After two months delay, NDMC to begin work on CP service tunnel

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

After a delay of two months, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will soon start digging up the radial roads of Connaught Place to construct an underground service tunnel that can accommodate all the overhead cables.

Though the digging was to commence in January, it got delayed by two months due to an initial failure to gain permission for heavy tunnel boring machines in the area. However, the Delhi Traffic Police has now granted permission for six tunnel boring machines and 22 trucks for transporting dug-up soil, an NDMC official said. Work is expected to begin by next week.

Once the tunnel is ready, all the electricity cables, sewerage lines, wires and cables will be shifted into it. Work on constructing the tunnel, including joining it with all the blocks, will be completed in 240 days, an official said.

"We will start work in a matter of days. We have received permission for trucks to lift soil dug out during the work. These trucks are necessary to transport the soil to dumping grounds," said Anand Tiwari, NDMC spokesperson.

Joining the tunnels will require a lot of digging, and it may disrupt traffic. Hence, the Traffic Police has been asked to come up with an advisory before the work begins.

Original news source http://www.indianexpress.com/news/after-two-months-delay-ndmc-to-begin-work-on-cp-service-tunnel/759703/