Announcing the blue print for the all round upliftment of backward Vidarbha, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis hailed the newly-opened Balasaheb Thackeray Samruddhi Mahamarg as a harbinger of development in the eastern region, in particular and Marathwada and rest of Maharashtra in general, on Thursday.

The first leg of the greenfield super communication expressway between Shirdi and Nagpur was opened three weeks ago. While replying on debates initiated by the ruling and Opposition members, Shinde and Fadnavis replied back-to-back, to lay a futuristic picture of the state. The R55,000 crore expressway, scheduled to reach Thane by next year, came in handy for the duo.