NEW DELHI: With the recently constructed tunnel at Pragati Maidan being closed for commuters owing to “cracks in the structure”, the Delhi unit of Congress on Sunday alleged that the tunnel constructed for Rs 777 crore and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now turned out to be a “monument of shame”.
“The tunnel was the finest example of the ‘amritkaal’ of the BJP rule, as flawed design and hasty construction have made it unusable and dangerous, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Arvinder Singh Lovely alleged.
Lovely said the tunnel project was a “flawed construction” as during the monsoon rains, it was flooded with rainwater and the murals on its walls were damaged. Over its construction, the senior Congress leader asked why the accused have not been booked yet.
“Why wasn’t the guilty for the shoddy construction of the tunnel brought to book while the Modi government unleashes Central agencies like ED, CBI and IT on political opponents at the slightest pretext?” he alleged.
Last week, a Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) official said the delay in the completion of the tunnel and negligence in its maintenance led to large cracks in the structure that now require a complete overhaul.
“The tunnel at present is not safe for commuters. The condition is such that it cannot be repaired without a major revamp,” the official said.The 1.3-km-long tunnel and five underpasses linking it are part of the Pragati Maidan Integrated Transit Corridor Project that aimed to ease connectivity between central Delhi with eastern parts of the city and satellite towns of Noida and Ghaziabad.
It had witnessed multiple closures due to waterlogging during the floods last year. Lovely said over accountability, a blame game is going on while the commuters are suffering.
“After squandering hundreds of crores of rupees of taxpayers money for the construction of the tunnel, the PWD, which was given the job to execute the project, in turn, engaged L&T for the work, was now engaged in a mutual blame games while the commuters suffer. He wondered if there was a design flaw in the project, why wasn’t it detected before the construction work began,” the Congress leader alleged.