Shimla: Himachal Pradesh assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Monday urged Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari to accord national highway status to the Draman-Chuwari-Chamba-Pangi road and approve a tunnel between Chuwari and Chamba.During a meeting with Gadkari in New Delhi, Pathania submitted a memorandum highlighting the strategic importance of the Shahpur-Draman-Singhuta-Chuwari-Chamba road via Jot, Tissa, Sach and Pangi.He said the road was crucial for the Army’s divisional headquarters at Yol Cantonment and would facilitate the movement of troops and military equipment to border areas during emergencies.He said entrusting the Chamba-Tissa-Bairagarh-Sach stretch to the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) would not fully meet the strategic objective and urged the Centre to include the Draman-Chuwari-Chamba stretch in the proposed national highway.He pointed out that the Shahpur-Draman-Chuwari-Chamba road via Jot had already been widened under World Bank-funded and climate investment fund programmes and was largely a two-lane road.Gadkari informed Pathania that the Centre was finalising a policy and guidelines for declaring new national highways. He assured him that the proposal would be considered once the criteria were finalised.Pathania said the project would strengthen national security, improve connectivity to Chamba and benefit tourists, soldiers and locals, particularly those travelling to remote Pangi via Gaggal airport.
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