Union minister for road, transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday laid foundation stones and inaugurated road projects worth Rs 6,155 crore and said 24 June will be written in golden letters in the annals of Himachal Pradesh.

After the virtual event, Gadkari stated that Himachal was indeed the most beautiful state of the country and roads were the prerequisite of the overall development of any nation or state.

Roads were also important for tourism promotion and in Himachal, being a tourist state, better roads will go a long way in tourism promotion.

Within the next two years, the travelling distance between Delhi to Kullu would be reduced to seven hours and this will give a big boost to tourism development in the state, Gadkari said.

He assured that all the roads, foundation stones of which were laid by him today will be completed within a stipulated time period.

“Road projects worth Rs 15,000 crore will be awarded to Himachal this year and DPR for construction of 40 kilometres left bank road project at Manali would be prepared at the earliest.

The Union government will provide all possible assistance to the state government for construction of alternative mode of transportation such as cable cars etc and for strengthening the road networks in the state,” he added.

Addressing the event, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said even the first CM of the state Dr Y S Parmar about 50 years ago had summed up the developmental priorities of the state in just three words “Road, Road and Road’.

“Today the state has about 40,000 km road length but being a hilly state, a lot more needs to be done.

Roads and that too better roads are the foremost requirements for inviting and attracting the tourists to the state,” he added.

Thakur thanked the Union Minister for dedicating and laying foundation stones of road projects worth Rs 6155 crore for the state and stated that the present state government had succeeded in sanctioning 997 projects from the Centre during the last 3 and a half years.

Union minister of state for road, transport and highways Gen VK Singh, Union minister of state for finance and corporate affairs Anurag Singh Thakur, also joined the event virtually among others.