Rajghat plant chimney tower lit up, becomes tallest illuminated structure in Delhi

New Delhi, Nov 10 (PTI) A 166-metre high chimney tower of a sprawling power plant in Delhi that was earlier planned to be brought down has been repurposed and illuminated to serve as a new landmark. Lt Governor V K Saxena inaugurated the chimney tower on Friday.

This makes it the "tallest illuminated structure in the national capital", the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) said in a statement.

The DDA said the tower is 2.2 times the height of the iconic Qutub Minar in south Delhi and it has been lit up in a tricolour theme.

"Compared to the 72.5-m tall Qutub Minar which has also been recently illuminated and opened to the public, the Rajghat Power Plant chimney, which is more than 2.2 times the height of Qutub Minar, posed technological challenges in lighting it up effectively," the statement said.

The Rajghat Power Plant, a coal-based plant spread over an area of 28 acres, was commissioned in 1989. However, it was decommissioned in 2015 due to pollution concerns.

"Lying as an unseemly eyesore for the past more than eight years, the chimney was being planned to be brought down which would have involved a huge cost apart from causing dust pollution, and adding substantially to the city's construction and demolition waste dump," the DDA said.

The illumination of the chimney tower has thus added a significant presence in the capital's skyline, officials said.

With the Qutub Minar in south Delhi, Pitampura TV Tower in north-west Delhi, this illuminated tower will now become an outstanding landmark for central and east Delhi, they said.

Lt Governor Saxena had first visited the Rajghat Power Plant on February 19, and then asked for the chimney structure to be repurposed, so as to convert it into a permanent asset for the city and its residents, the statement said.

Various meetings were held under the chairmanship of the Lt Governor at the Raj Niwas here, and it was decided to repurpose the Rajghat Power House to showcase the power generation mechanism though a 5-D experience for the public, making it a place for information and entertainment alike, it said.

This project is in line with Saxena's "commitment to beautify the national capital by creating permanent assets" and it will serve as a new landmark of the ITO metropolitan city centre, especially for the lakhs of people entering the central city area on a daily basis to and from across the Yamuna, the DDA said.

"It also promises to unfold further surprises that are to be opened up subsequently through refurbishment and adaptive reuse or repurposing of the power plant precinct," it said. PTI KND SKY SKY