Delhi Urban Development Minister A. K. Walia on Tuesday directed the New Delhi Municipal Council to complete all ongoing Commonwealth Games-related civil works by June-end so that the onset of the monsoon does not disrupt them in any way. He said this would also provide time for concentrating on horticulture works from then on.
The Minister issued the directions while undertaking an inspection of the work site in the NDMC area along with its Chairperson Parimal Rai. At Connaught Place, where redevelopment work is going on, Dr. Walia inspected the façade restoration work and was told that while it has been completed in C-Block where it was taken up as a pilot project, between 75 and 80 per cent work has been completed in the rest of the 11 blocks.
One of the most fascinating sites during the inspection was the 1.2 km long utility tunnel that is being constructed to provide place for all services, lines and cables. Being made to do away with the problem of frequent digging, the tunnel that is 21 feet deep and 21 feet wide would provide a safe place for installation of service lines for telephones, electricity, water, cable and gas. It was informed that a 500 metre stretch of this tunnel has already been completed.
As far as street-scaping of NDMC roads is concerned, 75 per cent of the work has been completed. Also about 80 per cent of the work related to greening and street-scaping on the roundabouts has been finished.
The Minister was also informed that about 95 per cent of the work on the pavement improvement plan has been completed.
To improve the riding quality on the roads, the NDMC had also undertaken works on 117 roads out of which work on 101 roads has been completed.
The Council has also been concentrating on installing modern road signs which have used different colours for different purposes. So while the signs in yellow colour indicate traffic instructions, those in blue are indicative of the places whereas the signs in green are all about welcome gestures.
The Minister was also informed that NDMC is also constructing three foot over-bridges of which the one on Park Street near RML Hospital will have an escalator and a lift while the other on Africa Avenue near Sarojini Nagar Depot will also have an escalator. Another over-bridge is being constructed on Mother Teresa Marg. Besides, the Council is also constructing an underpass at Shanti Path to provide a passage to light vehicles for taking a U-turn.
A major parking facility spread over 170,000 square metres is being constructed at Safdarjang airport. It would have enough space for parking 3,000 cars, 6,000 two-wheelers and 450 buses. A park-and-ride facility would be provided from here and this would help in de-congesting the main entry and exit roads leading to Nehru Stadium.
The Minister was also told that NDMC has constructed four modern public conveniences on Ring Road which are elegant and clean and have been decorated with various articles like fish aquariums. The Council, it was stated, would be constructing 200 such public conveniences.
