Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said that youth, women, workers and farmers are essential for a happy society, and stressed the need for their uplift.

He was speaking after inaugurating a Multi-Modal Logistics Park at Sindi dry port in Maharashtra's Wardha district and flagging off the trial of rail terminal services there.

The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways said thousands of trucks will arrive at the Sindri dry port and goods will be sent on rakes to Bangladesh via Haldia in West Bengal.

“They will not go to JNPT (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust), Mumbai,” he said.

The minister said the dry port, located in the state's Vidarbha region, will generate nearly 1 lakh jobs and several employment and business opportunities.

The Maharashtra government has given Rs 1,200 crore for the project, while JNPT has given Rs 600 crore, he said. This will help create industrial clusters, cold storages, godowns and pre-cooling plants.

Gadkari, whom the BJP has renominated from Nagpur for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, said the government is working to make Sindi dry port the logistics capital of the country.

Highlighting the various development works done by the central and state governments, he said, "If we want to make our society happy, then uplift of youth, women, workers and farmers is important.”

Youth should get employment, women should be empowered and get equal rights, workers should get proper wages, while farmers should get good prices for their produce, said Gadkari.

"All this requires value addition," he said, urging entrepreneurs in Vidarbha to come forward and invest in the region.