Gadchiroli will
soon shed its insurgency tag and emerge as India’s steel hub with the state
govt hammering out an ambitious plan to lay a highway linking the district to
Vizag and Kakinada ports in Andhra Pradesh, said Union Road transport and
highways minister, Nitin Gadkari. Chief minister Devendra
Fadnavis while reiterating the setting up an airport at Gadchiroli also shared
a plan of building riverine connectivity with the Kakinada port.
Fadnavis said land
acquisition will soon begin for the airport, where even big aircraft can land. “A study has been
initiated to build a river link from Gadchiroli to the port at Kakinada.
Wainganga river, which traverses through the Maoist-hit region, merges with the
Godavari and goes into the sea. I recently discussed the idea with the chief
ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh during the World Economic Forum (WEF)
at Davos, and both agreed,” he said.
Continuing his
announcement, the chief minister said, Nagpur will soon have a plant with a
capacity to make 10,000 electric buses. This will lead to a demand for 10,000
drivers too. “Boeing is expected to start work on converting passenger planes to
transport jets at its Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) depot in Nagpur. It’s hoped that soon the Nagpur airport
will have flights linking every city in the world,” said Gadkari.