Punjab has potential to be hub of hydrogen production: Nitin Gadkari

Tribune News Service

Hoshiarpur, January 10

Digitally laying the foundation stone for 29 national highway projects worth Rs 4,000 crore here this afternoon, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said the new projects would not just save time and money of commuters, but also enhance the pace of development in Punjab.

Projects inaugurated

• 4-lane Ladowal bypass to connect Ludhiana GT Road with NH-5 and NH-44
• 6-lane flyover, 2-lane ROB in Ludhiana on NH-44
• Underpass at Dakoha railway crossing on NH-44
• 4-laning of Talwandi Bhai-Ferozepur stretch on NH-5
• Strengthening of Jalandhar-Makhu stretch of NH-703 A
• 4-laning of ROB at Nangal on NH-503 extension

The various projects launched by him included four-laning of the Hoshiarpur-Phagwara road and four-laning of the Ferozepur bypass, the Ladhowal bypass in Ludhiana, six-lane flyover and two-lane road overbridge in Ludhiana, four-laning of the Jalandhar-Kapurthala section and three bridges on the Jalandhar-Makhu road.

Foundation stones laid

• 4-laning of Phagwara-Hoshiarpur bypass on NH-334 B
• 4-laning of Jalandhar-Kapurthala stretch on NH-703 A
• 2-lane ROB on Sultanpur Lodhi-Makhu stretch on NH-703 A
• 4-laning of Ferozepur bypass on NH-354
• Strengthening of Jalandhar-Makhu stretch of NH-703 A
• 4-laning of ROB at Nangal on NH-503 extension

The minister also announced that five greenfield expressways and economic corridors were being built at a cost of Rs 1.2 lakh crore for better connectivity from Punjab to Delhi, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Haryana. Gadkari also gave nod to the bypasses for Bhogpur, Dasuya and Mukerian as sought by the Union MoS and Hoshiarpur MP Som Prakash in his speech.

He also spoke about the 670 km the Greenfield Expressway Delhi-Amritsar-Katra project, saying once this project was complete, one can reach from Delhi to Amritsar in four hours and from Delhi to Katra in six hours, he said.

In his speech, Gadkari urged farmers to not just focus on food production, but also become energy producers. Punjab had a potential of becoming a hub for hydrogen production from bagasse, which is the future fuel.

“I am not joking. I am a farmer myself. Come and see my car. It runs on hydrogen. I urge the farmers not to set the paddy straw on fire and rather use it for production of bio-ethanol. IndianOil has already set up bio-ethanol refining plants. Most three-wheelers, scooters and tractors can be run on bio-ethanol or bio-CNG”, he stressed, saying that green fuels were the future. He also discussed the use of paddy straw for bio-bitumen. He also urged farmers to use drones in the fields for saving time and money.

Among those who attended the event were former MP Vijay Sampla, Mukerian MLA Jangi Lal Mahajan and former minister Sunder Sham Arora.

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