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New Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is all set to give roads leading to Commonwealth Games 2010 venues a facelift, beginning with the Lodhi Road stretch. This will serve as an example of what roads in Delhi will look like before the Commonwealth Games 2010. The tenders for improvement and beautification of this 2.11km stretch have already been floated and this pilot project will cost the civic agency Rs 5 crore.

The project will include general improvement of the road length from India Habitat Centre to roundabout at Nizamuddin. A cycle-track will also be made along the road. Touch-screens, information kiosks will be put up and food stalls and public conveniences will also be made at the junctions along the stretch.

Says an MCD official: "Since a lot of sports activities will be held - in addition to opening and closing ceremony - at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium we decided to take up that stretch first. We have already floated tenders for the project and work on the stretch should be completed by December. After the completion of the project, we will take up other important roads in the city, making Lodhi Road a sample area."

The MCD has come up with a plan to improve and give a facelift to 82 roads around the Games venues. This includes areas like Lodhi Road, GT Road, Shahdara etc. Moreover, 19 flyovers constructed by them will also be beautified by planting trees around them.

A cycle-track would also be made along the service-lane which would merge into the road when the service-road ends. Added the official: "We will use different colours for the cycle-track so that vehicular traffic does not encroach on it. The resurfacing of the road and creating footpath will also be done along the stretch. At each junction, information kiosks, phone booths, food stalls, traffic signs, police booths etc will be there so that a person does not have to walk all the way back in case he drives by the place." According to MCD, this area becomes more important as a bus parking bay will be created here.

Says an official: "We will make the stretch disabledfriendly by making a slope along the footpaths and will put up tech tiles so that the visually-challenged can find their way around without much help." Besides this, rainwater harvesting and planting of trees will also be done, alongwith putting up benches and energy-saving street-lights.

Source: The Times of India