ADA nod for Ajmer-Pushkar tunnel project

AJMER: The grand proposal to link Ajmer and Pushkar by digging a tunnel through Aravallis has received the nod of Ajmer Development Authority (ADA) which has put the cost of the project at Rs 67 crore.
The proposal was approved at a recent board meeting of the body.
Currently, the road to Pushkar from Ajmer winds up through the hills and has many blind and dangerous curves. Earlier, the Public Works Department (PWD) had also taken up this project, but dropped it after conducting a survey due to lack of budgetary support.
Sources said that the Ajmer-Pushkar linking tunnel was a dream project for ADA and chairman Shiv Shanker Heda wanted to complete it even if the agency had to raise funds through the public-private partnership (PPP) mode. The tunnel will shorten the distance between these two destinations and also help to avoid the dangerous road route.
As per the ADA proposal, the tunnel will be 335 metres long and will start near Nausar Ghati and end on the other side of the hill.
“At present, the road to Pushkar is dangerous and prone to accidents. Traffic on this road is increasing every year as both Ajmer and Pushkar are religious and important tourist places,” said Heda, chairman, ADA.
The agency is hoping to get budgetary support from the state or Central government and will try to convince them about the importance of this tunnel. “The distance between Ajmer and Pushkar is about 11km. This will decrease to 5 or 6km. This will also be a boost for tourism,” said a source.
The demand for the tunnel had started in 2000. “Getting an NOC from the environment ministry will be a major problem as the National Green Tribunal (NGT) is strict on projects that may damage ecology,” said an expert. There’s already a national highway to Pushkar through Ajmer bypass, which crosses MDS University and Kayar village on the way.
Sources said that the railways had also started a train service from Ajmer to Pushkar to cope with the traffic between these two destinations. But the trains take too long and have not been successful. “The tunnel will shorten the distance between Ajmer and Pushkar,” added the source.