Chhattisgarh: Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday wrote a letter to the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, to expedite the construction works of the National Highways being constructed in Chhattisgarh and declare Ambikapur -Renukoot road and Raigarh-Dharamjaigarh road as a national highways. 

The Chief Minister also urged him for National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) approval for upgrading and widening of national highway number-149 (B), Champa-Korba-Katghora Road, which connects the industrial city of Korba in the state and have very high traffic density.

CM Baghel has requested the union minister Gadkari to accelerate the pace of construction work of national highway number-30 Raipur to Dhamtari Road. CM Baghel highlighted that the bad condition of national highway number-43, Pathalgaon to Kunkuri road. He informed him, the construction work was started four years ago and the stretch of 25 km national highway is incomplete and in a dilapidated condition as well. While the construction work of the route, which passes through the tribal dominated district Jashpur of the state and connects the state of Jharkhand has stopped since March 2020.

The construction work of national highway number-111 Bilaspur-Patrapali-Katghora Road is approved under N.H.D.P. Phase-4 scheme. The construction work is underway between Bilaspur to Patrapali route, but the condition of the road between Patrapali to Katghora is in pathetic state while the Mungadih bridge is under construction. CM Baghel suggested that construction of new bridge in place of damaged bridge on Mungadih Naala and maintenance work of Patrapali to Katghora road is very important before rainy season. He requested the union minister to give necessary directives to the officials concerned in this regard.

The chief minister mentioned that the construction work of national highway number-216 Raigarh-Sarangarh-Saraipali road, which began on March 2015, is still incomplete even after five years. Besides, the construction of 1.50 km long bridge on Mahanadi and 22 km concrete road needs to be expedited as soon as possible.

CM Baghel also wrote about Ambikapur-Wadrafnagar road up to Uttar Pradesh border. The 110 km long route which connects Ambikapur in the state of Chhattisgarh to Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) has inter-state importance. Ambikapur located on national highway number-43 and Renukoot located on national highway number-39 has high density traffic density and due to its traffic, it deserves to be declared a national highway.

 The chief minister told that Raigarh is situated on national highway number-200 and Dharamjaigarh is on Bilaspur-Urga-Dharamjaigarh-Pathalgaon, which is included in Dharamjaigarh Bharatmala Yojana.

The proposed route is important as it connects the national highway number -200 and the Bilaspur-Urga-Pathalgaon route proposed in the Bharatmala Scheme. Therefore, the Raigarh-Dharamjaigarh road should be declared a National Highway, the chief minister demanded.