Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Monday said the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, constructed 27 years ago by him, remains pothole-free to date.
But, he said, that has never been reported. It’s still pothole-free, but nobody writes about it. The Union minister further said India’s automobile sector has witnessed significant growth due to advancements in technology, electric vehicles, alternative fuels and biofuels.
“I built the Mumbai-Pune Expressway 27 years ago. Earlier reporting noted: Not a single pothole on Mumbai-Pune Expressway in 27 years: Nitin Gadkari Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday complained that he is blamed for road problems even when they are built by state governments. Earlier reporting noted: Speaking at the Festival of Thinkers lecture series in Pune on Monday, Gadkari said that 27 years ago, he built the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and claimed it has not developed any potholes to date.
However, when (a structure) at the missing link collapsed recently, I got trolled on social media, despite it being a state government project,” he said in a lighter vein while addressing the ‘Festival of Thinkers’ organised by Symbiosis International University in Pune. “Guess social media is good for quality control,” the BJP MP said, adding that the forest department didn’t grant permission to construct the missing link then. In May, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the much-awaited 13.3-km-long “Missing Link” project on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway to bypass the steep mountain pass section aimed at improving road safety and reducing travel distance between the two key cities. Meanwhile, emphasising the role of technology in infrastructure management, Gadkari said modern tools such as drones, artificial intelligence, LiDAR and satellite technology should be used to monitor roads and identify defects before they become major issues. Recalling his experience on building the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Gadkari said he had pushed for an eight-lane road considering future traffic requirements, but later felt that a bigger vision was needed after seeing highways abroad.
Earlier reporting noted: The union minister lamented that he gets blamed even when a road built by a state government caves in.
