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.
Modi also unveiled a 28-ft-tall statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate.
After the inauguration, Modi said if India had followed the path shown by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, then it would have reached new heights.
Modi said the renaming has given the country a new energy and inspiration.
He said that Kingsway or Rajpath, a symbol of slavery, has now been consigned to history and has been erased forever.
"If India had followed path shown by Subhas Chandra Bose, then country would have reached a new high; sadly he was forgotten," he said.
Netaji's statue at India Gate will now inspire and guide us, Modi said.
The statue is part of the Centre's Rs 13,450-crore Central Vista project, which will have a new Parliament building, new office and residences for the prime minister and vice-president and new ministry buildings. The North and South Blocks, the secretariat buildings flanking Rashtrapati Bhavan, will be converted into museums.
The black granite statue has been carved from a monolithic block of granite weighing 280 metric tonne. The block of granite picked for the statue was transported to Delhi from Telangana and the statue was carved out of it in over two months.
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.
"We took many decisions in the last eight years which have imprints of Netaji's ideals and dreams," said Modi.
He also said that the changes undertaken by the government are not just limited to symbols but are now part of policies.
He thanked workers involved in the development of Kartavya Path and said that they not only built it but also showed others way of 'kartavya' (duty).
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. -
