'This was nature's fury'

As unprecedented rains and flash floods wreaked havoc and devastation in the hills, development work, particularly the construction of roads and highways, has come under sharp focus in the hilly terrains.

There is growing discontent over the viability of these mega projects. The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari who visited various parts of Himachal Pradesh has been reviewing the situation in the hill state since the unprecedented tragedies unfolded and brought life to a standstill. Gadkari says that it would be foolish to blame anyone for such natural disasters. He, however, agrees that the authorities who allowed the rampant construction by the riverside should not allow such things in the future. In an exclusive interview with Aditya Kant and Chandrani Banerjee the minister elaborated on the immediate measures and the long-term plans that the government is taking to restore life to normalcy and minimize the damage in the eventuality of such disasters in the future.

Gadkari, who is the longest-serving minister of Road Transport and Highways, and is also known as the Expressway Man of India also mentioned the plans and the new projects that are being taken up to improve road safety and ease of travel on highways. Excerpts:

Q. Since you have visited rain-ravaged places in Himachal and Uttarakhand, what is your assessment of the situation?