The foundation stone of eleven development projects was laid by the Prime Minister, including the Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor (from Eastern Peripheral Expressway Junction to Dehradun) which will be built at a cost of around ₹8300 crore. The corridor 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, while it will also have Asia’s largest wildlife elevated corridor (12 kilometres) for unrestricted wildlife movement.
The 340 metres long tunnel near Dat Kaali temple, Dehradun will help reduce impact on wildlife.
PM Modi while addressing a rally after the launch event said, “Today, India is moving ahead with the intention of investing more than Rs.100 lakh crores on modern infrastructure. In the last 5 years, the Centre has approved more than ₹1 lakh crores for the development of Uttarakhand. More than ₹18,000 crores have been invested in today’s developmental projects,” he noted.Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dami was also present at the event along with other senior officials.
Besides, the PM also laid the foundation stone for Dehradun – Paonta Sahib (Himachal Pradesh) road project, being constructed at a cost of around ₹1700 crore. After completion, while boosting inter-state tourism, it will reduce travel time and provide seamless connectivity between the two places. The Najibabad-Kotdwar road widening project will reduce travel time and also improve connectivity to Lansdowne.
According to an official statement, a bridge across River Ganga next to the 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.
