Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the second phase of the ambitious Varanasi-Gaya-Ranchi-Kolkata Expressway (NH-319B) during his visit to Bihar on Thursday.
This mega infrastructure project is part of the central government’s Bharatmala initiative and aims to significantly enhance road connectivity across four key eastern states, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.
Spanning 690 kilometres with a width of 36 metres, this expressway will be Bihar’s first six-lane greenfield corridor.
Starting from Barhauli near the Varanasi Ring Road, it will pass through Kaimur, Rohtas, Aurangabad, and Gaya before entering Jharkhand and eventually reaching Kolkata.
The expressway will reduce travel time between Varanasi and Kolkata from the current 12–14 hours to just 6–7 hours.
With an overall project cost of ₹35,000 crore, Bihar will receive a major share of the investment, with ₹5,994 crore earmarked for the state and ₹1,200 crore for Gaya district alone.
The expressway will cut through the forested and once Naxal-affected blocks of Imamganj and Dumaria in Gaya, touching 29 revenue villages across 33.5 kilometres.
Areas like Anwar Salaiya, Barha, Chhakarbandha, Tarchua, and Dhakpahari, once inaccessible, will now be connected to the national road network.
A construction firm from Rajasthan has already begun setting up a project office in Baseta and a work centre in Chhakarbandha forest to oversee progress.
Local residents see the project as a beacon of progress.
Rahul Manjhi, a resident of Chhakarbandha, noted the transformation, saying, “A decade ago, people feared entering this area. Today, it’s a hub of construction and opportunity.”
Imamganj MLA Deepa Manjhi hailed the project as a ‘game-changer’ that will boost traffic efficiency, encourage industrial growth, create jobs, and improve overall quality of life in the region.
PM Modi’s initiative aligns with the Centre’s vision of connecting neglected regions to mainstream economic activity.
The expressway symbolises development reclaiming regions once lost to insurgency, and it sets the stage for long-term prosperity across eastern India.
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