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Journalism of Courage
This is an archive article published on September 4, 2022
Central Vista redevelopment: You won’t be able to picnic on the grass next to India Gate anymore
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the stretch, and over the next few days cultural programmes will greet visitors to what has always been Delhi’s favourite open-air hang-out zone.
With layers of top-quality grass now adorning the greens, activities like picnics on the grass immediately adjacent to India Gate will not be allowed. (Government of India)
Dedicated spaces for sellers of ice creams and other food items; six new parking lots for visitors; over 400 benches; amphitheatres for public performances; 64 toilets for women, 32 for men and 10 for the differently abled; underpasses for barrier-free crossing; 16 permanent walkway bridges, and 16.5-km pedestrian walkways — these are some of the new features that visitors to the India Gate and Rajpath lawns will experience as the refurbished Central Vista is set to open on September 8, around 20 months after it was closed for the redevelopment project.
India Gate (Photo: Government of India)Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the stretch, and over the next few days cultural programmes will greet visitors to what has always been Delhi’s favourite open-air hang-out zone. As reported earlier in The Indian Express, a statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose will also be unveiled on that day.
With layers of top-quality grass now adorning the greens, activities like picnics on the grass immediately adjacent to India Gate will not be allowed. An official of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said there would be heavy deployment of police personnel and security guards to ensure there is no theft and damage to the new facilities — around 80 security guards will keep an eye on the stretch.
Explained
The project
The revamp is part of the overall Rs 13,450-crore Central Vista Project, including a new Parliament building, new residence and office for the Vice-President and the Prime Minister, new ministry buildings, and the conversion of North and South Blocks into museums. There is a race against time to get the new parliament building ready by November this year. “It’s complex work. It is a great achievement to complete this in less than two years,” an official said.
An official said maintaining cleanliness will be a challenge as people in large numbers will throng Rajpath: “We appeal to people to maintain cleanliness. Large teams of sanitation workers will be deployed.”
What’s new
- Eight organised vending plazas spread across Central Vista will have various kinds of vendors, especially for that typical Delhi experience of ice-cream at India Gate. Giving a brief overview of the amenities Saturday, officials said each plaza can hold 40 such vendors.
- Each of the eight “amenity blocks” has shops to be managed by Delhi Tourism. Cooking at site is not allowed, but officials expect food representing various regions and flavours to be present.
- Around 1,000-plus white and red sandstone bollards give the redeveloped space its historical look and feel.
- 300 CCTV cameras have been installed in the entire area.
- Boating will be allowed, as before, in two canals — one near Krishi Bhawan and another one around Vanijya Bhawan.
- Along the Rajpath, the area spreading 3.90 lakh square metres has been developed with greenery all around.
- New red granite walkways over 15.5 km have been created, replacing bajri sand that lined the ground earlier.
- Parking space for 1,125 vehicles has been created in the entire stretch. A parking space for 35 buses has been created near India Gate.
- 74 historic light poles and all chain links have been restored and over 900 new light poles installed.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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