Hailing the initiative of construction of Highways across the country taken by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday said that the speed of construction of roads across the country is more than the speed of vehicles plying on these roads. 

"The network of roads is getting strengthened rapidly in the state, the stronger this network, the more employment opportunities will be created and the state will move towards progress," said Khattar, at the inauguration of 5 road projects prepared at a cost of Rs 2,872 crore at a public meeting held in Sonipat on Monday.

Khattar said that Union Minister Nitin Gadkari always works on new technology and has scientific thinking. Recently he himself drove a car powered by hydrogen. To overcome the problem of petrol and diesel, he has been emphasizing on the use of ethanol. The initiative of a ropeway in the mountains is under process. Nowadays working on air taxis (pod taxis), the Chief Minister assured the Union Minister that the Central Government should plan for Pod Taxi and the Haryana Government is ready to fully cooperate with the Central Government.  He said that Haryana wants to be the first state to run pod taxi service.

The Chief Minister said that during the previous meetings with the Union Minister,  he had put forth demands related to the construction of roads, but this time Haryana Government is putting a demand for construction of railway overbridges and underpasses connected to 30 cities. There is an immense need of constructing overbridges and underbridges in these cities. People will get relief from rising traffic jams, he pointed out.

Khattar said that the Central Government had announced 17 National Highways for Haryana, out of which except 4 or 5, most of the highways have been completed.  Congratulating the people of Sonipat district, the Chief Minister further said that the two projects being inaugurated today are directly related to them, which includes Gohana to UP Border Highway and Bahalgarh to Panipat Road.

Union Minister of State, V. K Singh, Deputy Chief Minister, Dushyant Chautala, MPs Ramesh Chander Kaushik and Arvind Sharma, MLAs, Mohan Lal Badoli, Krishan Lal  Middha and Nirmal Chaudhary were also present on the occasion.