Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy on Wednesday requested Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari to speed up implementation of new road project linking Villupuram - Puducherry - Karaikal and Nagapattinam.
Addressing a gathering at Arumparthapuram to mark the inaugural of Road Overbridge there, the Chief Minister said the new road project costing ₹800 crore was very important for UT. Explaining the importance of the project, he said the railway gate at Arumparthapuram used to be closed for 18 times every day to facilitate passing of trains. Commuters used to face difficulty due to closure of the gate, he said adding the project was sanctioned in 2013 when UPA was in power.
“After BJP came to power, some forces tried to stall the project but Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari intervened and facilitated for the speedy implementation of the project,” he said.
He said preparatory works for capital dredging at the port had already commenced. The Ministry of Shipping had included the port under Sagarmala scheme and sanctioned ₹50 crore for capital dredging, he added.
Minister for Public Works A. Namassivayam said it was a dream project of the government. “We faced several obstacles in fulfilling the scheme but overcome all those issues with determination.” Minister for Power R. Kamalakannan, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) N. Gokulakrishnan and Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) V. Vaithilingam and Chief Secretary Ashwani Kumar also attended the inaugural.