People travelling between Noida and Okhla will now save both on time and fuel as the 1,090-metre Sarita Vihar underpass, which was to be completed in 2010, was thrown open to the public by Union Minister of Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu on Friday.
The underpass, constructed by the Delhi Development Authority and the Railways, cuts down the distance between Noida and Okhla from an excruciating 9 km to just 1 km and reduces the travel time from 45 minutes to 10 minutes.
The motorists will save on approximately 2 litres of petrol on an average, thereby saving Rs.250 per day. Till now, commuters had to travel 8 km via Badarpur to reach their respective destinations on both sides.
The six-laned underpass has covered an area of 557 metres, of which the Railways has constructed 177 metres. Its height is 5.5 metres and vehicles with height of 5 metres or below will be allowed to pass. A number of slip roads – 1,139 metres for left and 1529 metres for right turn – are also provided.
After inaugurating the underpass, Mr. Naidu congratulated both the agencies and the public. “When I became minister, I called for a list of such pending projects. The underpass was sanctioned in 2008 but was kept pending. Our government has resolved to complete all such projects as delay means escalation of cost and expenditure of public money,” he said.
BJP MPs Ramesh Bidhuri and Maheish Girri said the underpass would help ease the life of commuters in the area. The BJP government held a series of meetings with DDA Vice-Chairman Balvinder Kumar and others to see the completion of the project.
