Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said the country’s farmers, the “annadata”, could also be its “daamardata”, the providers of “daamar” or bitumen used to surface roads.
Addressing a function here after laying foundation stones of five national highway projects worth Rs 2,200 crore, the road transport and highways minister said that the government is planning a scheme to use crop stubble for preparing bitumen.
“Earlier, the farmers were only ‘annadata’ (grain providers). Now, they have become ‘urjaadata’ (energy providers), and we are going to make them ‘daamardata’. The ‘parali’ (crop residue) will be used in preparing bitumen, and my department is bringing a scheme in this regard.”
He also exuded confidence that under the leadership of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the state’s road infrastructure will be at par with that of the US in the coming times.
“We want to make this country free from ‘kachra’ (solid waste). About 25 lakh tonnes of solid waste of Delhi has been used for the city’s Ring Road. Similarly, 30 lakh tonnes solid waste of Ahmedabad has been used for Ahmedabad-Dholera road. Rubber powder of rubber tyres is being used for roads and seven per cent plastic is also used, so that environment can be protected,” Gadkari said.
Praising CM Adityanath, the Union minister said in the coming times, UP will become the number one state in the country. “The farmers will make progress, the youth will get jobs and UP’s road infrastructure will become equivalent to that of the US,” he said.
Later, laying the foundation stones of five major road projects worth Rs 6,215 crore in Deoria along with Adityanath, Gadkari said that hydrogen is the future of the energy sector and that it is his intention that UP should become the first state to make hydrogen energy because “Yogi ji knows how to create wealth from waste”.