Amravati is all set to become an important part of India’s defence facilities. Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar announced to start the work of setting up a missiles factory at Nandgaon Peth Five Star MIDC here in August, thus giving a major boost to industrial development in the city.
In a high-level meeting with Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari and all-party MLAs of the district, Parrikar said he would lay the foundation stone of the factory and inaugurate its construction work in August. He also assured to appoint a company producing missiles as soon as the report of the technical tests was received.
The setting up of a missiles factory was announced during then president Pratibha Patil’s tenure and Bharat Dynamics Limited was supposed to set up the unit. However, in the absence of funds, the work could not progress beyond construction of fencing. MLA Sunil Deshmukh persuaded Nitin Gadkari to intervene for expediting the project and his efforts, with the support of guardian minister and all MLAs, seems to be coming to fruition.
As the missiles factory requires skilled manpower, Parrikar also instructed officers concerned to start work in that direction so that a trained manpower is available when the factory actually starts work.
This important meeting, held at the office of Parrikar in the ministry on Friday, was attended by defence secretary (production) G Mohan Kumar, director (technical) NB Singh, joint secretary (finance) JRK Rao, chairman of Bharat Dynamics Limited Udaybhaskar, guardian minister Pravin Pote and MLAs and MLCs of the district.
The project, which is to come up on 224 hectares land at Nandgaon Peth MIDC with a huge investment, promises employment for 1,000 persons. Parrikar, in presence of the MLAs, ordered his senior officers to ensure that the work did not slow down at any cost and instructed them to submit the report of the technical tests within three months.
The missiles that would be produced at this factory would have a range of seven kilometres. Amravati’s face and fate would change for the better with the setting up of this project, said Sunil Deshmuh while talking to TOI. He expressed his deep gratitude towards Gadkari for giving a tremendous boost to the otherwise languishing development projects in Amravati.
