Thiruvananthapuram 16-11-2011: The state must take major strides in Infrastructure development, said CM. He was inaugurating the three day Infrastructure Conference organised by the Public Works Department here.

CM said that much has been done to protect public sector undertakings but noting has been done for the development of infrastructure much needed for the development of the state. As a result the State lagged behind in infrastructure development.

CM said that finding land for development was the greatest challenge in the state. It is natural that the protest against land acquisition comes up, but people whose land is acquired must be given compensation without any delay.

Regarding the transportation in the state CM said that there was no state road that was of international quality and only 5% of the waterways are used for transportation. Development of ports is another major factor.

Ministers P K Kunhalikutty, V K Ebrahim Kunju, K.M Mani, V S Sivakumar, PWD Secretary Manoj Joshi, Transport Commissioner T P Senkumar were present at the occasion.