Work on 5-km tunnel between Vasant Kunj, Mahipalpur to begin next year: Delhi CM

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

New Delhi, June 8 (IANS) A five-km-long tunnel from Shiv Murti–Mahipalpur (Dwarka Expressway) to Nelson Mandela Road (Vasant Kunj) in southwest Delhi is among six projects worth Rs 24,000 crore approved by the Central government, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Sunday. Work on the tunnel is likely to begin early next year.

CM Gupta stated that the projects were approved in a meeting with Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari for streamlining traffic and reducing pollution in the city.

She said the proposed tunnel between Mahipalpur and Vasant Kunj will reduce congestion on multiple routes and create a signal-free corridor to airport.

It will be constructed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) at an estimated cost of Rs 3,500 crore, she said.

The Chief Minister said that all technical and formal requirements for the project are in their final stages, and work is expected to commence early next year.

According to CM Rekha Gupta, the tunnel will comprise two underground tubes — one each for traffic in both directions.

Each tube will have three lanes, making a total of six lanes available for smooth traffic movement. The tunnel will also be equipped with modern facilities such as electro-mechanical systems, ventilation, fire safety, CCTV surveillance, control rooms, emergency exits, and cross-passages, she said.

She said the tunnel will reduce traffic in Dhaula Kuan, Rao Tula Ram Marg, and National Highway 48 (NH-48) area in Mahipalpur.

The tunnel will offer a direct, signal-free alternative route between South Delhi and Dwarka/Gurugram, which is expected to help eliminate traffic jams on NH-48, especially during peak hours, she said.

CM Rekha Gupta also noted that in the future, this tunnel will serve as a key connector between Central/East Delhi and multiple expressways and highways, including the Delhi Expressway (NE-5), NH-44, NH-10, Delhi-Jaipur Highway (NH-48), and Delhi-Dehradun Expressway (NH-709B) via the Urban Extension Road (UER) and Dwarka Expressway.

Calling this project, the “foundation for the Delhi of the future”, CM Rekha Gupta said that the tunnel will give a new direction to Delhi’s infrastructure and bring relief to millions of citizens.

She added: “We are committed to making Delhi congestion-free and clean. The construction of this tunnel will reduce the burden on roads, eliminate traffic signals, and save fuel.”

–IANS

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Key stakeholders meet to discuss development of film industry in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, May 19 (IANS) Prominent figures from Odisha film fraternity on Monday held a threadbare discussion on various issues concerning the Odia film industry and its promotion.

A meeting of various key stake holders was held held at the conference hall of Sanskruti Bhavan under the aegis of the Odia Language, Literature and Culture Department here to discuss the comprehensive development of the Odia films and film fraternity.

As per an official statement, the meeting aimed to address various aspects such as expanding the reach and promotion of Odia cinema, instituting regular State Film Awards and supporting stakeholders in the film ecosystem.

Renowned Odia film actor and Digapahandi MLA, Sidhanta Mohapatra, presided over the meeting attended by producers, directors, actors, actresses, writers and musicians.

The stakeholders shared their valuable suggestions on the growth and betterment of Odia cinema.

“Key discussions included ensuring the annual conferment of the Odisha State Film Awards in a timely manner, the selection of jury members and chairpersons, preferably involving individuals associated with the art and film, especially youth. Proposals were also made to increase the cash prize amounts, expand the existing 33 award categories and develop a dedicated website featuring comprehensive information about nominated and award-winning films and artists,” noted the official statement.

It further added that discussions were also held on formulating a new film policy, providing government subsidy for film production, strengthening and streamlining the function of Odisha Film Development Corporation Ltd. and upgrading the Kalinga Studio infrastructure.

Suggestions were made to improve the foundational infrastructure for film production in the state, increase the number of cinema halls, make cinema ticket prices more affordable for the audience, establish a dedicated film archive and to make a separate platform in order to promote OTT and digital content.

Participants also proposed government support for producing films rooted in authentic Odia stories and empowering individuals involved in the film fraternity. The meeting concluded with a consensus on taking strategic steps to promote the Odia film sector for both cultural enrichment and public entertainment.

–IANS

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Life crippled in Manipur’s Kuki-Zo areas due to indefinite shutdown

Imphal, March 9 (IANS) Normal life was badly affected in Kuki-Zo areas of Manipur on Sunday due to the indefinite shutdown called by the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), the apex body of the tribals, to protest the resumption of the bus services between state capital Imphal and the hill districts.

