State Finance Minister Prakash Pant apprised the Union road and transport Minister Nitin Gadkari of the havoc the recent spell of natural calamity has done to the National Highway while meeting the latter in Delhi on Wednesday.
He also asked the Union Minister to announce a special package to have the damages repaired. He stressed the point that the State is in the midst of a crisis as the natural calamity has come close on the heels of the enforcement of GST. He sought to impress on the Union Minister on the requirement of immediate release of funds to help the State tide over the crisis.
Pant is said to have informed Gadkari of the havoc wreaked by the recent cloudburst on the State infrastructure with the the people being affected. Several stretches of National Highway had been washed away, he said while urging for a special package to have the rain-ravaged stretches of the national highways passing through Uttarakhand promptly repaired.
He is learnt to have reminded the Union Minister of the Centre having logistically included Tanakpur-Tawaghat National Highway in the all-weather road project. He also is said to have drawn the attention of the Union Minister to large stretches of Tanakpur-Pithoragarh road being affected by the proposed construction of Pancheshwar dam.
He stressed on the Centre exploring all the possibilities before making alternation in the plans involving the all- weather road project. He also demanded the Centre to ensure rehabilitation of the affected in tune with the people’s sentiment before executing the all- weather road project.
Besides, Pant laid thrust on building a ring road in Pithoragarh from where he was elected to the Assembly in view of its dense population and tough geographical terrain to help the people get into the district without facing the congestion found in the urban areas of the district.
While talking to The Pioneer after the meeting was over, Pant said that things are improving in Pithoragarh district with the climate clearing a bit. “However, the people are still suffering with roads being washed away and their homes being damaged too in the aftermath of the cloudburst,” he said.