Nitin Gadkari falls sick after attending foundation stone laying ceremony in Siliguri

A 260km 4-lane road will come up from Coronation Bridge to Salsabari passing through Chalsa at a cost of Rs. 5200 crore. From Salsabari to Falakata, a 260 km long NH31B will be constructed at a cost of Rs. 5200 crore. It will be completed by June 2024

Amitava Banerjee | EOI | 18 Nov 2022 | Darjeeling: The much-awaited Sevok-Balason multilane elevated highway is all set to take shape with Union minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari laying the foundation stone at Dagapur, Siliguri. Along with this, the Minister announced a slew of projects for North Bengal region. 

The minister, however, fell ill after the programme. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee enquiring about minister Gadkari's health asked the Siliguri Police Commissioner to monitor the situation. 

From the venue, he was taken to the residence of Darjeeling MP Raju Bista. "The minister is fine now. We have checked him. All the parameters including blood sugar are fine," stated Dr PD Bhutia. 

"The 12km road will help ease traffic congestion. This in turn will reduce the travel time to Darjeeling, Sikkim, Dooars and Bhutan. As this region is important for tourism, infrastructure development should be a priority. It will also help in troop movement thereby strengthening national security," stated Gadkari. 

The 12km long road to be built at a cost of Rs. 995 crore will include a 5.12km stretch of 6 lanes; 3.6km of 4 lanes and 3.7km of elevated road. A 210m long 3-lane parallel bridge will come up beside the existing bridge on the river Mahananda on this stretch. 

There will be two Road Over Bridges (ROB) along with two medium and small bridges. 7 "black spots" that are accident-prone will be realigned and repaired. Work will start immediately and is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. 

The minister also inaugurated two Road Over Bridge (ROB) at Odlabari at a cost of Rs. 102 crore and Maynaguri at a cost of Rs. 109 crore. The ROB at Maynaguri will be opened to traffic from December 16. 

The minister announced a slew of projects including new roads and bridges. The Minister sanctioned an 80km long Ring Road in Siliguri at a cost of Rs 3000 crore. The project will commence in 2023. A 4-lane from Shivmandir to Coronation Bridge will come up at a cost of Rs. 1800 crore for the 14km road. A 6.4km long road and 4-lane bridge will come up next to the existing heritage Coronation bridge at a cost of Rs. 1100 crore. "From January 2023 renovation work of the existing Coronation Bridge, built in 1941, will commence," announced the Union minister. 

A 260km 4-lane road will come up from Coronation Bridge to Salsabari passing through Chalsa at a cost of Rs. 5200 crore. From Salsabari to Falakata, a 260 km long NH31B will be constructed at a cost of Rs. 5200 crore. It will be completed by June 2024. Roads will come up between Falakata to Dhupguri (30km;) Dhupguri to Ghoshpukur (83km;) Ghoshpukur to Bagdogra (12km) and Siliguri to Fulbari (9km). 

Bulu Chik Baraik, West Bengal Minister for Tribal Development; Gautam Deb, Mayor, Siliguri Municipal Corporation and Saurav Chakraborty, Chairman, Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority were present at the foundation stone laying ceremony. "Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had written twice to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for this Sevok-Balason stretch. 

She had even urged the Union minister. This is a much-awaited project and is important to national security. It is the obligation of the Centre as they have to give back in the form of projects the revenue collected from the state in the form of different taxes including GST. Strong states add up to a strong nation under the federal structure," stated Mayor Gautam Deb. 

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