Hindon elevated road opens, to cut travel time, end snarls
10KM ROAD Motorists can avoid jams on Delhighaziabad border, Mohan Nagar; travel signalfree to Raj Nagar Extn
GHAZIABAD : The 10.3-km Hindon elevated road, which will provide a signal-free commute between Raj Nagar Extension and UP Gate on NH-24 in Ghaziabad, was inaugurated on Friday with the UP government claiming it to be the longest of its kind road on 287 pillars.
The six-lane road, built at a cost of ₹1,147 crore, will act as a bypass for vehicles going to Meerut, Muzzafarnagar and Dehradun from Delhi.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the road at Karhera — the point where it starts and then laid the foundation stone for other infrastructure projects worth nearly Rs 1,800 crore in Ghaziabad.
The high-speed link has been engineered for a top speed of 100kmph, but officials have set the maximum speed limit at 80kmph. The elevated road project was funded by the Ghaziabad Development Authority and a loan of Rs 700 crore from the NCR Planning Board.
WAR OF WORDS
The project was started in 2014 during the tenure of Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party. Yadav took potshots at the Yogi government on Twitter for claiming credit for the project, which was implemented by his government. The former CM tweeted “Ram Ram japna, paraya kaam apna” with the pictures of the road project.
Chief Minister Yogi responded while addressing a rally at Kavi Nagar Ramlila Ground. “Work on the road started in 2014 but it was left midway due to lack of environment and railways clearances. It was a feature of the previous governments to take ‘cuts’ in projects, which delayed them. When we came to power, our representatives and General (retd) VK Singh started work from the scratch and completed the road within one year,” the UP Chief Minister said.
Ghaziabad MP General (retd) VK Singh and UP power minister Srikant Sharma also attacked their political rivals.
The Chief Minister said there will be ‘Ram Rajya’ in the country.
“The country is looking to set up ‘Ram Rajya’. This, for us, means that the poor should have shelter and have electricity in households. ‘Ram Rajya’ comes when the poor get ration cards. It is our endeavour that the administration should be sensitive and make this possible, as we have come to UP with this dream,” Yogi said.
He also drove with his cavalcade up to Indirapuram and returned for the Kavi Nagar rally.
Besides those travelling from western UP and Uttarakhand to Delhi, the road will also save travel time for commuters between Ghaziabad and Delhi.
“The distance from RNE to UP Gate via Mohan Nagar is nearly 15km and it takes 30-35 minutes. Now, it will take just 10-12 minutes to reach Delhi border,” said Nishant Sinha, a Kavi Nagar resident.
SPEEDING AND COMPLAINTS
HT spotted a lot of vehicles speeding on the road on day one.
“I turned to the elevated road for Indirapuram but I found no exit. Because of this, I travelled to the midway point where a divider is yet to be closed and turned towards UP Gate. If there is no exit for Indirapuram and Vasundhara, signboards should have been put up at the starting point of the road near UP Gate,” said Kamal Jain, a resident of Gandhi Nagar, Delhi.
Some people also complained about the signage displaying helpline numbers not being put at appropriate intervals.
“We have written to traffic police to deploy personnel to check speeding. We will assess the need for signboards and install them. There is no exit to Indirapuram/vasundhara from UP Gate. So such commuters must avoid the road. We will put up signboards at UP Gate,” said SS Verma, superintending engineer, Ghaziabad development authority.
ACTIVISTS PROTEST
Earlier, a group environmentalists and social activists reached Karhera at 10.30am before CM Yogi Adityanath’s arrival for the inauguration of the elevated road and stood in the river water, half submerged, protesting the alleged denial of an appointment with the CM. They said they wanted to discuss air and water pollution in Ghaziabad.
The activists claimed that they had submitted an application at the district headquarters on Thursday for meeting the CM but the officials were out for VIP duty arrangements. So, their meeting could not be arranged.
“So, we decided to draw his attention by standing in toxic river water for three hours during his stay in Ghaziabad. However, the river water is so toxic that we could hardly manage to stand only for 75 minutes,” said Vikrant Sharma, an environment activist.