4km elevated corridor along Ghazipur drain in works to decongest east Delhi

The elevated road is expected to run from near Shyamlal College and Bihari Colony, close to the Shahdara flyover on GT Road.

The Delhi government is planning a four-kilometre elevated corridor along Trunk Drain 1 to decongest the crucial Swami Dayanand Marg, which connects Anand Vihar to Shahdara, officials aware of the matter said on Monday. The proposed corridor aims to provide an alternative route for through traffic in one of east Delhi’s most congested corridors.

4km elevated corridor along Ghazipur drain in works to decongest east Delhi

The elevated road is expected to run from near Shyamlal College and Bihari Colony, close to the Shahdara flyover on GT Road, and end near the Karkari Mor flyover, passing alongside the Ghazipur drain, said officials privy to the government’s plan. The project was reviewed during a site inspection by Public Works Department (PWD) and Irrigation & Flood Control (I&FC) minister Parvesh Verma, Trans Yamuna Development Board chairman Arvinder Singh Lovely, and local MLAs.

Lovely stated that the corridor will be modelled along the lines of the planned Munak elevated corridor. “Swami Dayanand Marg is the artery of east Delhi’s traffic… It is highly congested due to traffic load, and we plan to develop an elevated corridor on pillars along the drain to provide an alternative,” he explained. The route is vital for commuters heading toward Preet Vihar, ITO, Akshardham, or from Shyamlal College to Ghazipur.

A government official, who asked not to be identified, said that while covering natural drains is prohibited by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), pillars for an elevated corridor can be constructed along the drain’s edge – similar to how the Barapullah flyover was developed. The proposed six-lane corridor is expected to ease congestion in areas such as Gandhi Nagar, Preet Vihar, Gagan Vihar, Old Anarkali, Karkardooma, and Krishna Nagar.

BS Vohra, head of the East Delhi RWA joint front, and a regular commuter on the stretch, said that despite being a key connecting road, Swami Dayanand Marg has been long ignored in mobility planning.

“There are five red light junctions and it becomes difficult to pass through it during peak hours when each junction has a waiting time of over five minutes. If any steps are taken to remove this bottleneck it would be helpful but these plans should materialise on ground. Earlier the authorities had shared different plans about developing parking space along the drain.”

Vohra said that the drain is also heavily polluted and it becomes unbearable to pass through the area. “We hope they are also working on bio remediation and treatment of the drain as well,” he said.

Lovely added that the I&FC department will execute the project, and a consultant will soon be appointed to study the corridor. The Trans Yamuna Development Board may also contribute funding if required.

Verma posted on X: “In order to strengthen Delhi’s traffic system and keeping in mind the future requirements, an assessment of the possibilities for constructing an elevated road on Trunk Drain-1 … was conducted today.”