The ambitious project for renovation and restoration of the central business district of Connaught Place, which has been plagued by undue delays and huge cost overruns, is now expected to be completed in a month’s time.
“Work on the Inner Circle has been completed and of the 20 sub-stations that have been installed, 19 have been inspected and approvals obtained for 18,” said an official of Engineers India Limited, which has been assigned the work by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).
“Right now, we are in the process of handing over utilities to the consumers in the area. We are switching over the system to the consumers’ end,” said the official. The work on the utility duct is expected to be completed by August 15.
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CM’s inspection
Earlier this month, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had inspected Connaught Place and directed that service cables and utilities be shifted into the tunnel immediately. She had also instructed the civic body to appropriately design roadside kiosks and launch a special campaign to remove posters.
The NDMC had previously said the restoration of facades and the surface re-development work in the Inner Circle was complete. The Council said cement concrete road has been laid in the Middle Circle and alignment of footpaths on both sides was over. The Council said all the seven radial roads in Connaught Place have been opened to traffic and the final layer of bitumen concrete is being laid.
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However, the civic body is temporarily using a section of the Panchkuian Road to store materials and light machinery along the footpaths and on the traffic island that was created due to Metro construction but had been converted into a green space. “All these materials will be cleared soon and this is a temporary arrangement,” said an NDMC official. “We needed space close to CP to store the materials. Since Panchkuian Road is not a heavy traffic area, we chose to store materials there. This is not causing any inconvenience or traffic snarls,” added the official.