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UTTIPEC
18:47
UTTIPEC planned to make free of Traffic Jams at Old Delhi Station
Old Delhi station getting a facelift, entry to be hassle-free in a year
NEW DELHI: Delhiites will enjoy a congestion-free entrance to Delhi Junction, better known as Old Delhi railway station, in the near future. The Delhi division of Northern Railway has begun work on a planned revamp of the city's oldest railway station wherein it will be bestowed a look similar to that of New Delhi station.
A second entrance to the station towards Kashmere Gate has been built at a cost of Rs 90 crore and it is expected to share 30 per cent of the footfall. It will be thrown open to the public soon.
Officials say the aim of the project is to eliminate the bottlenecks at the entrance and exit gates of the station which result in huge traffic jams. Hundreds of vendors who have encroached upon the area adjacent to the boundary wall of the station will also be asked to leave.
The plan for the makeover has been approved and finalized by UTTIPEC (Unified Traffic and Transport Infrastructure Planning and Engineering Centre) and it will be implemented over one year. "One year on, Old Delhi station will look just like New Delhi railway station.The area will be free of traffic jams. We have received several complaints regarding issues faced by commuters. A complete revamp of the area in front of the station has been initiated. All work like shifting of structures and removal of boundary wall would be executed within six months," said Arun Arora, divisional railway manager.
The cost of the project is Rs 16 crore. "The portion which is on railway land is being handled by the rail ways at Rs 4.86 crore. The remaining work of laning, development of bus shelters and other stuff on SP Mookerjee Road is being executed by the public works department and other Delhi government agencies. We are actively coordinating with PWD and UTTIPEC."
About 300 trains pass through the station every day and it records a gigantic footfall of over 3.5 lakhs.
According to the UTTIPEC plan, the existing boundary wall between the station and SP Mookerjee Road would be demolished and the area encroached up on by street vendors will be cleared. Dedicated lanes for cars, three-wheelers and taxis and non-motorized transport will be constructed. The parking area of the station will also be renovated to increase its capacity by 200 vehicles
"The most important feature of this plan is seamless integration of lanes in the circulating area. Alighting bays will be provided for passengers. We are also opening a second entrance towards Kashmiri Gate which is expected to share 30 per cent of the existing footfall at this heritage station," Arora said.
Source : The Economic Times
Source : The Economic Times
