Maharashtra govt approves revised Shaktipeeth highway design; Satara now part of plan

Kolhapur: The state govt's public works department on Wednesday issued a govt resolution approving a new alignment of the Maharashtra Shaktipeeth Highway, also known as the Nagpur-Goa highway. As per the new layout, the highway will pass through 40 talukas of 13 districts — Wardha, Yavatmal, Nanded, Hingoli, Parbhani, Beed, Latur, Dharashiv, Solapur, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Sindhudurg — and connect 21 religious places, including the Shaktipeeths of Mahur, Tuljapur and Kolhapur. The highway is expected to reduce the current 18-hour journey from Nagpur to Goa to about eight hours.As per the newly approved alignment, the original approved design remains the same in the districts of Wardha, Yavatmal, Beed and Latur. The original approved design in the districts of Nanded, Hingoli, Parbhani, Dharashiv, Solapur, Sangli, Kolhapur and Sindhudurg have been amended to incorporate Satara district. The revised design of the Maharashtra Shaktipeeth Highway is 865.76 km in length, while the earlier one was 803 km.Meanwhile, farmers said a statewide agitation would be launched within eight days in opposition to the Shaktipeeth highway. Girish Phonde, the coordinator of Shaktipeeth Highway Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti, said, "Maharashtra govt altered the alignment only after witnessing the impact of the farmers' agitation, which has been going on for the past two years. This action by the govt amounts to rubbing salt in the farmers' wounds. The areas covered by the new alignment consist of irrigated agricultural land, just as the previous alignment did. Moreover, districts like Satara do not have any Shaktipeeth or major pilgrimage sites. The govt has not held even a single meeting with the farmers who have been protesting for the past two years."