The ever-present traffic congestion at Dhaula Kuan has been a major botheration for Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, Nitin Gadkari. Whenever he travels to and from the Delhi airport, he faces the issue of immense traffic congestion in the area and never fails to highlight the issue.
On Tuesday, Gadkari made a pitch for a ropeway transport system between Delhi and Gurugram up to Manesar to ease the journey for those travelling on the route.
Speaking at the Ropeway Expo held at Yashobhoomi Convention Center in Delhi’s Dwarka, the minister said that while ropeways have been typically used for religious tourism in India, it may be time to explore the mode for urban mass rapid transit as well.
Gadkari said that the Dhaula Kuan road was designed for only 50,000 passenger car units (PCUs) but it has to deal with 2 lakh PCUs.
“Need To Ease Traffic On The Ground Along With Checking Pollution…”
“There is huge traffic in Dhaula Kuan. If we have something that is above the ground then it will ease the traffic on the ground along with checking pollution and helping the people. It will be on a single pillar and take up much less space…The ropeway can take 10,000 people per hour,” he said while addressing the Expo.
The minister added that the cost of building the Metro is INR 350 crore per kilometre and that in India, it is not possible to have the Metro everywhere.
Later, Gadkari told mediapersons that this was just an idea that he had shared. It was a plan that he has in mind and there is nothing on paper yet.
“I wish that there should be one. It is an idea that is there but nothing on paper has been done so far,” he said.
Speaking on the matter, a ministry official has said that they may consider having ropeway connectivity between Hauz Khas in Delhi and Manesar in Haryana. “The minister has pitched for it; we will see if we can work on it. All great projects were ideas only at some point of time. This is also the same,” he said.
Dhaula Kuan Pain Point?
All those who travel to Delhi airport from the city are aware of the perpetual traffic congestion at Dhaula Kuan around the police station there. Gadkari who is an MP from Nagpur in Maharashtra and a union minister, travels frequently in and out of Delhi. His vexation about the traffic on this stretch date back to 2014-15.
Bengali