Kejriwal inspects revamped stretch

Alok KN Mishra

NEW DELHI: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has set an October deadline for the beautification and redesigning of 16 roads across the city where work is underway to bring them on par with “European standards”.

The redesigned roads will have cycle lanes, footpaths for the differently abled, open spaces, green belts, and free of bottlenecks and unpaved spaces so that the roads are dust free and the commute is smooth.

Inspecting one of the stretches from Brittania Chowk to Outer Ring Road in Pitampura along with deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday, Kejriwal directed officials to speed up work. “Road beautification pilot project is going on in full swing on all 16 stretches, and the work will be completed by SeptemberOctober. After completion of the pilot project, the best model will be chosen and applied to the 500km (of roads) across Delhi to redesign them on par with European standards. Delhi boasts of very wide roads but they don’t meet international standards of quality. Hence, the Delhi government is doing its best to overcome the various challenges and deliver splendid roads,” said Kejriwal after inspection.

According to a statement issued by the government after the inspection, Kejriwal, however, expressed his dissatisfaction with the quality of plants along the roadside and on the central verge, noting that the “saplings planted on the central verge are quite small and located far apart”. He suggested planting trees in the same way that “dense plants are planted along European roads”.

The statement further said Sisodia suggested having murals painted on the walls.

“Along the road, statues of freedom fighters such as Bhagat Singh and Rani Lakshmibai have been constructed to instil a strong feeling of nationalism in people. Two fountains, artwork on the foot-overbridge, a sandstone bench, a Buddha statue, a state-of-the-art info board, steel elements, and sandstone art work have also been completed. On one side of the road, a path for bikes and a footpath have been built,” the official said.

In November 2019, Kejriwal approved the redesign of the 16 PWD roads as part of a pilot project.