Starting Thursday, Delhi’s residents can walk under the heart of the city at Connaught Place through the 1.2 km-long utility tunnel that is under the middle circle. A technological feat, the underground tunnel is the country’s first initiative at providing a common duct for various services to do away with the ills of road-cutting, dangers involved in maintenance and having a mapped data of all utilities.
It was during re-development of Connaught Place that the New Delhi Municipal Council set up the service tunnel with a cross section of 7 x 7 metres, said the civic body’s chairman Jalaj Shrivastava. He said that as part of its centenary celebrations, the NDMC will allow the public to visit the tunnel corridor.
The utility corridor houses services such as electric and communication cables, water supply and irrigation lines, fire fighting services, and electric sub-stations.
The entry from Janpath will be regulated and people will be allowed in batches to see the tunnel under the guidance of trained officials. The entry will be free of cost from 11-30 a.m. to 4-30 p.m. from December 26 to January 4.
