17 highway stretches on borders to double up as airstrips: Gadkari

After decades of neglect, India is building roads, including 17 highway stretches, in areas near its international borders that will double up as airstrips, Union Minister, Nitin Gadkari has said.  He added that people residing in border areas need highway network and better infrastructure.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is working on the project in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence.

The roads will double up as airstrips and traffic will be stopped when an airplane lands or takes off. The road and air connectivity will also provide better access to remote areas.

Earlier, a committee was constituted comprising officials of both ministries to come out with specifications of such highway stretches.

The committee has looked into details like feasibility of the stretches and their length and breadth, apart from other issues.

Last year, Gadkari had spoken of construction of such an airport in Rajasthan and similar projects are being planned in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and some other border districts.

The government is working on ways to boost regional air connectivity in the country. Under the new civil aviation policy, the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) has been mooted that provides various concessions to airlines.

The minister also said there are plans to boost infrastructure in difficult areas, and in the North-East, projects worth Rs 40,000 crore have already been initiated.

Source: ptinews.com

Image source: DNA India