Varanasi Secures Rs 25,446 Crore for Elevated Highway Corridors

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday sanctioned the development of two major elevated highway corridors in Varanasi, allocating Rs 25,446 crore to alleviate chronic traffic congestion. The projects involve a 43-km corridor along the Varuna river connecting NH-31 to the Varanasi ring road and a 46-km corridor along the Ganga, linking NH-19 to the Varanasi ring road. The initiative is a core element of the Varanasi Decongestion Plan, designed to improve connectivity to key centers including Kashi railway station, the BHU campus, and the Kashi Vishwanath Temple precinct.

Rapid growth in religious tourism has placed immense pressure on Varanasi’s mobility, with approximately 15 crore tourists visiting annually. The existing road network, particularly near NH-19 and the urban core, has struggled to accommodate this volume, resulting in significant transit delays. By diverting through-traffic away from the densely populated city center, the government aims to reduce average travel times across key routes from 60 minutes to roughly 20 minutes, leveraging a design speed of 80-100 kmph for the new elevated structures.

Beyond the Varanasi projects, the Cabinet approved critical railway infrastructure upgrades to boost freight efficiency across Odisha and Jharkhand. The doubling of the 74-km Paradeep-Haridaspur line and quadrupling of the 71-km Rajkharsawan-Dangoaposi line are expected to increase freight capacity by 44 million tonnes per annum. These corridors serve as vital links for transporting coal, iron ore, and steel products, strengthening industrial supply chains in eastern India while simultaneously enhancing the efficiency of the high-density Howrah-Chennai route.