At a time when the National highways across the country are being converted into local roads to circumvent the apex court-imposed liquor ban, the State Minister Harak Singh Rawat said in Haridwar on Tuesday that the Kandi Road (Gaindikhata-laldhang-Chillarkhal-Kalalghati-Pakhro-Kalagarh-Ramnagar road) would be converted into a National highway.
The minister also said that there would be entrances to Rajaji National Park and Tiger Reserve and Jim Corbett Park from Kotdwar along with what now exists in Haridwar, a move aimed at enhancing the importance of Kotdwar, the place the minister was elected from.
Notably, the Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari had already announced the conversion of the stretch of laldhang – Ramnagar road passing through Kotdwar into a National highway.
Rawat further said that he had recently held a detailed discussion on several issues with Gadkari in Delhi in course of which the decision for the conversion had been taken.
The minister also stressed on medicinal plants and herbs being grown on a large scale in Uttarakhand. “The climate here is congenial for it. Besides, one need not take much care of them because of the favourable climate helping them to grow on their own. However, there is a need to identify the plants endowed with the medicinal qualities among the diverse varieties available here. We are working on it and soon these plants would be commercially used,” added the minister.