Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari today said, Inter Modal Station (IMS) to be established in Katra will be a world class state of the art project constructed to improve travelling experience of the pilgrims visiting Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.. Shri Gadkari said this while interacting with media at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Spiritual Growth Centre, Katra.

During interaction with Media, Shri Gadkari said, developmental works worth Rs 1,30,000 crore are being taken up by MoRTH in J&K and since 2014, around 500 km of road network has been completed in the region. 41 significant tunnels are being constructed in J&K and Ladakh at a cost of Rs 45,000 crore, 18 ropeways worth Rs 5,000 crore will be constructed in the UT, Shri Gadkari informed.

The Minister also informed that for the journey between Jammu and Srinagar three corridors worth Rs 35,000 crores are being constructed, which will reduce the earlier distance of 320 kms by 70 kms and time travel will be reduced from ten hours to four to five hours.

The Minister also announced that 110 km long Amarnath Marg–leading to the holy Amarnath cave in Pahalgam will be built at a cost of around Rs 5300 crore for the convenience of the pilgrims going to Shri Amarnath Shrine.

Shri Gadkari said, with the development of state of the art road network across the country through every state and UT, the Kashmir to Kanyakumari will no longer be a dream for the people of India.

Dr. Jitendra Singh who was also present during the media interaction said, the Banihal Ramban Highway stretch will become the hub of lavender cultivation giving rise to Agri-tech Start-ups.

The others present during the interaction were Dr. V K Singh, MoS MoRTH, Lieutenant Governor J&K, Shri Manoj Sinha and Secretary MoRTH, Alka Upadhyay.

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MJPS