Nagpur: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday announced that all 524 level crossings in Maharashtra will be replaced with ROBs, RUBs and subways.Citing an estimated 21,000 deaths annually at railway crossings across the country, he said eliminating level crossings was critical to improving safety.Fadnavis was speaking in Nagpur after inaugurating nine railway infrastructure projects worth Rs 484 crore developed by Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (MahaRail) across Nagpur, Amravati, Chandrapur, Sangli, Satara and Nashik districts.Giving a break-up of the 524 crossings, he said the Railways are executing 240 sanctioned projects and working on 73 more.Fadnavis credited Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari for supporting the initiative and said MahaRail would execute the remaining works through state-funded loans to ensure Maharashtra becomes free of level crossings.“We have already granted in-principle approval for 131 crossings and directed immediate commencement of work at 65 sites. We have also approved projects at 80 locations where urban areas have developed on either side of railway tracks but lack a flyover, subway or any other crossing facility,” he said.
