Once again, Pragati Maidan tunnel is shut for traffic at night
The 2.1 km-long tunnel, which was opened as part of the Pragati Maidan corridor redevelopment project in 2022, closes around midnight and opens in the morning by 6-6.30 am
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Traffic jam due to barricades placed for maintenance in Pragati Maidan tunnel in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)Despite claims of having completed repairs by Public Works Department (PWD) officials, the Pragati Maidan Tunnel is closed for traffic movement at night, causing difficulties for commuters travelling between Central Delhi and Noida, Ghaziabad, and Southeast Delhi to ITO, India Gate, and other places.
The 2.1 km-long tunnel, which was opened as part of the Pragati Maidan corridor redevelopment project in 2022, closes around midnight and opens in the morning by 6-6.30 am. Earlier, officials said following the repair work inside the tunnel, they closed the stretch during the late night hours.
A PWD official said: “There are electricity issues at night… Power outages take place inside the tunnel frequently, due to which lights and CCTV cameras shut down… Also, there is no network inside the stretch… So, it is closed for traffic at night to avoid any kind of untoward incident… The department is working to address these issues…”
Another senior PWD official said: “The tunnel has been closed at night for the last two months… For a while, it was open for some days but then the stretch needed maintenance which is difficult to carry out in the day… So, the tunnel is closed at night, and maintenance work and cleaning activities… are carried out during these hours.”
A few months after the inauguration, the tunnel suffered issues like seepage from the walls and waterlogging. The tunnel was also closed for about a month last year due to waterlogging.
In February, calling the tunnel a “potential threat to the life of the passengers”, the PWD issued a notice to L&T Construction, which executed the project, to deposit Rs 500 crore in fines. It also flagged “flaws and design deficiencies”.
The PWD had also formed a five-member expert committee to vet the methodology employed to resolve the water leakage issues inside the main Pragati Maidan tunnel, and the repair works started on March 20. Following this, the tunnel was closed for three days, and then during the late-night hours, every day.
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