Nehru Street all set to wear a new look

Tourism Department takes up revitalisation work including restoration of streetscape, provision of signage with lighting

The Tourism Department has begun work on relaying footpaths on Francois Martin Street in White Town and Jawaharlal Nehru Street with granite slabs.

The Tourism Department has taken up revitalisation of the Jawaharlal Nehru Street including restoring the footpaths and streetscape, information signage with lighting. The second phase of the project funded by the Union Tourism Ministry at ₹2.2 crore will cover the stretch from Mission Street junction to Grand Canal.

The project is the part of convergence of several projects under the Smart City initiative including the revitalisation of 14 streets in the French quarters. According to the Tourism department official, the beautification of the Jawaharlal Nehru Street is expected to be completed in the next few months.

The first phase, funded by the Union Tourism Ministry covered Dumas Street and Suffren Street in the old French Town.

Smart City project

The beautification of the Grand Canal comes under the Smart City project.

The Tourism department has planned to restore the pavements on both sides of the canal by planting trees on the avenues and installing lights.

The Department has also planned to restore the footpaths from the office of the Electricity Department to the Light House under the project at an estimated cost of ₹.3.5 crore.

According to Ashok Panda, co-convenor, Intach, “The project proposal for pedestrian space on the Nehru Street stretch is initially from Mission Street to the Grand Canal. The project will include restoring the pavements and improvement to landscaping and facilities.”

“We have discussed the project and it has been welcomed by a majority of the shopkeepers on Nehru Street. The second phase will be taken up on the stretch from Mission Street to Raja Theatre junction under the Smart City project,” Mr. Panda added.

The main objective is to improve the urban infrastructure in the heritage area by converging with the Smart City initiatives to ensure that the heritage area of the city gets the Unesco World Heritage tag.

Intach has suggested creation of designated parking areas to facilitate movement of pedestrians and cyclists. The streets would be illuminated with improved street signages, he said.