Good news for Delhiites, Ashram underpass to open from March 22

Daily commuters travelling to and from ITO will have a breezy ride through the perennially-clogged Ashram crossing as the Delhi government will open the much-awaited Ashram underpass for vehicular movement by the end of March 2022.

The announcement was made by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on March 7 after he carried out an inspection of the construction site in south Delhi.

"In a huge relief for the residents of Delhi-NCR, the underpass at the busy Ashram Chowk will be opened for the public from March 22," Sisodia said, adding that another underpass at Pragati Maidan will be made ready for use by May.

Sisodia also reviewed the construction work of the Ashram Chowk flyover and instructed Public Works Department (PWD) officials to expedite the project. He said the construction work of the flyover will be completed by August.

"The construction work of Ashram Underpass is in its last phase and it will be opened for the public from March 22, which will benefit lakhs of people daily," Sisodia, who also holds the PWD portfolio, was quoted as saying in a statement.

Ashram Chowk is an important link between central and south Delhi and also with Faridabad. The junction connects the Mathura Road and the Ring Road (linking Lajpat Nagar-Sarai Kale Khan and the DND flyover).

Once the project is completed, it would benefit the commuters passing through the busy Ashram crossing and ease the ride towards Sarita Vihar, Badarpur, and Faridabad from ITO.

Sisodia said last year, the construction work of the Ashram underpass had to be stopped several times due to the lockdown clamped to curb the spread of Covid-19.

"This delayed the completion of the underpass but now, the construction work has resumed and is in its final stage. From March 22, this underpass would be opened for traffic, which will benefit lakhs of people daily," he added.

According to data provided by the traffic police, around 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh vehicles cross the Ashram intersection every day during peak traffic hours. To ease the traffic logjam at the crossing, a 750-meter-long underpass is being built on the Mathura Road, between the Nizamuddin rail bridge and the CSIR Apartments.

The foundation stone of the underpass was laid by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on December 24, 2019, and it was to be completed in a year's time. PWD officials said the deadline was first extended to March 2021, further pushed to June 30, 2021, and then to September 2021. It was again extended to December 2020 and then to March 2022.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 78 crore, the officials said. Sisodia also reviewed the construction work of the Ashram flyover and the underpass being built near Pragati Maidan. He directed the officials concerned to complete the construction work expeditiously so that people can use these roads at the earliest.

"Sisodia said lakhs of people use these routes to commute daily to ITO, Ring Road, Central Secretariat, India Gate, central Delhi. Keeping this in mind, the construction work will be completed here soon. He informed that the construction work of the Ashram flyover will be completed by August and the Pragati Maidan underpass, being built in collaboration with the Delhi government and the central government, will be completed by the month of May," the statement said.

(With inputs from PTI)