Aurangabad: Taking another step towards giving a new dimension to the development of Aurangabad district which is one of the major industrial and educational centres in Maharashtra, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Sunday inaugurated seven national highway projects worth Rs 5569 crore.

Speaking on the occasion, he said that road transport in the city is important in the development of tourist centres in Aurangabad district, which is a major tourist destination of the state. The Minister said the construction of these national highway projects will accelerate the development of Aurangabad district along with transportation. Improving traffic in the city will help reduce the number of accidents and environmental pollution. The rural areas of the district will be easily accessible to the city, he added.

Gadkari said that efforts have been made to alleviate the water crisis through road projects in the water-starved Aurangabad district. He said in the construction of roads, many ponds have been constructed on the lines of the Buldhana pattern and the soil and stones have been used for the construction of roads.

He said through this, the soil extracted from the ponds created in Adgaon-Gandheli, Valmi and Nakshatrawadi areas, Teesgaon and Sarjapur village areas has got double benefit. Deepening has made it possible to create ponds in each area. Gadkari said his will help in reducing the water crisis by increasing the ground water level. The construction of such ponds in the district has increased the water capacity to 14 lakh cubic meters till date, he added. /BI/