Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Dehradun on Saturday and lay the foundation stones of multiple development projects worth around Rs 18,000 crore.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, a significant focus of the PM’s visit will be on projects to improve road infrastructure, which will make travel smooth and safer, and also increase tourism in the region.
“PM will lay the foundation stone of eleven development projects which includes the Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor (from Eastern Peripheral Expressway Junction to Dehradun) which will be built at a cost of around Rs 8,300 crore,” the PMO said in a statement.
The corridor is expected to 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, Yamunanagar, Baghpat, Meerut and Baraut.
The Delhi-Dehradun corridor will also have Asia’s largest wildlife elevated corridor (12 km) for unrestricted wildlife movement. Also, the 340 m long tunnel near Dat Kaali temple, Dehradun will help reduce the impact on wildlife.
Further, multiple animal passes have been provided in the Ganeshpur-Dehradun section for avoiding animal-vehicle collisions. The corridor will also have arrangements for rainwater harvesting at intervals of 500 m and over 400 water recharge points. The greenfield alignment project from the 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 as well.
The Haridwar Ring Road Project from Manoharpur to Kangri, to be built at a cost of over Rs 1600 crore, will give a respite to Haridwar residents from traffic congestion, especially during the peak tourist season, and also improve connectivity with 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 seamless connectivity between the two places. It will also boost inter-state tourism.
The Nazimabad-Kotdwar road widening project will reduce travel time and also improve connectivity to Lansdowne. A bridge across the Ganga River next to Lakshman Jhula will also be constructed. The world renowned Lakshman Jhula was constructed in 1929, but has now been closed due to decreased load carrying capacity. The bridge to be constructed will have provision for a glass deck for people walking, and will also allow lightweight vehicles to move across.
Modi will also lay the foundation stone for the Child Friendly City Project, Dehradun, to make the city child friendly by making the roads safer for their travel.
The foundation stones for projects related to development of water supply, road and drainage system in Dehradun at a cost of over Rs 700 crore will also be laid.
The PMO said that a new Medical College in Haridwar will be constructed at a cost of over Rs 500 crore and the foundation stone for infrastructure development work at Shri Badrinath Dham and Gangotri-Yamunotri Dham will be laid.
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate seven projects, including those which focus on making travel safer by tackling the problem of chronic landslides in the region.
Amongst these projects are the landslide mitigation project at Lambagad (which is en-route to the Badrinath Dham), and chronic landslide treatment at Sakanidhar, Srinagar and Devprayag on NH-58. The Lambagad landslide mitigation project in the chronic landslide zone includes construction of reinforced earthwalls and rockfall barriers. The location of the project further adds to its strategic significance.
Also being inaugurated is the road widening project from Devprayag to Srikot, and from Brahmpuri to Kodiyala on NH-58, under the Chardham road connectivity project. The 120 MW Vyasi Hydroelectric Project, built over the Yamuna River at a cost of over Rs 1700 crore, will also be inaugurated, along with a Himalayan Culture Centre at Dehradun.
The Himalayan Culture Centre will house a museum, a 800 seat art auditorium, library, conference hall, among others, which will help people follow cultural activities as well as appreciate the cultural heritage of the state.
During the Prime Minister’s visit a state-of-the-art Perfumery and Aroma Laboratory (Centre for Aromatic Plants) will also be inaugurated in Dehradun.
The research done here will prove useful for production of a variety of products including perfumes, soaps, sanitisers, air fresheners, incense sticks, among others, and will lead to establishment of related industries in the region as well. It will also focus on development of high-yielding advanced varieties of aromatic plants.
