Highways to health centres: When smaller cities dressed up for G20

Dal lake, Srinagar. (Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)

Medical facilities at Khajuraho CHC

The Khajuraho CHC, for instance, now boasts a two-bed ventilator ICU, an operation theatre equipped with an anaesthesia workstation, an ECG machine, defibrillator, and 16 additional beds. Two advanced life-support ambulances are also on standby, in addition to five other ambulances in the district that may be pressed into service when needed, as per an official from the health department.

All this was done a few months ago, just ahead of the first G20 Culture Working Group meeting held in February this year. With international delegates from more than 20 countries descending upon Khajuraho for the three-day meet, the small town had to be suitably equipped to deal with any medical emergencies, as per protocol.

While the high-profile meet went on smoothly without any such emergencies, the CHC is now Khajuraho’s most prized possession – besides, of course, its ancient temples that draw tourists from around the world.

Chhatarpur district Chief Medical Officer Lakhan Tiwari, who oversees the operations at Khajuraho as well, said, “We had set up the facilities keeping in mind any medical emergency that may crop up (during the G20 meet). The district magistrate held back-to-back meetings on this issue and instructed us to make sure we are prepared for the worst emergencies. This facility is eventually helping the local people since it was converted into a permanent facility. Khajuraho can now treat its emergency patients on its own.”

National Highway to Dholavira completed

In Gujarat, for instance, ahead of the tourism working group meeting earlier this year, work on the long-pending 32-kilometre-long stretch of National Highway 754, from Khavda to Dholavira in Kutch district, intensified in December last year after authorities got instructions to complete the highway in time for a visit of G20 delegates to the archaeological site of Dholavira.

A view of Dholavira-Dhordo highway in Kutch.(EXPRESS PHOTO by Dipak Sanjot)

“We were told early in December last year that delegates coming to Kutch for the G20 tourism working group’s meeting in Dhordo village will travel from Dhordo to Dholavira by road. We were told that the delegates won’t make the long road trip via Bhuj and Rapar, so we have to complete the Khavda-Dholavira highway in time for the trip on February 9 this year,” a senior officer of the National Highway division of the Roads and Buildings department of Gujarat said, adding, “After those instructions, the contractor for the project was given daily targets.”

The distance from Dhordo, the venue of the annual Rann Utsav or desert carnival, and Dholavira, the UNESCO world heritage site, through the existing roads was around 300 kilometres. However, the 32-km-long Khavda-Dholavira section of NH 754 which passes through the Great Rann of Kutch (GRK) now cuts this distance to just 88 km.

Tenders for this section — along with Juna-Hajipir (22 km) and Mauvana-Vauva (22 km) sections and Ghaduli village bypass road — were issued in June 2019, with a deadline to complete the work by the end of 2020. However, only a 12-km section of the 32-km stretch between Dholavira and Khavda was ready when officers were told about the urgency of completing the entire stretch.

“Significant time was lost due to land acquisition as it took a long while for ascertaining ownership of some parcels of land falling in the alignment of the highway. Then, we needed forest clearance and wildlife clearance as the highway passes through Banni grassland,” said Milan Visavadiya, executive engineer of Gandhidham division of NH division in R&B department.

But things changed after the schedule of the G20 meeting was finalised. The contractor was given instructions to increase the labour force and machinery deployed for the work, officers say. As the GRK is an expanse of salt mudflats, the contractor had to bring construction material like metal from as far away as Mundra and Anjar. “Finally, we could prepare a 3.75-metre-wide motorable road from Khavda to Dholavira in two-and-a-half months in some of the most challenging environments,” added Visavadiya.

Eventually, the delegates made their bus journey from Dhordo to Dholavira.

An aerial view of Dholavira-Dhordo highway in Kutch. (EXPRESS PHOTO)

While the contractor is yet to apply the sealing coat, or the top layer of asphalt on the highway and technically it is not open to general vehicular traffic, locals say the highway has already led to a boom in local tourism. “During summer, we would hardly receive any tourists. But after the Dholavira-Khavda highway became motorable, a number of people are visiting Dholavira. Even in May and June, when it is the hottest in Kutch, 150 to 200 people visited Dholavira daily,” said Nagji Parmar, a tourist guide at Dholavira.

