The strong note the State’s High Court has taken of the under-construction flyover at ISBT jumping deadlines one after another has borne fruit finally as the flyover was opened and dedicated to the people on Sunday. The Chief Minister Harish Rawat presided over the inauguration, saying that it would help the people avoid the recurring traffic jams near the ISBT aside from reducing the travel time from Delhi to Dehradun and vice versa by at least half an hour.
The flyover has been constructed on NH-72 under special plan assistance of ` 50.36 crore.
The construction has put to an end the harrowing experiences the commuters, especially those who are bound for Delhi, because of the acute traffic congestion they used to face near the ISBT. The stretch of the road remained chock a block with the long distance traffic being mixed with the local traffic, resulting in a mess.
In his address, CM Rawat said that the multi -approach flyover will prove a boon for the people as a whole. “The completion of the long-awaited flyover having boosted our confidence, we have a plan to go for eight to ten more flyovers to decongest traffic. I have already instructed secretary PWD to prepare detailed project report (DPR) for such flyovers,” he said.
CM further said that earlier Dehradun did not have access to the benefits of JnNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Mission). “However, we have been trying hard to change the image of Dehradun. River front development in Rispana and Bindal river can be cited as instances on the matter. We have already dedicated Balliwala flyover to the people. The one which is presently under construction at Ballupur will be completed soon,” he said.
Stressing on the poor’s participation in development, he said they had created ` 400 crore revolving fund to develop the slums. “We have increased the amount of the social security pension and now it is ` 1000 per month. Earlier, the number of the pensioners was mere 1.74 lakh. Now, the figure has shot up to 7.25 lakh. Poor people are being provided health cover upto ` 1.75 lakh under Mukhya Mantri Swasthya Bima Yojna (MSBY). We are providing wheat at subsidised prices to APl card holders, the price being cheaper than what it is in other states. Power supply is being provided round the clock instead of 14 hours a day that was the practice earlier. Besides, we have launched several schemes to empower our women.
We have made hundreds of entrepreneurs under start up schemes. Despite facing inimical situation after disaster 2013, we have been able to reverse things through hard work. Over 15 lakh pilgrims visiting Char Dhams this year are an eloquent testimony of what we are doing to revive the yatra,” CM said.
While addressing the inaugural gathering, state cabinet minister Dinesh Aggarwal said that state has progressed a lot under the visionary leadership of the Chief Minister Harish Rawat. “We are working to fulfill his developmental vision of the state. State is proud of having the highest number of pensioners,” he said, adding that Dehradun has been marching by leaps and bounds in terms of development for the past two years.