Patna Set To Get Its Own Marine Drive: 5.5 Km Long Stretch Of Ambitious Ganga Pathway Project To Open By March 2022

In a major infrastructure and connectivity boost for Bihar's capital city of Patna, a 5.5-kilometres-long stretch of the ambitious Ganga Pathway is set to open by March next year, reports Hindustan Times.

Considered Patna's equivalent of Mumbai's iconic Marine Drive, Ganga Pathway's stretch between Digha and AN Sinha Institute will likely be opened for vehicular traffic by coming March. It is a part of the Rs 3,390 crore worth project coming up on the southern bank of the Ganga river to minimise traffic load on the congested Ashok Rajpath.

The ambitious project had been envisioned by Chief Minister (CM) Nitish Kumar during his second tenure at the helm of affairs of the State as its CM. The foundation stone of the 20.5-kilometres-long four-lane expressway project was laid in 2013.

Once completed, it would connect National Highway-30 and AIIMS-Digha elevated corridor in the west with the upcoming six-lane Kacchi Dargah-Bidupur bridge over River Ganga in Patna City in the east.

It should be noted that the project, originally scheduled to be completed by 2017, will only be completed in a wholesome manner by 2023.

The project has seen inordinate delays on account of reasons like procedural wrangle in land acquisition and design modifications.