Hubballi: The long pending demand for the widening of Anchatageri-Ankola national highway 63 from two lane to four lane remains stand still as no effort seems have taken to take the clearance of the ministry of environment and forest. While the widening of the remaining stretch on Ankola-Gooty has been taken up, the 114 km stretch between Anchatageri-Ankola remains pending.The NHAI sources said that the Ankola-Gooty NH 63 has gained significance as better port connectivity and logistics. The widening was proposed in 2008 when mining was rampant in Ballari district. The project was approved in 2012. The road connects Karwar port via Hubballi and Visakhapatnam port from via Gooty. Still, the widening of the road is proposed as there is heavy traffic.The vision document of Dharwad district has also stressed the need for widening of the NH-63 into four lanes for the transportation of logistics. The widening of the highway has been taken up in three phases. While the highway between Ballari-Gooty and Hosapete and Hubballi is underway, the 114 km stretch has become standstill as the ministry of environment and forest refused to give clearance citing massive destruction of forests and threat to ecology.“We are waiting for further orders and now maintained status quo,” said superintending engineer of national highways Krishnaji Chavan. While the people welcomed the six-laning of 214 km Chitradurga-Davangere-Haveri-Hubballi NH-48, they expressed their displeasure over no progress in the proposal for four lane of Anchatageri-Ankola stretch. Several people on the social media have urged Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari, to see that the widening of Anchatageri-Ankola highway gets the clearance of MoEF.Dharwad MP Pralhad Joshi said that the ministry of road transport and highways is ready to widen the road but the MoEF is yet to give clearance. It may be recalled here that the MoEF refused to gives its nod for the widening in 2015. However, the laying of railway line between Hubballi-Ankola has been given MoEF clearance. It is expected to boost trade and commerce besides linking north Karnataka districts to the coastal Karnataka.

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