KINS DESK
Jammu, Dec 31 (KINS): Bhartiya Janata Party senior leader and Member of Parliament Jugal Kishore Sharma has urged Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, to reconsider plans to extend the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway up to Tarakote Road.
Sharma, in his letter to the Union Minister as per news gathering agency KINS, requested that the expressway be constructed only up to the (IMS) Katra.
The Member Parliament raised concerns over the proposed extension of the expressway to Tarakote Road, fearing it would bypass Katra’s local markets, causing significant economic losses to the town.
He highlighted that Katra, home to more than 100,000 people, would be severely impacted if pilgrims and tourists traveling along the expressway were diverted directly to Tarakote Road.
This route, he said, would neglect the vital commercial areas of Katra, including Banganga and Charan Paduka, which rely heavily on the influx of visitors.
The MP pointed out that the local population, particularly the youth, had been expressing their discontent, with many even resorting to hunger strikes in protest of the plan.
He emphasized that the current proposal could deprive the local community of the economic benefits they derive from tourism, as well as the traditional hospitality that Katra offers to pilgrims.
Sharma has requested Minister Gadkari to intervene personally and ensure that the expressway’s construction is limited to the IMS Station, halting any extension to Tarakote Marg. (KINS)
MP Jugal Kishore Sharma urges Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to limit Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway to IMS Station Katra, not to Tarakote Road
