CONRAD DIAS
Ranchi, April 14: A new expressway will be built from Varanasi to Kolkata which will pass through Jharkhand. The 625 km long expressway will cross through Hazaribagh, Chatra, Ramgarh and Ranchi. The land acquisition officers of these four districts have been directed to mark the land for the project. The district administration has already started working for this so that compensation can be given to the raiyots.
Dheeraj Kumar, Project Director at National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has said that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) work is in progress on the Varanasi to Kolkata expressway The DPR work will be completed in the next four months.
This will be the fourth expressway to pass through Jharkhand. Three expressways have already been proposed which include Raxaul to Haldia, Sambalpur to Sanchi and Raipur to Gumla, Ranchi Via Dhanbad.
The Central government is taking essential steps to strengthen the Economic and Internal Corridor. The expressway will increase connectivity to different cities. The Greenfield Project, which comes under the Bharat Mala Project, is paying special emphasis to develop proper roads in the country.
Currently, India has expressways which cover around 1455.40 km. The 625 km expressway from Varanasi to Kolkata will take that number to 2080.40 km. There are a total of 50 expressways in India in which vehicles run at a speed of 120 kmph. Two wheelers are usually not allowed in these fast moving expressways.
Similar proposals include 146.2 km expressway from Sambalpur to Ranchi and 700 km expressway from Raipur to Dhanbad via Ranchi. These expressways will benefit around 9-10 districts of Jharkhand which include Hazaribagh, Chatra, Ranchi, Ramgarh, Khunti, Bokaro, Dhanbad Gumla and Dumka.
The expressway under the Greenfield Project will have 6 to 8 lane roads that will pass through various fields and will have the least number of turns. All high speed vehicles will be allowed on the expressway.
