Repairing potholed, rain-damaged roads top priority: Maha PWD minister

Rectifying potholed roads is the top priority of the Maharashtra government and funds from some projects can be diverted for the work if need be, state PWD minister Ashok Chavan said here on Saturday.

He said roads were in a bad state due to heavy rains and all efforts would be taken to repair them.

Speaking on damage to infrastructure due to rains in Marathwada, Chavan said, ''A total of 92 bridges have been affected, and repairing them would cost Rs 542 crore. I am of the view that bridges that routinely get affected by rains and flooding must be built anew.'' He said 67 per cent of the damage assessment survey has been completed in the region and it has revealed that 21.50 lakh farmers have faced losses.

''However, insurance companies have not responded well to the situation and the Union government must intervene to give relief to the people affected by rains,'' the senior Congress leader and former chief minister said.

Talking about the proposed Jalna-Nanded highway and its connectivity to the under-construction Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway, Chavan said land acquisition for the work would be completed by March next year.

''I have proposed that a bullet train corridor be built along Jalna-Nanded highway all the way till Hyderabad and Mumbai via Pune. I have spoken on this to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, and the CM has written to the prime minister on the need for a bullet train project in Marathwada,'' he said.

Queried on Rajya Sabha MP Sambhaji Chhatrapati planning a fast in Mumbai over the Maratha quota issue, Chavan said such acts would achieve nothing.

But he added that the ''stand of the state government is the same as Sambhaji Chhatrapati''.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)