It also helps that the Khavda-Dholavira section is part of the Gaduli-Santalpur highway designed to connect western part of Kutch directly to eastern Kutch via GRK and ultimately with the northern Gujarat region, and onwards to Rajasthan.

“People of my grandfather’s generation had been demanding a direct road from Dholavira to Khavda. Some work was carried out a few decades ago. But it lingered until the G20 meeting happened,” Parmar further says, adding, “Now, residents of Dholavira are preferring to go to Khavda for routine work instead of Rapar. We are certain that the road to heaven will draw hordes of tourists in coming seasons.”

When asked about India’s ambitious plan of having more than 200 meetings across all states, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant had told The Indian Express a few months ago that the best thing India could have done is to not make it Delhi-centric.

“India has spread out into all states. Therefore, there’s massive transformation on the ground in cities, be it Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Pune, Udaipur and Jaipur, among others,” Kant said, adding, “More than that, the states have taken ownership of this. They are using the opportunity to project themselves.”

Officials say the change is visible not just in states where the ruling BJP is in government.

Facelift for Ghum Railway Station

In April, just ahead of the second meeting of the tourism working group, Ghum Railway Station of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway received a facelift like never before. While the UNESCO-certified toy train has always been a big draw, the railway station fell short of visitor amenities and upgradation.

Ghum is the highest railway station in India and situated at an altitude of 2,258 metres. It is also home to the Ghum Monastery and the Batasia Loop, a bend of DHR. Speaking to the Express, DHR Director Priyanshu said that a G20 delegation had visited the station in April, the month the renovation was carried out.

Ahead of G20 Summit 2023, the Ghum Railway Station of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway received a facelift to become a major tourist destination in north Bengal hills. It is the highest railway station in India and situated at an altitude of 2,258 metres (7,407 ft). The place is the home of the Ghum Monastery and the Batasia Loop, a bend of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. The DHR is a world heritage site recognised by Unesco. (DHR Authority)

“The outdoor heritage garden was renovated, and new flooring was done. The bathrooms were renovated in airport style with sensor-based automatic urinals. There is a museum in the upper floor of the station which was cleaned and new carpeting was done. The waiting room at the station was renovated with new furniture,” he said, adding that the spruced-up station is waiting to receive international tourists who usually visit Darjeeling and Kalimpong in the months of October, November and December.

Local businessman Bishal Lama (35) said that the renovated station is a winner. “People from all over the world come here every year, especially during winter. Now that the station has been renovated and it looks very clean, it will generate more business in the hills,” said Lama.

Speaking to The Indian Express, director of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Priyanshu said the renovation was done in the month of April and a delegation part of the G20 Summit had visited the station in the same month. (DHU Authority)

Infrastructure upgrade for Srinagar

The turnaround touched Srinagar too.

Despite its sheer pristine glory, the city remained poorly equipped in terms of infrastructure.

View of the Zera Bridge in Srinagar.(Express Photo by Shuaib Masoodi)

Ahead of the much-talked-about G20 official meet in May, the famed British-era Polo View market was spruced up, and the roads leading to Mughal Gardens, high-end hotels and other important venues were revamped.

Roads leading to Chashma Shahi and the Dachigam National Park, which is located around 20 km from the city centre, were also spruced up. Huts at these two places were also refurbished. The UT government also executed a Rs 7.5-crore makeover — interior and exterior facelift, and digital infrastructure upgrade — of the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), the venue for the G-20 meet.

Even as the upgradation of the city’s infrastructure — except the SKICC — is part of the Rs 3,000-crore Smart City project, being implemented by the Srinagar Smart City Limited since 2018, work was expedited to make the city ready for the G20 meet.

A cycle track, a new clock tower, tree-lines along the roads, Wi-Fi zones, artistic and 3D paintings on flyovers and walls, and renovation of security bunkers and pickets — Srinagar was suitably decked up ahead of the G20 meet in May, even though much of it was a race against time.

“This (upgrading of infrastructure) was already in the pipeline. We have just expedited it in the wake of the G20 meet,” said Iftikhar Kakroo, chief engineer, Smart City project. All major roads, including Residency Road, Maulana Azad Road and airport road, were also upgraded.

With Gopal Kateshiya in Rajkot, Bashaarat Masood in Srinagar, Anand Mohan J in Bhopal and Santanu Chowdhury in Kolkata