Beautification work of an eight km stretch of road from Dhaula Kuan to Indira Gandhi International Airport is expected to be completed by November end, ahead of the first visit by an official delegation associated with the G-20 Summit. India will assume the presidency of the influential group for a year from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023.
The makeover plan, that includes aesthetic upgrading of the stretch by way of uniform colour patterns on flyovers and Footover Bridges, horticultural overhaul through flowering plants to achieve a stepped three-coloured pattern, general cleanliness and symmetric installation of fountains and big lion statues, is almost complete.
The works completed so far include covering of open drains, overall sprucing up of the stretch by repairing the pavements, central verges and dividers, planting 30,000 seasonal flowers or plants and painting flyovers in a new red and white colour scheme instead of the earlier black and white with approval of the Central Road Research Institute.
"The makeover and beautification works on the stretch of road from IGI Airport to Dhaula Kuan and beyond, on the Sardar Patel Marg, is being personally supervised on a weekly basis by Lieutenant- Governor VK Saxena, and the work is going on in earnest. It is expected to be completed by the end of November, well in advance of the first visit by an official delegation related to the G-20 Summit on December 1," sources at Raj Niwas said.
“This has been made possible by seamless coordination between L-G and various implementing agencies including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the Public Works Department (PWD), Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and the New Delhi District, apart from various corporate houses who have chipped in through their CSR funds,” the sources added. “It also includes installation of aesthetically-designed view cutters with 'Charkha' and the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' logo at different locations," the source said. Eight lion statues are being installed at different locations across the Capital. Six of the lions have been carved out of white marble. They are six feet tall and weigh two tonnes. Two statues were manufactured out of black stone. They are 13 feet high and weigh 14 tonnes, said sources.
As many as 15 fountains are also being positioned at various locations in Delhi such as the crossing from Aerocity towards T-3 and on the junction of T-3, T-1, Dwarka among other places in the city.