Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, last week tore into Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, for allowing his goons to create ruckus in the development work, currently being carried on in the state by the central authorities. In the explosive letter, Gadkari gave an implicit warning to Thackeray that work on national highways will be stopped if Shiv Sena’s goons and their illegal activities did not come to a halt. Gadkari stated that local Shiv Sena MLAs were opposing the road works in the Washim district.
Gadkari said in the letter, “When I received the information, I came to know that the local Shiv Sena representatives had stopped the work. If Sena leaders and elected representatives continue with such behaviour, it would be difficult to carry out the projects. People in the region will also be upset if projects are not completed…,”
Breaking:
Union Minister @nitin_gadkari writes letter to CM Uddhav Thackeray.
Sights disruption attempts made by Sena Representative in highway work and may have to stop work if any it continues
instance of machinery of contractor set on 🔥 , blockades were reported. https://t.co/nO2lwLFCQb pic.twitter.com/6w0Y3J1Rfw
— Krunal Goda (@Krunal_Goda) August 14, 2021
The construction of the 202-km four-lane National Highway, between Akola and Nanded, including the development of a 12-km bypass from Gedshi to Washim, has been stopped by local Shiv Sena leaders, Gadkari claimed. Gadkari further added that the work of Malegaon to Risod National Highway is complete, except for a bridge over the Painganga river, as local leaders threatened the contractor and hindered the work.
After receiving the rebuke from the Union Minister, the usual chirpy Uddhav mellowed down and wrote a letter as well, promising Gadkari that he won’t let anyone obstruct work.
“Nitin Ji, your relationship with us is a little different. You are also dutiful, we are also dutiful. We have an idea that we have also taken the teaching of Shiv Sena chief saying that we should never betray the people. They do not want to be betrayed. We do not want to let the work of the people be hampered,” said Uddhav before adding “I assure you that I will not allow anyone to interfere in the development work of the people in any way,”
Nitin Gadkari, the visionary leader, who revolutionized the road and transport industry by constructing a record 37 kilometres of highways per day, is now aiming for 40 kilometres of highway construction per day by the year-end.
Read More: Nitin Gadkari – a minister who seldom talks but his work speaks for itself
For this, he has proposed an innovative idea to use the soaring foreign exchange funds of the country, saying the low-cost finance for such infrastructure projects will help to expedite the process. According to the latest RBI data, India’s foreign exchange reserves surged by $9.427 billion to a record high of $620.576 billion in the week ended July 30. However, to achieve the ambitious target, the likes of Uddhav need to be schooled routinely so that the bottlenecks in the way can be cleared.
