Prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated the newly redeveloped Kartavya path formerly known as Rajpath and unveiled a statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at India gate.
The statue is 28 feet in tall in size, and made up of a granite monolith, meaning it is carved from a single stone weighing 280 metric tons, the monolith was brought from Telangana and carved into the statue in about two months.
The government has claimed the redevelopment and renaming of the Rajpath to the Kartavaya path represents the change of the landmark from a symbol of power(Rajpath) to a symbol of public ownership and empowerment(Kartavya path).
The Kartavaya path runs from Rashtrapati Bhavan to the India gate and is made up of beautiful red granite walkways with vegetation all around, renovated canals, food stalls with foods from different states as well vending kiosks and different utility blocks.
During the inauguration of the Kartavya path, Prime minister Modi said that we are being liberated from the compulsion of using a foreign language, as various laws in the country are being changed.
Some changes were made during the reconstruction of the Kartavya path for a better experience for the visitors.
The entire stretch from India Gate to Vijay Chowk which is 1.8 Km has been revamped by Shapoorji pallonji and Company Limited. The project was bid at 477 crores.
Five vending zones have been established by the CPWD with a maximum of 40 vendors in each zone, as well as near the India gate two blocks have been set up for 8 stores each. Several states have expressed their interest in setting up food stalls.
The office of the Prime minister has given a statement stating that the infrastructure of the central avenue is in a poor state at best plus during big events such as Republic day the movement of the public is severely limited because some of the ministries are not located in Central Vista.
There was even a lack of basic necessities such as drinking water, parking spaces, and places for sitting down. The redevelopment project has kept these concerns in mind while also keeping the integrity and continuity of the architectural characteristics of the structure.
The redevelopment would greatly improve the public experience with the help of new pedestrian passes, better parking spaces, and upgraded lighting. More than 400 benches, 150 dustbins, and more than 650 new signages.
One hundred and one acres of lawns have been planted with a wide variety of grasses and in the parts where the congestion was a problem four new underpasses have been constructed.
According to the relevant government bodies the amenity blocks and underpasses have ramps and rails at proper heights so that children and people with special needs can use them safely.
The revamping of the stretch would also help streamline the preparation of the events like Republic day, the preparations of the sitting arrangement of the public and officials would become much more efficient. It is also imagined that the traffic situation around the area would also benefit greatly from the redevelopment.
Prime minister Narendra Modi has said that he would invite the workers who worked on the project for the Republic Day parade, and also that the country’s youth is starting to be free from the obsession with the foreign language with the adoption of the new laws and policies.
The Kartavya path is the beginning of something bigger.
The project is a controversial one with a difference of opinion between different organizations and people from different places, The project does however seem to have an overall positive effect over a long time frame.
Plus the symbolic meaning of the project is a fight against the essence of the colonial presence in the country even after 75 years of independence in the form of names from the colonial era of Indian history.
The reconstruction of the Kartavya path is part of a massive redevelopment of Central vista with an estimated cost of about 2.7 billion dollars. The Redevelopment of Central Vista is an ambitious plan to completely rebuild the administrative center of the Indian democracy.
To read about the recent commissioning of INS Vikrant by Pm Modi.
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