On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Pragati Maidan tunnel on Mathura Road
o Prime minister, Narendra Modi inaugurated the 1.3 km Pragati Maidan tunnel and 5 underpasses on Mathura Road
o The Pragati Maidan corridor is to be built at a cost of about Rs 920 crores and is funded entirely by the Union Government.
PM inaugurates Pragati Maidan corridor
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the 1.3-km-long Pragati Maidan integrated-transit corridor and five underpasses on Mathura Road which cost more than Rs 920 crore, funded completely by the Union government. The main objective behind the corridor is to provide smooth access to the new world-class exhibition and convention center being constructed at Pragati Maidan.
The Prime minister inspected the six-lane tunnel between NSIC Purana Quila Road and Pragati Power Station prior to the inauguration, going on to congratulate the people of Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida and all others from across the country who commute to Delhi in his address to the media and officials at Pragati Maidan.
He called the corridor a gift of modern infrastructure, lauding the Center for building the structure in such a short period of time despite facing challenges like the Covid lockdown and labor crunch. He praised the engineers for completing the project on time even though the tunnel passes beneath seven railway tracks and the stretch around Pragati Maidan sees heavy traffic. He highlighted that Pragati Maidan was built to showcase India’s progress, products manufactured in India, handicrafts and culture.
The PM highlighted that the Pragati Maidan Corridor will provide easy access to commuters traveling from Noida, Ghaziabad and Delhi and that the Center’s main aim behind developing the infrastructure was to provide ease of living to people and to develop and modernize Delhi. To achieve this, he explained that the Central Government is constantly working on state-of-art facilities, exhibition halls and organizing world-class events, adding that a convention center is also being constructed in Dwarka.
During his visit, the PM observed artwork and paintings on the walls of the tunnel depicting the culture, festivals and six seasons of India, he claimed that he could not stop himself from appreciating the mesmerizing beauty of the art and needed to step out of his jeep after traveling for about 5-10 minutes to take a closer look. He also picked up litter from the area to demonstrate the Center’s position on Swachh Bharat.
The PM made a suggestion to officials to close the Pragati Maidan tunnel for four to six hours every Sunday and to organize tours and visits for schoolchildren as it can be a wonderful opportunity for them to explore art and learn about our culture. The tunnel should be treated as an art gallery, he said.
He also asked the external affairs ministry to arrange a visit to the site for all diplomats and foreign ambassadors to India. Notably, the paintings, murals and artworks on the six-lane tunnel showcase Indian culture, birds and six seasons in different parts of the country. It is reportedly the longest mural work in the world.
Modi claimed that the Pragati Maidan tunnel and six underpasses will ease traffic for lakhs of commuters while saving 55 lakh liters of petrol on a daily basis, controlling pollution to an extent and making India more green, clean and sustainable. He explained that whenever there was an event in central and New Delhi around ITO, he would tell his Special Protection Group and security persons to escort him before the peak hour traffic so that the commuters don’t face problems amid the heavy traffic jams around ITO and Pragati Maidan but with the tunnel, there is smooth and seamless connectivity for all.
More about the newly constructed corridor
The 1.3 km tunnel has six lanes, a three-lane carriageway on both sides and it connects Ring Road with India Gate via Purana Qila Road passing through Pragati Maidan and also provides direct connectivity to the huge basement parking of Pragati Maidan. The tunnel will provide an easy commute for people traveling between east, southeast and central Delhi and the traffic at Pragati Maidan, ITO junction, India Gate and Supreme Court will also reduce.
In addition, the tunnel is fully digitally controlled with two control rooms at the entry and exit to monitor traffic through CCTV cameras. Officials reported that the five underpasses on Mathura Road will render a signal-free stretch between Pragati Maidan and Sunder Nursery while the sixth underpass on Ring Road will pass from under the railway line and connect to Bhairon Marg is yet to be completed. They said that it will take about six months to complete construction of the underpass.
In his address, Prime Minister Modi spoke about the ongoing protests, stating that it was the country’s misfortune that many good works and policies don’t get the recognition they deserve due to partisan politics.
