sanctioning 240-km greenfield project in the state under Bharatmala Pariyojna plan.

Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gadkari, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in a tweet said the project will bolster connectivity and create large-scale employment opportunities.

The proposed project will substantially reduce the travel time between Raipur and Visakhapatnam. It will also provide better connectivity to some remote pockets in Koraput and Nabarangpur districts while facilitating faster transportation of perishable goods like fruits, vegetables, dairy products. 

According to NH sources, the new road project will pass through some of the interior pockets of Raighara, Umerkote, Jharigaon, Dabugoan, Papadahandi and Nabarangpur in Nabarangpur district and Boriguma, Dasamantapur, Koraput, Semiliguda and Pottangi areas in Koraput district. Around 1.500 hectares of land, including huge patches of forest land, will be acquired for the project.

The district administrations have already started the forest diversion process. A railway overbridge will also be constructed in Koraput district for which the NH authorities have also started formalities with the railway authorities.

Official sources said the 120km stretch in Nabarangpur district will start in the next few months. The tendering has already been completed and work has been awarded to agencies.

The control point)of the section is Sunabeda in view of the presence of major industries like Nalco and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.