Jaipur, Feb 12 Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan's Dausa on Sunday and termed it "a grand picture of a rising India".
The Prime Minister said that when such modern roads are built, the country's progress gains momentum. "This project will change the picture of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan."
"This will make it easier to travel between Delhi and Jaipur. Also it will be easier for farmers to sell milk, fruit and vegetables, and other products. I congratulate you all on this development," he said while addressing a gathering after the inauguration.
Taking a dig at the Congress-led UPA government, Prime Minister Modi said, "Congress government was afraid of building roads in the border areas of India. They thought that the enemy would come inside the country by walking through the roads built by us. I do not understand why the Congress has been undermining the valour and bravery of our soldiers."
"Our army knows very well how to stop the enemies on the border and give them a befitting reply," he asserted.
The Prime Minister said that the Central government has been spending a "huge amount" on such projects for the last nine years. "In this year's budget, a provision of Rs 10 lakh crore has been made only for infrastructure. This is five times more than in 2014."
He said that the time taken to go from Jaipur to Delhi will be halved by this highway.
The Prime Minister said that there are many such studies in the world, which show that the amount invested in infrastructure shows manifold effect on the ground, and it attracts investments.
Earlier, at the beginning of the inauguration programme, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the alignment of the highway has been corrected using satellite and the distance between Delhi and Mumbai has been reduced by 275 km. He claimed that before the end of 2024, India's road infrastructure will be equal to that of America.
Gadkari also said that an electric cable will be laid between Jaipur and Delhi, so that electric trucks and buses can ply on this route. For this, the help of scientists is also being taken.
He further said that "this is a trailer, film abhi baki hai."
The Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is 247 km long, built at a cost of over Rs 12,150 crore. With the commissioning of the section, the travel time from Delhi to Jaipur will be reduced from five hours to about three and a half hours.
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