9-km south Delhi pedestrian way set for revamp

Officials said the project is also aimed at encouraging people to use metro instead of private vehicles

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is set to begin revamp of the pedestrian stretch from Sunder Nursery to Shaheen Bagh metro station, officials said on Saturday.

The stretch between the heritage park to Jasola, passing the Government Boys’ Senior Secondary School, has long been in need of repair. (Representative photo)(Representative photo)

The project will cover around nine kilometres of the stretch, estimated at ₹2.67 crore, and is said to be completed within 60 days after the work begins later this month. Officials said the project is also aimed at encouraging people to use the metro instead of private vehicles, as Sunder Nursery has increasingly become a traffic choke point.

The stretch between the heritage park to Jasola, passing the Government Boys’ Senior Secondary School, has long been in need of repair. Uneven pathways, broken kerbstones and encroachments make the stretch difficult to navigate, particularly for senior citizens, schoolchildren and visitors to the park. Officials said the improvement of pedestrian facilities along the route will include resurfacing, correcting the alignment, laying interlocking tiles, and height correction as per the India Roads Congress (IRC) norms.

“Once the pedestrian stretch is made seamless, visitors will find it easier to switch to public transport, reducing parking pressure and congestion around Sunder Nursery. The entire stretch has multiple metro stations and bus stops along the way,” a DDA official said.

For residents of nearby colonies such as Jasola and Sarita Vihar, the project will also mean safer daily commutes.

Officials are expecting that the footpath will be ready before the peak tourist season begins at Sunder Nursery during winters. Inaugurated in 2018 after being redeveloped by the Aga Khan Trust, the spot has also celebrated the milestone of reaching five million visitors this year.

Sunder Nursery is spread across 90 acres and is situated to the north-west of Humayun’s Tomb World Heritage Site, the newly added sunken museum and is about half a kilometre east of the dargah of the renowned 13th century Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. Home to several monuments, gardens, water bodies, lawns and ecological zones, Sunder Nursery landscape includes a range of pathways for walkers and pedestrians.