Bukhara to Khan Market, BRICS delegates savour royal taste of Delhi

At the BRICS Summit, delegates' families explored Delhi's eateries, malls, and heritage sites, necessitating extensive security and traffic management.

NEW DELHI: From lunch at Bukhara, ITC Maurya, or Indian Accent at The Lodhi to shopping at Khan Market, spouses and family members of heads of state and accompanying delegates at BRICS explored some of Delhi’s prominent restaurants, markets, museums and heritage sites on the second day of the Summit on Sunday, officials aware of the matter said.

Angeline Ndayishimiye, wife of Burundi’s president Évariste Ndayishimiye, visited Ambience Mall in Vasant Kunj, while another Burundi delegation visited DLF Emporio, a senior official said. (PTI)

The plan prepared for the visiting delegations included visits to several prominent locations, with different groups following separate itineraries in sequence.

Angeline Ndayishimiye, wife of Burundi’s president Évariste Ndayishimiye, visited Ambience Mall in Vasant Kunj, while another Burundi delegation visited DLF Emporio, a senior official said.

The Philippines delegation had lunch at Taj Man Singh, while another delegation was taken to Bukhara at ITC Maurya.

“Attendees from Iran visited Indian Accent at The Lodhi Hotel, while another Iranian group visited the BRICS Bazaar at National Crafts Museum, and Prime Minister Sangrahalaya,” the officer said.

Members of the South African delegation visited Khan Market, one of the Capital’s upscale shopping and dining hubs.

Delegates from participating countries visited the BRICS Bazaar, where products and cultural items from participating countries were displayed.

The visiting groups were also taken to cultural and heritage destinations, the officer said. “The Philippines delegation visited the PM Sangrahalaya,” while the National Gallery of Modern Art was on the itinerary of a delegation whom the officer refused to name.

On Sunday, the heads of nations visited Akshardham and Humayun’s Tomb, and G20 Park on Kautilya Marg was also included in the plan, a second officer said.

The visit required police to secure multiple venues across south, central and central-south Delhi, while ensuring smooth movement of convoys between locations.

A senior police officer said security arrangements were planned separately for each movement and involved coordination between security and traffic units.

“The movement of the delegates and family members was planned in advance, with security arrangements at every venue and along the routes. Our focus was to ensure seamless movement from one location to the next while keeping the impact on regular traffic to a minimum,” the officer said.

According to officers in the security unit, the itinerary combined restaurants and shopping destinations with museums, galleries and historical monuments.

For the police, however, the programme increased the summit’s security requirements, with personnel having to be positioned at multiple locations rather than a single controlled venue. “Teams were deployed around restaurants, malls, public spaces and heritage sites, while routes were monitored to facilitate uninterrupted movement,” the second officer said.

The presence of foreign delegations at popular public destinations such as Khan Market, Ambience Mall, and DLF Emporio also required security teams “to maintain a balance between protecting the visitors and ensuring that regular public activity was not disrupted”.

The arrangements were part of the wider security and traffic management plan for the BRICS Summit, with the Delhi Police managing movements of heads of state, ministers, delegates and their accompanying family members across the Capital.