E-Paper
MAHAKUMBH 2025 PREPARATIONS: Progress of road projects connecting Prayagraj to major cities reviewed
The meeting, chaired by Narendra Bhushan, the principal secretary of Public Works Department, discussed the different road projects under which Prayagraj is being connected to Lucknow, Kanpur, and Varanasi in a more efficient manner.
PRAYAGRAJ In a bid to make the Mahakumbh 2025 a grand event for pilgrims, an important meeting to review the road construction projects connecting Prayagraj to various cities within and outside the state was conducted on Monday evening. The meeting, chaired by Narendra Bhushan, the principal secretary of Public Works Department, discussed the different road projects under which Prayagraj is being connected to Lucknow, Kanpur, and Varanasi in a more efficient manner.
Commuters travelling from Prayagraj to three important cities of the state -- Lucknow, Kanpur, and Varanasi -- would be able to complete their journey to the respective cities much faster by the start of the Mahakumbh 2025, informed district officials. The Prayagraj-Rae Bareli road is being widened and National Highway Authority India (NHAI) has initiated the road-widening work. It is being divided in two phases -- a 70 km stretch from Lucknow-to-Rae Bareli and another 106 km stretch from Rae Bareli-to-Prayagraj. The work of the four-lane road from Lucknow-to-Rae Bareli has already been completed on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis and is at the operation and maintenance stage, officials added.
In view of the development of the road from Rae Bareli to Prayagraj (106 km), it was informed that the work is being done in two phases. In the first phase, green field bypasses are being constructed at four places -- including Jagatpur, Babuganj, Uchahar, and Alapur. A bridge is also being constructed over river Sai. All the works of the first phase are likely to be completed by November 2024.
Likewise, in the second phase, two lanes of 8.5 km are being upgraded to four lanes. The tender for this work was received on January 19. It is at the evaluation stage. The work will be awarded by March 31, 2023, and is likely to be completed by March 2024. Tenders have been invited for the remaining 63 km and the process is likely to be completed by December 2024.
During the meeting, Vijay Vishwas Pant, divisional commissioner of Prayagraj, raised the issue of slow progress of the construction of the four-lane road between Fatehpur and Kanpur on the Prayagraj-Kanpur route. The officials concerned assured that it would be completed very soon.
After completion of the widening work and four-lane road projects on both Lucknow and Kanpur routes, the distance of 200 kilometres to either of cities would be completed in about 2.5-to-3 hours only, officials claimed. While discussing the works related to the six-lane bridge being constructed over river Ganga in Prayagraj, the divisional commissioner informed the principal secretary that there is a need to improve the landing of the bridge on Stanley Road.
Besides, it was also clarified that Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) is contacting the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) to solve the traffic-related problems that could result at the landing point of the bridge. Along with this, the issue of the proposed ring road in the district was also discussed. It was informed that a total alignment of 65 km has been approved. Officials decided to build it in two phases. In the first phase, a total of 29.5 km is to be constructed from Sahson to Dondupur. A detail project report is being prepared for the same.
