Delhi: Long-awaited Ashram underpass opens to public

on Mathura Road to New Friends Colony and is expected to decongest the stretch between Faridabad and South Delhi and ease traffic in adjoining areas such as Jangpura, Nizamuddin, Maharani Bagh and Lajpat Nagar.

Under this project, a 1.2-km tunnel and six underpasses are being constructed on Mathura Road.

Sisodia, who also holds the PWD portfolio, said, “Now, the commute between Delhi-NCR, Faridabad, Badarpur will be smooth and residents of Jangpura and Kalkaji will benefit a lot. Engineers told me that commuters burn 1,550 litres of petrol daily just by waiting at the signal and getting caught in traffic. The congestion also produces 3.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the form of vehicular pollution which impacts the health of residents. With the opening of the underpass, residents will benefit a lot and will save money, time and energy.”

Ashram Chowk sees about 2.5 lakh-3 lakh vehicles a day during peak hours. The underpass was built at a cost of Rs 77 crore.

“I visited this underpass to review and inspect its progress two months ago. I saw that only finishing work, like roof-laying and painting, was left. So, I asked the engineers to open the underpass for commuters during the day and complete remaining work at night. Considering the issues faced by commuters, engineers informally inaugurated the underpass on March 22,” Sisodia said.

The underpass, which has missed at least eight deadlines, was opened partially on a trial basis from 6 am to 10 am from March 22.

Sisodia also praised engineers and other staff behind the project: “It faced several obstacles — Covid, labour crunch, ban on construction activities — but despite it all, they finished the work.” He added that the Kejriwal government is similarly working to beautify all stretches in the city.

Sisodia also said he was told by the engineers that constructing the underpass in a high-volume area was tough but “it was completed on time and opened to commuters on March 22”.

The PWD has installed two tanks, with a capacity of 1.5 litres, on both sides of the carriageway to prevent waterlogging inside the underpass. It has also installed roof sheds and pipes for release of rainwater on roads.

Sisodia further added that work on the corridor development project at Pragati Maidan is nearing completion and will be inaugurated soon. Under this project, a 1.2-km tunnel and six underpasses are being constructed on Mathura Road.