Ginza Vualzong, spokesman of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), a constituent of the KZC, claimed that the indefinite shutdown is total and successful in Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, Tengnoupal, and Pherzawl districts.

However, police officials said that the shutdown badly affected normal life in Kangpokpi district and partially affected the other Kuki-Zo-dominated districts.

The KZC activists and volunteers put up blockades on major highways while shops, markets and business establishments were closed in Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, and other districts.

The KZC, in a statement, also said that during the movement of buses from Imphal to tribal-dominated districts on Saturday, violent confrontations erupted in numerous locations between security forces escorting the vehicles and the protesters.

A police official in Imphal said that a huge contingent of security forces, comprising both Central and state forces, have been deployed on Sunday in Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, Tengnoupal, Pherzawl and Jiribam districts.

Senior officials are monitoring the situation, the official said, adding that no untoward incident was reported so far from any of the trouble-torn districts.

On Saturday, at least 43 people, including 27 security personnel, were injured and a protester killed during the clashes in Kangpokpi and a few other districts as the Kuki-Zo tribal organisations protested against the resumption of the bus services.

A senior police official said that as per the decision of the state government, bus services were resumed on Saturday by the Manipur State Transport Corporation under security to alleviate public inconvenience and as an initiative to bring back normalcy in the state.

MSTC buses and other vehicles carrying LPG gas and oil tankers plied along the Imphal-Bishnupur-Churachandpur and Churachandpur-Bishnupur-Imphal routes without any disturbance from the people. However, when the MSTC bus plied along the Imphal-Kangpokpi-Senapati route, a huge mob started pelting stones towards the bus at Gamgiphai in Kangpokpi.

The security forces used tear gas and minimum force to disperse the unruly mob. Further, roadblocks were put up at various other places along the National Highway with huge numbers of protestors including women and children trying to immobilise the movement of the bus and the security forces by felling trees, putting huge stones and boulders on the road, and burning tyres, the official said. Amidst the protest, there were incidents of firing from amongst the protestors towards the security forces, in which the security forces retaliated, the official said. He said that due to heavy pelting of stones, use of catapults and random firing by armed elements from amongst the protestors, 27 security personnel suffered injuries with two personnel critically injured.

The security forces showed tremendous restraint while trying to control the unruly and violent mob and used minimum force to control and counter the anti-social elements, including the firing by armed attackers, the official said.

During the skirmish, 16 protestors were reportedly injured and one protestor succumbed to his injuries. Two vehicles of the security forces were also burnt down by the protesters on Saturday, the official added.

–IANS

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Institutional capacity of districts must be strengthened to make Maha economy $1 trillion: CM

Mumbai, April 24 (IANS) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday instructed to strengthen institutional capacity in districts through the State Data Policy in each district to increase the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GSDP) by 14.5 per cent every year to make the state’s economy a trillion dollar.

He was speaking at the meeting of the governing board of the Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA), which was formed as a think tank on the lines of NITI Aayog in November 2022 to provide strategic, technical, and functional direction for the state’s development.

CM’s directives come at a time when the state government faces capital formation challenges as Maharashtra’s budget has on,y 12 per cent outlay on capital formation.

The state’s gross capital formation as part of GSDP is only 23-24 per cent and raising taxes or reducing subsidies is not a viable option and other options need to be explored raising international capital and monetisation of idle public assets.

The state government is raising $188 million from the World Bank for strengthening districts, $500 million has been raised from Asian Development Bank for strengthening of tertiary health care, $280 million mobilised from World Bank under SMART project, $500 million for flood water diversion of Krishna waters to drought prone areas and $1 billion is being raised from AIB for providing 5 lakh solar pumps to farmers.

He also directed to deepen small irrigation projects outside the catchment area of large dams and construct new storage tanks with the financial assistance of the World Bank for flood control in Kolhapur and Sangli districts.

The MITRA CEO Pravin Pardeshi made a presentation on the measures that can be taken to formulate the necessary policies to make the state’s economy a trillion dollars. Also, a review of the Maha STRIDE (Maharashtrav Strengthening of Institutional Capabilities in Districts for Enabling Growth) project and the Maharashtra Responsive Development Project was conducted.

The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the preliminary project report to be submitted to the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Central government was approved on this occasion.

The Chief Minister directed to present the project implemented by the World Bank and external assistance as per the time-bound program given in the SOP.

Meanwhile, to speed up government work and provide training to officers and employees, MITRA today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Universal AI University in the presence of the chief minister.

Also, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed among MITRA, the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai (IIT Mumbai), VoRGpedia and other organisations to increase the use of artificial intelligence in government work.

–IANS

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