Relief for Delhi-NCR residents! Ashram underpass to open for vehicular movement from March 22

Huge relief for Delhi-NCR residents who travel frequently to and from ITO and other parts of central Delhi! The underpass at the busy Ashram Chowk will be opened for the public from March 22, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said on Monday. The minister recently carried out an inspection of the construction site in south Delhi. Besides, another underpass at Pragati Maidan will be made ready for use by the month of May, the Deputy Chief Minister further said. He also reviewed the Ashram Chowk flyover’s construction and instructed the officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) to expedite the project. The construction of the flyover will be completed by August, Sisodia was quoted saying in a PTI report.

Ashram Chowk is a crucial link between south and central Delhi as well as with Faridabad. The junction links the Mathura Road and the Ring Road (connecting Lajpat Nagar-Sarai Kale Khan as well as DND flyover). Upon completion, the project would benefit travellers passing through the Ashram crossing and also it will ease the ride towards Badarpur, Sarita Vihar and Faridabad from ITO. Last year, due to Covid lockdown, the construction work of the Ashram underpass had to be stopped several times, the Deputy CM said.

As per the data provided by the traffic police, during peak traffic hours, nearly 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh vehicles cross the Ashram intersection daily. A 750m underpass is being constructed on the Mathura Road, between the Nizamuddin railway bridge and CSIR Apartments to ease the traffic logjam at the crossing. On December 24, 2019, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal laid the foundation stone of the underpass and it was scheduled for completion in a year’s time. According to PWD officials, the deadline was first extended to March 2021, further the deadline was pushed to June 30, 2021 and later to September 2021. Again, the deadline was extended to December 2020 and then later to March 2022. The project’s estimated cost is Rs 78 crore, they said.

The Deputy CM also reviewed the construction of the Ashram flyover as well as the underpass being developed near Pragati Maidan. Sisodia further directed the concerned officials to complete the construction expeditiously so the public can use these roads at the earliest.