India’s Ethan Hunt(Mission Impossible) is @nitin_gadkari Years ago, a small recording device must have appeared & t… https://t.co/MNs7ebcRrA — anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) 1542076354000

(With inputs from PTI)

NEW DELHI: A slew of next-generation transport projects were inaugurated in Varanasi on Monday including national highways and a multi-modal terminal on the river Ganga. Prior to this, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari had shared a video of the city's development projects on the micro-blogging site Twitter that were undertaken over the last few years.Commenting on it, Anand Mahindra , executive chairman of Mahindra group, on Tuesday referred Gadkari as India's ' Ethan Hunt ' (a popular character portrayed by Hollywood actor Tom Cruise in the Mission Impossible series) for his role in transforming the country's "infrastructural landscape".He wrote: "India’s Ethan Hunt (Mission Impossible) is @nitin_gadkari Years ago, a small recording device must have appeared & told him: "Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to transform India’s infrastructural landscape" Since then, he’s overcome every obstacle in his mission’s way."Twitterati seem to have liked the comparison as some called Gadkari "the best ever Cabinet minister" for doing his job without making "any noises".During the inauguration event on Monday, Gadkari had said, "The prime minister dedicated to the nation, two important national highways in Varanasi, having a total length of 34 kilometres and constructed at a cost of Rs 1,571.95 crore. The 16.55 km Varanasi Ring Road Phase-I has been completed at a cost of Rs 759.36 crore, while the work of four-laning and construction of 17.25 km Babatput-Varanasi road on NH-56 has cost Rs 812.59 crore."He added that the Babatpur Airport highway links Varanasi to the airport and goes on to Jaunpur, Sultanpur and Lucknow. With a flyover at Harhua and a ROB (railway overbridge) at Tarna, the road will reduce the travel time from Varanasi to the airport.The Ring Road, with two ROBs and a flyover, will provide a way for traffic on NH 56 (Lucknow-Varanasi), NH 233 (Azamgarh-Varanasi), NH 29 (Gorakhpur-Varanasi ) and Ayodhya - Varanasi highways to bypass Varanasi city, thereby reducing traffic congestion in the city, the statement said.Gadkari, who is also in charge of the water resources ministry said, had also stated that work is on for ensuring enough draught in the river Ganga from its origin in Gangotri to its last point in Gangasagar in West Bengal. He further added that during the forthcoming Kumbh, ferries will run between Varanasi and Prayagraj.As many as 268 water cleaning projects worth Rs 1,000 crore are being undertaken in the country. In a recent examination of water quality at 80 places on Ganga, water was found pure at 55 sites.