Delhi to get first elevated 6km cycle track from Saket to Barapullah in 2018 | Latest News Delhi - Hindustan Times
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Delhi to get first elevated 6km cycle track from Saket to Barapullah in 2018

New Delhi, Hindustan Times | By
Apr 17, 2017 10:37 AM IST

Delhi government has submitted a proposal to UTTIPEC build an elevated cycle track from Satpula drain to Barapullah. There will be stations and pick up points along the way. Cycles will also be available on rent.

By the end of 2018, Delhi may get its first elevated, covered cycle track.

A public bicycle sharing facility outside Barakhamba Metro Station, in New Delhi.(Burhaan Kinu/HT Photo)
A public bicycle sharing facility outside Barakhamba Metro Station, in New Delhi.(Burhaan Kinu/HT Photo)

The Delhi government has submitted the proposed design of a 6-km long, 20-feet wide cycle track that will start from Satpula drain (Press Enclave Road, Saket) to Barapullah (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium).

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Officials said the proposal has been sent to Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (planning & engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC) - the body that clears all transportation projects/ transport engineering solutions in Delhi. They said UTTIPEC may “approve the project” soon.

Delhi government’s Public Works Department (PWD), which is anchoring the project, said if it gets the approval “in time”, the construction may start this year and finished before the year ends.

The project is expected to cost around Rs50 crore.

Solar panels will be installed on the roof of the track. The track will be covered so that riders are safe from sun and rain. CCTV cameras will be installed on the streetlights to ensure safety of commuters.

“It will also become a tourist destination as we are planning benches for people to sit and organise various other activities,” a PWD official said.

Officials said the Barapullah corridor will also have a cycle track and combined with the proposed elevated biking highway, it will create a large stretch which could then be used safely by cyclists.

With the vehicle population set to touch 10 million in Delhi, the city roads are not conducive for cycle tracks. Road stretches where cycle tracks had been made are usually encroached by motor vehicles or street vendors. Weather extremes also discourage people in Delhi to use cycles for their commute.

The cycle track is planned to run along the Satpula drain, a weir or water dam that was built by Mohammad Bin Tughlaq in 1323. It served as a defensive wall and a water dam.

“The environs of the Satpula are in a pathetic stage with the sewage leaking from the pipes coming from Khirki village. The corridor is proposed parallel to the 5.5-km-long drain and we will develop greenery on the corridor to save the historic water dam,” the official said.

The Public Works Department (PWD) has completed the site survey. The proposed cycle track will run through areas such as Sheikh Sarai, Panchsheel Enclave, Siri Fort, Andrews Ganj, Lajpat Nagar and Defence Colony.

“There will be stations and pick up points. Cycles will also be available on rent. The policy of AAP government is to build cycle track, wherever we are constructing flyovers. In north Delhi’s Wazirabad corridor, provision of cycle track was made. At Barapulla too, between Sarai Kale Khan and Mayur Vihar-I, a cycle track is being built. But this will be the only cycle track in Delhi, where no motorised vehicles will be allowed,” the PWD official said.

PWD minister Satyendar Jain had announced the project upon the completion of two years of AAP government in February. He had then said that the “track would be safe for riders from eight to 80 years”.

“Elevated cycle tracks have not been built anywhere. I have researched online and found that some countries in Europe had proposed constructing elevated cycle tracks on trial but they have not been built anywhere,” Jain had said.

Apart from an elevated track on Satpula, government is also planning to building a cycle track in Greater Kailash and Defence Colony near the parks and develop the area for morning and evening walkers.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Faizan Haidar writes on the Delhi government, city politics, transport, aviation, and social welfare. A journalist for a decade, he also tracks issues such as trafficking and labour exploitation in Delhi and other states.

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