There was chaos in parts of Connaught Place on Sunday as the New Delhi Municipal Council set in motion its plan to make the shopping hub pedestrian-friendly.
The move has invited sharp criticism from traders who claimed that footfall in the inner circle has reduced massively. Meanwhile, visitors complained of inconvenience, saying the parking areas are far and chaotic.
“It is okay for people who take the metro to Connaught Place, they can take the required exit. But there is no auto service for them if they want to go to another block. They will have to walk,” said Shradha Gupta, who was visiting the area with her family for lunch.
Nipunika Shahid, who had to leave her car near Shivaji Stadium, said: “Since the entire inner circle parking was blocked, there was total chaos in the middle circle parking area. I had to go all the way to Shivaji Stadium metro station and walk back to Connaught Place”.
Vinay Behel, the treasurer of the New Delhi Traders Association, said: “We were assured that there would be no stopping of vehicles into inner circle for access to parking lots but it was the opposite and caused huge inconvenience to customers. And where are the pedestrians? Even the regular crowd has gone away.”
On Saturday, the civic agency had carried out a mock drill to test the new traffic and pedestrian movement plan.
