The plan to turn Chandni Chowk into a pedestrian-friendly zone from Sunday does not seem to be materialising. Planned to be implemented on a trial basis for four days, the Delhi government has moved it to the backburner for now.
In a meeting held recently, Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Satyendar Jain asked the department and the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC) to first upgrade civic infrastructure in the area before going ahead with the proposal. Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba, who was also present in the meeting, raised the issue of women’s security here.
“Several valid points were raised during the meeting. There has to be proper lighting and signage, among others,” said Nitin Panigarhi, nodal officer for the Chandni Chowk Redevelopment project, which the plan is part of.
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Officials say that apart from the arterial roads on the southern and northern sides of Chandni Chowk, the SRDC is also planning to make SP Mukherjee Marg pedestrian-friendly. The PWD is now working on installing more street lights, putting up proper signages, and rebuilding roads.
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), meanwhile, has been asked to revamp parking spaces. At present, the area has three parking lots.
“Shopkeepers and visitors park at the same facility. Apart from this, the parking lots have become a yard for old cars. All this has to be streamlined,” Mr. Panigarhi added.
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The infrastructure upgrade is likely to take about two months, which means that the trial run for non-motorised vehicles will not begin before August.
Initially, as per the orders of the High Court, the SRDC had proposed to implement the drive from May 22 to 29.
But, the traffic police expressed concerns over the duration given the hot weather. It was later proposed that the plan be implemented between May 22 and 25, which was sent to the government for approval.
According to government officials, another reason behind the delay is that the market associations were not brought on board.