Panaji, July 11 (IANS) Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said that in future there will be ‘Parivartan’ in the transport sector across the country.
“This year America has decided to give licenses to drone taxis, where four to six people can sit and fly like a helicopter. In future there will be more ‘Parivartan’ in the transport sector,” Gadkari said while speaking after dedicating to the nation the 6-lane access-controlled 7 km road project costing Rs 1183 crore from Manohar International Airport-Mopa to Dhargal on NH-166S in Goa.
“If public transport in Goa is improved then it will be cheaper for people. In the future Goa should prepare a master plan and make Goa pollution-free,” he said.
He said that after improving the road connectivity, tourist footfall has increased in Uttarakhand three times more while the traffic congestion in Dehradun, Rishikesh and Haridwar has also reduced significantly.
“Goa has two airports and road connectivity has improved. Hence, Goa needs a ‘master Plan of development’ or it will also face a similar situation of traffic congestion like Dehradun, Rishikesh and Haridwar,” the minister said.
He said that Goa attracts tourists from across the world and hence there is a need to provide good facilities. “We have built good roads. Now even middle-class people are using roadways to travel and explore places with electrical vehicles, which are cheaper than fuel,” he said.
He said that Goa should give the highest priority to make state water, air and sound pollution-free. “Technology transformation is taking place in a big way. We need to make use of technology in the transport sector and give better facilities to the public,” the minister said.
He said that around 22 thousand crore rupees have been spent on road connectivity, bridges and other projects in Goa. “I assure you to sanction more 25 to 30 thousand crores rupees for works to be done for the next five years,” Gadkari said.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Union MoS Shripad Naik, Rajya Sabha MP Sadanand Tanavade and MLAs were also present on the occasion.
–IANS
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