By August 15, the tedious task of crossing roads in the busy ITO intersection is going to be a thing of the past. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is going to open its first subway as a part of the ITO Metro station before Independence Day. As entries in front of Delhi Po lice headquarters and Engineers India limited will be opened first, crossing over the congested Indraprastha Marg is set to be a hassle-free experience for pedestrians.
The DMRC is currently giving finishing touches to the two entry/exit points, both of which shall have escalators for the ease of commuters. “The entries on either side of Indraprastha Marg will be thrown open to the public by August 15. Everything is almost done. We are currently putting false ceiling and this will be followed by installation of escalators. Signage will be fixed next whereas tiling the floor is underway,” said DK Saini, Director (Projects), DMRC. As of now, a person needs to wait for 10 to 15 minutes for crossing over the busy road due to the long red-light.
However, the second subway at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg is not expected to be operationalised anytime soon. “The other subway will take some time because they fall mostly on the main site of the project. A lot of other works are simultaneously happening in those areas. Besides, opening the one at Indraprastha Marg has been our first priority because of the urgent need to decongest the area,” said Saini. The ITO Metro station which is going to be a part of the Central Secretariat — Kashmere Gate Heritage line is going to have a total of six entry/exit points; two of which will be located on either side of IP Marg. The four other access points to the ITO metro station will be - Doll’s Museum, Indian National Science Academy and two located between CAG and UGC offices on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg.
The DMRC officials also said that they plan to reduce the height of the footpaths at entry and exit points to make them pedestrian-friendly, especially for people with disabilities and senior citizens.