PM Narendra Modi opens first phase of Mumbai-Delhi Expressway

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the first phase of Mumbai-Delhi Expressway in Dausa. The 246-kilometre Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot stretch of the expressway will allow commuters to travel from Delhi to Jaipur in just 3 hours, which is 2 hours less than the earlier travel time.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pressed a button in Dausa to mark the inauguration of the expressway. He then addressed the masses from Dausa's Dhanawar village, in eastern Rajasthan.

Union Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari was also present at the event.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal khattar addressed the programme through a video link.

The grand expressway has been opened during the beginning of the election year and many opposition leaders are claiming that the inauguration has been done to influence voters in the region.

Once the whole expressway opens, it will cut down the travel time between India and Mumbai to 12 hours.

Eight-lane-wide and nearly 1,400 kms long, it is being built at a staggering cost of over one lakh crore rupees. It is expandable to accommodate 12 lanes.

The toll tax for the 220-km-long Delhi-Jaipur journey is ₹ 70 rupees, which comes to 35 paise per kilometre.