Terming the vicinity of the under-construction Ashram underpass a “chaos”, Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri on Saturday accused the Delhi government of turning a blind eye to commuters’ woes.
The leader questioned the consecutive deadlines that were missed for the completion of the project. This comes a day after Public Works Department Minister Satyendra Jain sought to issue an assurance that the construction of the underpass would be completed within two months.
“Every day, lakhs of people face traffic jams due to this project. Approximately 3.5 lakh vehicles pass through this busy and congested crossing at Ashram. Despite being such an important road, it is totally neglected by the government,” Mr. Bidhuri alleged.
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“The alternate road that was built during the construction of the underpass is in a very bad condition. Traffic speed on this road comes to a halt and the motorists face long jams even during non-peak hours,” he alleged.
Heavy pollution and vehicular damage were also among the problems being faced by the people.
The condition of the Ashram underpass, he alleged, exposed every claim of the government regarding development. This project, he said, was supposed to be completed by September 2020, but hadn’t been completed even till September 2021.
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On Friday, Mr. Jain had cognisance of issues being faced by commuters due to the project and sought to issue an assurance that work on the under-construction Ashram underpass would be completed soon.
Aims to decongest
Construction of an underpass on the existing Ashram flyover is under way and aimed at decongesting the Ashram flyover which is considered one of the busiest roads in the city, especially during peak hours.
The 410-metre-long underpass, being constructed at a cost of ₹78 crore, will have four lanes, and, after its completion, 41% of the traffic on the stretch is expected to utilise it.
Mr. Jain said the work on the flyover is “almost complete” and some problems faced in construction work near Ashram will be fixed at the earliest.