Central Vista gardeners to maintenance staff: Meet the ‘special guests’ at Republic Day parade

Mukesh Kumar (30), a gardener who works on the lawns in the area, watched the parade for the first time. Kumar said it was a dream come true for him. “I have come to watch the parade for the first time. I never thought I would see it as I don’t know how to get a pass made for the Republic Day parade,” said Kumar, who is from Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi and has been living in Delhi for the past year.

For Suman Devi (45) from Jhansi, the parade brought with it a day off from working on the lawns. As she watched aircraft whizzing past and decorated camels, she said, “I liked watching it. We went early in the morning, like everybody else. Usually on off days, Sundays, we finish household work.”

She has been living in Delhi for about a year with her husband and daughter, who also work in the area, and said hasn’t seen much of the city yet apart from India Gate and surrounding areas. Farmland back home in Jhansi did not yield enough income and they moved to the city looking for work, said Suman, who lives in a makeshift home near the lawns along with other workers.

Dinesh Kumar from Rae Bareilly was also among the Kartavya Path maintenance staff who was invited to watch the parade. “Around 10 to 15 of us that I know of were invited to come. This was the first time that I watched the parade and it felt good to be there,” he said.

Rekha (35) who also works as a gardener in the area said, “When PM Narendra Modi came to inaugurate the Central Vista, he had asked us to come for the Republic Day parade along with family. Here we plant new saplings, water it, remove weeds, and now we are focusing on planting more flowers,” said Rekha, who is from Jhansi.

In addition to those who work in and around Central Vista Avenue, milk and vegetable vendors, street vendors and grocery shop owners were among those who were invited for the parade. Workers employed at Central Vista project construction sites had attended the inauguration of the avenue as well in September.