Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], December 4 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for multiple projects worth around Rs 18,000 crore on Saturday in Dehradun.

The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of eleven development projects. This includes the Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor (from Eastern Peripheral Expressway Junction to Dehradun) which will be built at a cost of around Rs 8300 crore. It will significantly reduce the travel time from Delhi to Dehradun from six hours to around 2.5 hours. It will have seven major interchanges for connectivity to Haridwar, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Yamunagar, Baghpat, Meerut and Baraut. It will have Asia's largest wildlife elevated corridor (12 kilometres) for unrestricted wildlife movement. Also, the 340 metres long tunnel near Dat Kaali temple, Dehradun will help reduce impact on wildlife.

Further, multiple animal passes have been provided in the Ganeshpur-Dehradun section for avoiding animal-vehicle collisions. The Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor will also have arrangements for rainwater harvesting at intervals of 500 metres and over 400 water recharge points.

The greenfield alignment project from Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor, connecting Halgoa, Saharanpur to Bhadrabad, Haridwar will be constructed at a cost of over Rs 2000 crore. It will provide seamless connectivity and reduce travel time from Delhi to Haridwar as well. The Haridwar Ring Road Project from Manoharpur to Kangri, to be built at a cost of over Rs 1600 crore, will give a respite to residents from traffic congestion in Haridwar city, especially during peak tourist season, and also improve connectivity with Kumaon zone.

The Dehradun - Paonta Sahib (Himachal Pradesh) road project, to be constructed at a cost of around Rs 1700 crore, will reduce travel time and provide seamless connectivity between the two places. It will also boost inter-state tourism. The Najibabad-Kotdwar road widening project will reduce travel time and also improve connectivity to Lansdowne.

As per the official release, a bridge across River Ganga next to the Laksham Jhula will also be constructed. The world-renowned Lakshman Jhula was constructed in 1929, but has now been closed due to decreased load carrying capacity. The bridge to be constructed will have provision of a glass deck for people walking, and will also allow light weight vehicles to move across.

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for the Child Friendly City Project, Dehradun, to make the city child friendly by making the roads safer for their travel. Foundation stone for projects related to development of water supply, road and drainage system in Dehradun at a cost of over Rs 700 crore will also be laid.

In line with the Prime Minister's vision to develop smart spiritual towns and upgrade tourism related infrastructure, the foundation stone for infrastructure development works at Shri Badrinath Dham and Gangotri-Yamunotri Dham will be laid. Also, a new Medical College in Haridwar will be constructed at a cost of over Rs 500 crore.

The Prime Minister also integrated seven projects, including those which focus on making travel safer by tackling the problem of chronic landslides in the region. Amongst these projects are the landslide mitigation project at Lambagad (which is en-route the Badrinath Dham), and chronic landslide treatment at Sakanidhar, Srinagar and Devprayag on NH-58. The Lambagad landslide mitigation project in the chronic landslide zone includes construction of reinforced earthwall and rockfall barriers. The location of the project further adds on to its strategic significance.

Also being inaugurated were the road widening project from Devprayag to Srikot, and from Brahmpuri to Kodiyala on NH-58, under Chardham road connectivity project.

The 120 MW Vyasi Hydroelectric Project, built over River Yamuna at a cost of over Rs 1700 crore, was also inaugurated, along with a Himalayan Culture Center at Dehradun. The Himalayan Culture Centre will house a state level museum, 800 seat art auditorium, library, conference hall, etc. which will help people follow cultural activities as well as appreciate cultural heritage of the State.

The Prime Minister also inaugrated the State of Art Perfumery and Aroma Laboratory (Centre for Aromatic Plants) in Dehradun. The research done here will prove useful for production of a variety of products including perfumes, soaps, sanitizers, air fresheners, incense sticks etc., and will lead to establishment of related industries in the region as well. It will also focus on development of high yielding advanced varieties of aromatic plants. (ANI)