The four-lane outer ring road that aims to facilitate pilgrims in reaching the Ram temple in Ayodhya without entering Lucknow, is now expected to be completed by January 15, only days before the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of Ram Lalla’s idol on January 22, officials said.
The 104-km-long road aims to provide hassle-free commute to pilgrims from Kanpur and Sitapur routes as they have to battle multiple traffic jams in Lucknow city before getting on the Ayodhya Road.
In November, the project was reviewed by representatives of Lucknow MP and defence minister Rajnath Singh. The NHAI officials had then promised to complete the project by December.
Project director, a National Highway Authority of India official, Saurabh Chaurasia was in Ayodhya to attend a meeting regarding the other project works on Tuesday. “Almost all the work has been completed. As of now, only bits and pieces of the work are pending between Behta, the Sitapur highway and near Mohan Road,” he told this reporter over phone.
However, according to the reports, the work on railway overbridges (ROBs) on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway was still underway.
The NHAI project worth ₹5,500 crore, which began in 2016, has received a few deadline extensions over the years. Initially targeted to be completed by March 2022, issues due to land acquisition and the Covid lockdown delayed the project. Chaurasia, meanwhile, said: “The 104-km outer ring road will play a key role in not just facilitating movement of people and goods but also in the development of businesses. One can see there has been a rapid development around Shaheed path after it was constructed. We hope that the outer ring road will propel development of residential and commercial spaces in the state capital.”
{{/usCountry}}The NHAI project worth ₹5,500 crore, which began in 2016, has received a few deadline extensions over the years. Initially targeted to be completed by March 2022, issues due to land acquisition and the Covid lockdown delayed the project. Chaurasia, meanwhile, said: “The 104-km outer ring road will play a key role in not just facilitating movement of people and goods but also in the development of businesses. One can see there has been a rapid development around Shaheed path after it was constructed. We hope that the outer ring road will propel development of residential and commercial spaces in the state capital.”
{{/usCountry}}According to Diwakar Tripathi, a representative of Rajnath Singh, pilgrims commuting via Kursi Road, Sitapur Road, Hardoi Road, Kanpur Road, Rae Bareli Road, Sultanpur Road and Ayodhya Road will be able to access the ring road. “All heavy vehicles will pass the Lucknow main city from a distance of 15 km. So they won’t disturb the city’s traffic flow,” he had noted.