One of Delhi’s most favourite tourist spots, the newly renovated Kartavya Path — the stretch of road between India Gate and Rashtrapati Bhavan — witnessed thousands of visitors on Sunday, gathered to welcome the New Year after two years of muted celebrations due to the pandemic.
A large number of visitors came with their kids, families and friends as the city’s landmark, which was known as Rajpath until September 2022, turned into a picnic spot on a bright sunny day, giving some respite from the extreme cold that Delhi witnessed in the past week.
Zeeshan, who was walking with his son Umar on his shoulders, said the four-year-old was tired after playing at the park. “Now, I am carrying him around because he says he is too tired to walk,” Zeeshan said.
Vendors selling toys, candies, ice cream, balloons and snacks also had a good day as kids dragged their parents towards the goodies. Hemant Singh, who had come with his family from Haryana’s Faridabad, said that they came before 11 a.m. and were going to leave after 4 p.m. “My son and daughter are having a pretty good time. I bought them all these snacks and toys and even ice cream in winter,” Singh said, pointing to his kids who started laughing.
Many were seen clicking pictures and selfies at India Gate as well as across the Kartavya Path making it difficult for one to walk without photobombing.
Heavy security arrangements were also made with Delhi Police and CRPF personnel deployed in the area to avoid any untoward incident. When asked about women’s safety arrangements, Diya and Tanisha, from Haryana’s Sonipat, said even though they did not spot many female security personnel around, they felt safe in the area. The massive crowd also provided some respite to vendors at India Gate who had suffered major losses in business during the pandemic followed by the renovation work. Ranjeet, who was selling papad, said the crowd this time was more than the years before the pandemic. “It is good for our business which was affected when Rajpath was under renovation,” he said.
The heavy footfall, however, caused high traffic congestion in the nearby areas. Traffic was also hit by a protest staged by Jain community members who had blocked a road opposite India Gate. They were demanding recall of a recent Jharkhand government order declaring Sammed Shikharji, a holy site, as tourist spot, said a protester.
