Andhra CM Jagan meets Union ministers, pushes for state's demands
New Delhi, Jan 4: Pushing forward his agenda for the state for the second day in a row, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy met some more Central ministers in the national capital on Tuesday, and discussed several issues pertaining to the state.
Reddy met Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, and thanked him for sanctioning various National Highway projects to Andhra Pradesh, a state government release stated.
During an hour-long meeting with Gadkari, Reddy discussed preparation of a detailed project report for the proposed National Highway from Visakhapatnam Port to Bhogapuram via Rushikonda and Bheemili. He said the proposed road will be very useful for Visakhapatnam and will shorten the distance from Visakhapatnam Port to Odisha and Chhattisgarh, adding that it will be in close proximity to the beach corridor projects along the coast.
He said this highway would contribute to the development of tourism in the region and also help reach the Bhogapuram International Airport easily. He also sought a six-lane highway to ease traffic congestion in Vishakhapatnam.
The Chief Minister requested the Union minister to consider the state government's previous appeal to grant a bypass road on the eastern side of Vijayawada and said land acquisition will be completed as soon as possible, adding that exemption would be given on SGST and royalty to reduce the cost of the project.
Reddy also requested to extend the four-lane road in Bapatla as part of construction of NH-216 of Kathipudi-Ongole Corridor as there is a possibility of traffic jams again due to proliferation of educational institutions, tourists and the air base there.
Later, the Chief Minister met Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, and Union Minister for Education and Skill Development, Dharmendra Pradhan.
On Monday, the chief minister had called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Seetharaman.