Kerala counts on Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to resolve NH stalemate
Gadkaris visit could solve the stalemate over the NH development in kerala
By : cynthia chandran
Update: 2014-08-19 05:33 GMT
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The UDF government’s mega show- Infrastructure Conference 2014 under the aegis of the PWD- will be held in Kozhikode from November 6 to 8. Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and World Bank officials will attend the meet. PWD officials hope that when there is a stalemate over the National Highway development in the state, the visit of Mr Gadkari will be fruitful.
The conference is being held for the third year, which is a training ground for the PWD officials on the sustainable development of road infrastructure. Last year, the meet was held in association with the Kerala Union of Working Journalists. According to PWD Minister V. K. Ebrahim Kunju, the engineers in the department had not been getting any training after their studies.
“We have been targeting the middle-level engineers as they will be able to replicate their learning on the development of roads, buildings and bridges. For almost 40 years, the PWD has been stagnant. Our aim is to provide the engineers with the latest technology and the knowhow to use it effectively in the state’s development,” he said.
Recently, the PWD’s top officials had called on Mr Gadkari and apprised him of the stalemate over the NH issue. Mr Gadkari had told them that the centre would not extend any assistance if the Kerala government decided to develop NH stretches in the state at 30-metre width instead of 45 metres. With the National Highway Authority of India withdrawing from the work of 633-km stretch between Kuttipuram and Kazhakoottam, the PWD was forced to develop it with central road funds.