India, July 30 -- Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has urged the central government to widen three important highways near Pune to reduce traffic congestion. In a letter to the Union Road Transport minister Nitin Gadkari on July 25, Pawar requested urgent action on the widening proposal.

He has specifically requested the upgradation and widening of three major highway stretches: NH-60 from Nashik Phata to Khed, which currently has four lanes and is proposed to be expanded to six lanes; NH-65 from Hadapsar to Yavat, also a four-lane road planned for conversion into a six-lane corridor; and NH-548D from Talegaon through Chakan to Shikrapur, which is presently a two-lane stretch and is proposed to be widened to four lanes.

Pawar said these...