By Animesh Singh

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the revamped Central Vista Avenue on September 8, highly-placed sources told IANS.

Modi is also likely to unveil the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on the same day, which would be installed in the canopy behind India Gate, the sources said.

The day incidentally also marks the festival of Onam.

The revamped Central Vista Avenue, which is part of the government's ambitious Central Vista redevelopment project, is now complete as the landscaping work on both sides of Rajpath has been done.

A major highlight of the avenue is that underground walkways have been built for pedestrians to ensure smooth passage for vehicular traffic on Rajpath.

The sources informed that the underground walkways are open-ended tunnels, where people would be able enter from the side where the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts' (IGNCA) campus was located till recently and come out directly in front of India Gate. There are multiple entry and exit points to these underground walkways, they added.

The Central Vista Avenue stretches from Vijay Chowk to India Gate. Work on its redevelopment had begun in February 2021 and was supposed to be completed by December 2021. However, after some delays, it is all set to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister on September 8.

The redevelopment project of the Central Vista, which is considered the power centre of the country, consists of a new Parliament building, a common Central Secretariat, a Central Vista Avenue, a new Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister's residence as well as a new Vice President enclave.