Public Works Minister Rakesh Singh laid the foundation stone for several development projects worth Rs 39 crore in North Central, Cantt and West Assembly constituencies, on Wednesday. Addressing the programme, PWD Minister, Rakesh Singh expressed gratitude towards residents for their continued support as he served as their MP for 20 years and now as their MLA. He emphasized that every public representative has a duty to repay the trust of the people through developmental initiatives. He further informed that under Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav’s leadership, his Public Works Department (PWD) aims to bring holistic development to the city.

 

 

He asserted that Jabalpur, which was neglected for decades, will no longer be overlooked and will be transformed from a large town into a metropolitan city. Minister Singh added that the city is witnessing several mega development projects like State’s largest flyover worth Rs 11,000 crore, a 117-km Ring Road costing Rs 4,500 crore, with two logistics parks and two iconic bridges over the Narmada River, India’s first Geological Park, modernization of the Jabalpur Airport at a cost of Rs 450 crore, state-of-the-art railway station to be built for Rs 300 crore and approval of Rs 3,200 crore in this year’s budget for Jabalpur’s development.

 

The minister highlighted several upcoming projects aimed at improving road infrastructure include six new flyovers in the city, a new Rs 180 crore flyover from Sanjeevani Nagar to Zero Degree, widening and underground cabling of roads from Katanga Tiraha to Chhoti Line and Gorakhpur Gurudwara, four-laning of the Jabalpur-Patna Road at Rs 140 crore, upgradation of the old NH-7 road in Panagar at Rs 80 crore, construction of a two-lane flyover at Penti Naka Chowk on Mandla Road worth Rs 47 crore, a 7.5-km road from Pipariya to Ranjhi, costing Rs 43.48 crore, six-lane expansion from Medical to Tilwara Bypass Junction, Rs 32 crore allocated for a new road from Gwarighat Muktidham to Tilhari for the convenience of pilgrims and Rs 11 crore white-topping project from Bandariya Tiraha to Mahanadda Road. He also announced plans to develop Gwarighat similar to Sarayu Ghat and introduce a ropeway system. He assured that strict quality checks will be enforced in construction projects, with monthly surprise inspections by PWD engineers. Any irregularities in road construction will not be tolerated.

 

Besides this, he highlighted the success of “Lokpath App”, which ensures pothole repairs within seven days. The app gained national recognition when Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan mentioned it on the TV show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC). On the occasion, MLA Dr. Abhilash Pandey, Municipal Corporation President Rinkuj Vij, Abhay Singh Thakur, Kamlesh Agarwal, Kaushal Suri, Anju Bhargav, Rupa Rao, Yogendra Singh, Prashant Dubey, Santosh Yadav, Renu Kori, Ram Patel, Sanjay Tiwari and a large number of local residents were present.