Thinking that hike in petro products will be a big political issue, Union Minister of Road Transport Nitin Gadkari said that the Modi government was aiming to be self-dependent on petrol and diesel by promoting ethanol as an alternative. Addressing a gathering in Basti after laying the foundation of Basti ring road on Tuesday, Gadkari said that the Modi government had encouraged production of ethanol which could be used as an alternative for conventional fuels like petrol and diesel.
“It will help us to get self-independent in petroleum consumption. Days are not far when motorbikes, buses and rickshaws will run on ethanol,” he said.
Gadkari added that sugar mills had been asked to produce ethanol from sugarcane to reduce dependence on petrol and diesel besides boosting the country’s economy. He said that prices of sugar was decided globally and farmers did not get better profit of these crops. “If they start producing ethanol directly, farmers will get better prices,” he said.
Speaking about Ram Janki road which he had inaugurated earlier, the Union minister said that the road had historical and traditional values as Lord Rama came to Janakpur with Sita through that route. “Over Rs 250 crore will be spent on the expansion of road network in the region,” he said.
Gadkari said that the development of the largest state of country was the priority of the Central government. “The road network has increased to 14,800 kilometres this year from 7,643 kilometres in 2014. The Central government will spend about Rs 2 lakh crore in expansion, repair and maintenance of roads in UP,” he said.
Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for development initiatives, Gadkari said that the BJP government was committed for the development of farmers, poor, women and youth. Speaking on clean Ganga, Gadkari said that several schemes worth Rs 25,000 crore had been launched to clean the river. He said that 1680 kilometres of waterways from Varanasi to Haldia was being developed at a cost of Rs 5400 crore. He said that work was under process on 12 waterways across India. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the state was on the path of development under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. He said that the BJP government was focusing on development of roads, power and water.