Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Thursday inaugurate the newly-christened Kartavya Path – a stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate that will have red granite walkways with greenery all around, refurbished canals, state-wise food stalls, new amenity blocks and vending kiosks.

According to the government, it symbolises a shift from erstwhile Rajpath being an icon of power to Kartavya Path being an example of public ownership and empowerment.

Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Limited has executed the redevelopment of the entire stretch from Vijay Chowk to India Gate. The project was tendered at Rs 477 crore.

The entire stretch has been revamped under the Modi government’s ambitious Central Vista redevelopment project.

Kartavya Path will exhibit beautified landscapes, lawns with walkways, added green spaces, refurbished canals, new amenity blocks, improved signages and vending kiosks.

Modi will also unveil a statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate. These steps are in line with the prime minister’s second ‘Panch Pran’ for New India in Amrit Kaal: ‘remove any trace of colonial mindset’, it said.

The jet black granite statue was carved out from a monolith block of granite weighing 280 MT, the Culture Ministry said.

“After 26,000 man-hours of intense artistic endeavour, the granite monolith was chiseled to produce a statue weighing 65 MT,” it said. The team of sculptors was led by Arun Yogiraj.

The statue is being installed at the same place where a ‘hologram statue’ of Netaji was unveiled earlier this year on Parakram Diwas (23 January) by the Prime Minister to mark the 125th anniversary of Bose.