Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday is set to lay the foundation stone and inaugurate multiple projects worth Rs 18,000 crore in Dehradun with focus on improving road infrastructure, connectivity and boosting tourism in the hill state.
Modi will lay the foundation stone of 11 development projects including, the Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor (from Eastern Peripheral Expressway Junction to Dehradun) which will be built at a cost of around Rs 8300 crore. This project will significantly reduce the travel time from Delhi to Dehradun from six hours to around 2.5 hours.
It will have seven major interchanges for connectivity to Haridwar, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Yamunagar, Baghpat, Meerut and Baraut. It will have Asia’s largest wildlife elevated corridor (12 km) for unrestricted wildlife movement. Also, the 340 m long tunnel near Dat Kaali temple. Further, multiple animal passes have been provided in the Ganeshpur-Dehradun section for avoiding animal-vehicle collisions. The Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor will also have arrangements for rainwater harvesting at intervals of 500m and over 400 water recharge points.
The greenfield alignment project from Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor, connecting Halgoa, Saharanpur to Bhadrabad, Haridwar will be constructed at a cost of over Rs 2000 crore. It will provide seamless connectivity and reduce travel time from Delhi to Haridwar. The Haridwar Ring Road Project from Manoharpur to Kangri, to be built at a cost of over Rs 1600 crore, will bring respite for residents from traffic congestion in Haridwar city, especially during peak tourist season, and also improve connectivity with the Kumaon zone.
The Dehradun-Paonta Sahib (Himachal Pradesh) road project, to be constructed at a cost of around Rs 1700 crore, will reduce travel time and provide easy connectivity between the two places. It will also boost inter-state tourism. The Nazimabad-Kotdwar road widening project will also reduce travel time and improve connectivity to Lansdowne.
A bridge across River Ganga next to the Laksham Jhula will also be constructed. The Lakshman Jhula was constructed in 1929, but has now been closed due to decreased load carrying capacity. The bridge constructed will have provision of a glass deck to enable people to walk and also allow movement of light weight vehicles.
The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of the Child Friendly City Project, Dehradun, to make the city child-friendly by making the roads safer. Foundation stone for projects related to development of water supply, road and drainage system at a cost of over Rs 700 crore will also be laid.
In line with the Prime Minister’s vision to develop smart spiritual towns and upgrade tourism related infrastructure, the foundation stone for infrastructure development works at Badrinath Dham and Gangotri-Yamunotri Dham will be laid. Also, a new Medical College in Haridwar will be constructed at a cost of over Rs 500 crore.
PM Modi will also inaugurate seven projects, including those which focus on making travel safer by tackling the problem of landslides. Among these projects are the landslide mitigation project at Lambagad (enroute Badrinath Dham), and Sakanidhar, Srinagar and Devprayag on NH-58. The Lambagad landslide mitigation project in the zone includes construction of reinforced earth-wall and rockfall barriers.
The other projects being inaugurated are the road widening project from Devprayag to Srikot, and from Brahmpuri to Kodiyala on NH-58, under Chardham road connectivity project.
The 120 MW Vyasi Hydroelectric Project, built over River Yamuna at a cost of over Rs 1700 crore, will also be inaugurated, along with a Himalayan Culture Center at Dehradun. This centre will house a state level museum, 800 seat art auditorium, library, conference hall, among others which will help people follow cultural activities as well as appreciate cultural heritage of the state.
Prime Minister Modi will also inaugurate the State of Art Perfumery and Aroma Laboratory (Centre for Aromatic Plants) in Dehradun. The research done here will encompass a variety of products, including perfumes, soaps, sanitizers, air fresheners, incense sticks among others and will lead to establishment of related industries in the region.
