AMRITSAR: When the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra motorway is operational, it will take four hours to get to Amritsar from Delhi and six hours to get to Katra from Delhi, according to Union minister Nitin Gadkari, who visited the project on Thursday. According to the minister of road transport and highways, this 669-kilometer greenfield motorway connecting Delhi, Amritsar, and Katra is being developed at a cost of Rs 40,000 crore. After it is finished, it takes four hours to go from Delhi to Amritsar and six hours to go from Delhi to Katra, he said. The current distance is 727 kilometres between Delhi to Katra. According to Gadkari, the new route’s construction will cut the journey by 58 miles.According to Gadkari, the motorway is 399 km long in Punjab, of which 296 km have already seen construction. Of that length, over 137 km are in Haryana. According to him, there are 135 km of motorway in Jammu and Kashmir, 120 km of which are currently under construction. The motorway would cross industrial districts in Punjab, including Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Patiala, Sangrur, Malerkotla, and Ludhiana. According to the minister, one unique aspect of this corridor is the 1,300-meter cable-stayed bridge across the Beas River, which is the longest in Asia.Major religious sites such as the Golden Temple, the well-known Mata Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu, the Sultanpur Lodhi Gurdwara in the Kapurthala district, the Goindwal Sahib Gurdwara, the Khandur Sahib Gurdwara, and the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib (Tarn Taran) will all be connected by the motorway. He stated that improved connection from Tarn Taran to the Amritsar airport will be made possible by the 50-km, four-lane bypass route, which is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 1,475 crore. According to the minister, this bypass will be able to reduce traffic in Amritsar and enhance mobility.The Delhi-Amritsar-Katra motorway, according to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who was also present on this occasion, will herald a new era of unparalleled growth and wealth in the state. He added that the project will significantly boost regional economic activity and create new job opportunities for young people. The state government has already given the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) all of its assistance to see the project through to completion. Mann expressed optimism that the project will provide the state’s trade and commerce with a much-needed boost. He claimed that the project will move forward much faster thanks to the Union minister’s assistance. Mann went on to say that more initiatives of this like will be introduced because his administration is dedicated to the state’s overall growth.
