IN our series on the different expressways being constructed in India a very important link which has been started is the Delhi Varanasi Expressway also called the Ganga Expressway.
India with its vast topography and massive size is having presently over 6.2 million kilometers of road networks covering the entire country. Uttar Pradesh is the largest state in India and already has a large network of roads but due to the paucity of funds the state highways are mostly in a bad state and now some super highways is being constructed to connect various important cities like the Delhi – Noida – Agra, Delhi to Varanasi and Delhi to Dehradun.
This Expressway is supposed to connect Delhi to Varanasi in quick time and will cover 12 different districts in Uttar Pradesh starting at Noida and going on up to Ballia. The project is being built at a total cost of around 37500 crore rupees including the land acquisition cost. The work on the project has already been started. Initially the project was supposed to connect Meerut and Prayagraj and now it has been extended at both ends from Noida and Ballia. This Delhi Varanasi Expressway is also supposed to serve as a flood control embankment since floods are a major cause of agricultural and environmental damage in the area and the state.
Just like the other expressways in the country this expressway will also be powered by the solar energy and will also be eco friendly with trees planted on both sides of the road and also have the rainwater harvesting systems at regular intervals. For the protection of the wild life at the specified wild life crossings on the route the expressway is also going to go underground for the protection of the ecological system in the state.
Travelling on the route the time taken to travel from Delhi to Varanasi by road will be cut down to just 2 hours and 35 minutes thereby saving again hundreds of crores in fuel costs per year. The work on the project has already started and the acquisition of the land is being undertaken.