Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday, inaugurated the newly-christened Kartavya Path, the stretch of road from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate earlier known as Rajpath.
Speaking after the inauguration, Modi said the renaming has given the country a new energy and inspiration. Kingsway or Rajpath, a symbol of slavery, has now been consigned to history and has been erased forever, he said.
"Today, the country has changed various laws that were there since the time of the British. Through the National Education Policy, now the youth of the country are being liberated from the compulsion of foreign language," he said.
I congratulate all the people of the country as we come out from another symbol of colonialism, the PM said.
He called upon every citizen of the country to visit Kartavya Path.
The prime minister also thanked shramjeevis who built Kartavya Path.
Modi, who also unveiled a statue of Netaji at India Gate, said had India followed the path shown by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, then it would have reached new heights.
“Today a huge statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose has been installed near the India Gate. During British rule, a statue of a representative of the Britishers stood here. With installation of statue of Netaji, we have established a new path for an empowered India....In the past eight years, we have taken several decisions which had the imprint of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. He was the first head of 'Akhand Bharat' who unfurled the national flag in the Andaman & Nicobar islands,” the PM said.
According to the Union housing and urban affairs ministry, the new stretch will be more pedestrian-friendly because of the new red granite walkways spreading 15.5 km that have been created, replacing bajri sand that lined the ground earlier.
Four new pedestrian underpasses have been built at busy junctions to segregate vehicular traffic from pedestrian movement, making the street safe to cross.
According to an official, 74 historic light poles and all chain links have been restored, upgraded and reinstalled on the site and more than 900 new light poles have been added where necessary to ensure that the space is always safe for visitors.
The revamped stretch is part of the Modi government's ambitious Central Vista redevelopment project, which also envisages a new triangular Parliament building, a common central secretariat, a new prime minister's residence and office, and a new vice-president's enclave.
—With PTI inputs
