The Vaigai had been included as one of the rivers in the country to be developed as a waterway, Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Shipping Pon. Radhakrishnan said on Friday.
Addressing a meeting here in which Union Minister for Road Transport Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation for road development projects estimated to cost Rs. 1,965.50 crore, Mr. Radhakrishnan said that the Modi government had planned to develop 101 waterways and eight of them would be in Tamil Nadu. The Vaigai had been chosen for development as waterway, he said.
Referring to the meeting he had with PWD Minister O. Panneerselvam in Chennai on Thursday, Mr. Radhakrishnan said that it was held at the behest of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. The State government, he said, was extending full support for all the Central projects and it would be possible to get all national projects for Tamil Nadu if the State and Centre worked in tandem. The Union government was keen to convert East Coast Road as a four-lane National Highway as it linked places of worship of all major faiths. Alok Deepankar, Chief General Manager, National Highways Authority of India, said that the development of Madurai-Ramanathapuram and Nagapattinam-Thanjavur stretches of the National Highway would provide a boost to Tamil Nadu’s economy.
“Modi government has planned to develop 101 waterways and eight of them will be in Tamil Nadu”
