The Investors Summit scheduled on October 7 and 8 is proving to be a boon for the residents of Dehradun as the city and nearby areas are getting a major facelift ahead of the mega event. The authorities are working at a frantic pace on repairing the potholed roads, repairing and repainting footpaths, removing debris strewn on the roadside and beautifying the major circles.
A massive sanitation drive has also been started in the city. The city dwellers are delighted over the garbage heaps vanishing. To concentrate on repair, reconstruction and beautification works, the administration is now nearly holding the High Court (HC)- directed anti -encroachment drive. The drive is now expected to gather momentum only after the investors meet is over.
On the direction of the chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, the state government has released a sum of Rs 100 crore for repair and beautification of the roads of the city. To add to the delight of the denizens of the city, the work on the Rail over Bridge (ROB) at Mokhampur and Dat Kali tunnel on Dehradun- Saharanpur- Delhi road is complete. The authorities are claiming that these two important projects would be opened for general public before the investors meet starts.
The chief engineer Public Works Department (PWD) Highways, Hari Om Sharma said while talking to The Pioneer on Saturday that both ROB at Mokampur and Dat Kali tunnel would be opened on October 4. He further said that the work on repairing the roads across the city is also going on a brisk pace nowadays as the rains which were hindering the work have now stopped. The completion of these two very important projects would bring the much- needed relief to the people of the city, grappling long with the acute traffic congestion nearly daily. The completion of ROB at Mokampur would give a smooth ride to the vehicles coming from Haridwar and Rishikesh to Dehradun. On the other hand, the completion of the new tunnel at Dat Kali would ease congestion of traffic coming from Delhi and Saharanpur. The 330- meter -long tunnel situated on the border of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand has been constructed at a cost of Rs 60 crore.
The state government has provided special budget to the departments like PWD, Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA), Municipal Corporation of Dehradun and UPCL to ensure that a picture of clean and green Dehradun is presented before the guests arriving in the city for the summit.
The people of the city are exulted over the sudden transformation of Dehradun. “Things till last week were pathetic with potholes gaping wide on the roads, heaps of garbage clogging the drains. Now, the investors summit has conjured up the magic transformation of the city. We hope that such meets happen oftener. The upcoming summit is a boon for us and the city we are living in,” said R N Joshi, a resident of Defence Colony.
