24 km signal-free corridor to ease capital's traffic mess
The announcement of demonetisation by the PM, there have been long queues outside banks and ATMs with people seeking to exchange old notes.
New Delhi: In a move that will significantly ease traffic congestion on the Outer Ring Road, a 23.6 km long Vikaspuri to Wazirabad signal-free corridor was thrown open to the public by the Delhi government. The government inaugurated the corridor’s last part — a six-lane flyover at Mukundpur Chowk. As per the plan, the government wants to extend this signal-free corridor to Noida to ease traffic movement.
Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who inaugurated the flyover, took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation saying that the Delhi government was trying to “relieve people from queues” by executing several projects, but “some persons” were making “efforts” to make people stand in long queues across the country.
“The Delhi government is trying to ensure that people don’t have to stand in queues, but there are some persons who want people to stand in long queues across the country. We understand the pain of people...Could you imagine how people used to suffer due to long traffic jams at this stretch? We need to understand people’s problems. This flyover is constructed to ensure people are not stuck in long traffic jams,” he said.
He further said that people living nearby will be benefited due to the completion of this flyover, adding that “we want to give people a life of ease and dignity by this project.”
Since the announcement of demonetisation by the Prime Minister, there have been long queues outside banks and ATMs with people seeking to exchange old notes and withdraw money. Mr Sisodia said that the city administration takes care of public money, but the PM’s name allegedly comes up in a “bribery case.”
He also asked the public works department (PWD) to construct a cycle track along the corridor from Mukundpur to Majnu-ka-Tilla crossing. The Vikaspuri-Wazirabad corridor, conceptualised by the previous Sheila Dikshit government, has four components that involve construction of several flyovers at different intersections — Vikaspuri-Meera Bagh elevated corridor, Mangolpuri-Madhuban Chowk elevated corridor, Madhuban Chowk to Mukarba Chowk elevated corridor, and the Mukarba Chowk to Wazirabad signal-free project.
Construction work on this corridor began in November 2013. The 900 meter-long flyover at Mukundpur Chowk has been constructed at a cost of Rs 50 crore against its estimated cost of Rs 60 crore. PWD Minister Satyendar Jain said that government has saved about 10-15 crore in this project.