The (vicious) cycle of progress

Chandni Chowk, built by Shah Jahan in 1650 as an ancilliary market area near the Red Fort, was designed by his favourite daughter Jahanara. It got its name when the new chowk (central square), with a pool in the middle, shimmered on a full moon night. Its colourful bazars and its 15th-century havelis, masjids, temples and streets are a major tourist attraction — and, many believe, viewed best from the back seat of a cycle-rickshaw.

In August 2004, when the new MP from the area examined his constituency’s problems, the overwhelming plea of his electorate was to help de-congest the area. Sibal, says his office (he was not available for comment), commissioned HUDCO to carry out a study of the area and come up with solutions. The first shot was fired at the rickshawallahs, who now run as many as 20,000 vehicles. Though licences are limited, his aides say thousands have been photocopied so there is no way of controlling the numbers.

The HUDCO report was sent to the Centre for Road Research Institute (CRRI), which came up with the final blueprint for Chandni Chowk’s development. Dr TS Reddy, head of its Traffic and Transport Division, said the cycle-rickshaws had made the area pedestrian-unfriendly; the new plan, he said, would have an uninterrupted raised footpath for pedestrians only. The cycles, meanwhile, could ply along the lanes running off Chandni Chowk.

Soni’s point is that, the world over, cycle-rickshaws are seen as a viable, eco-friendly, non-motorable mode of transport, the best substitute when you want to make an area motor-free.

The other issue, of course, is the fate of the rickshawallahs. ‘‘The ban will force them to beg’’, says Subash Goyal, president of the Indian association of Tour Operators. ‘‘Does Kapil Sibal want to add more beggars on the streets? We as a trade pledge to help the rickshawallah in a public-private partnership by sponsoring improvements on the cycle and to help them regularise their trade with proper licensing and the like. It would be foolish to remove them and take away Old Delhi’s charm.’’

If Sibal has his plan, Soni has hers: Making the area pedestrian with walkaways, and special lanes demarcated for cycle-rickshaws apart from restoring the facades of the grand buildings. And so, she says, the Tourism Ministry will be introducing rickshaws and tongas in the walkways around the Taj Mahal in Agra, even in the ancient town of Hampi.

vrinda.gopinath@expressindia.com