Jantar Mantar gone, Delhi's 3 new protest sites come with cost, booking, distance woes

Delhi Police has identified three alternatives – Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground in east Delhi.

With Jantar Mantar de-notified as a designated protest site, Delhi Police has identified three alternatives – Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground in east Delhi. But the venues come with their own challenges, from distance to the national seat of power, to booking costs, a lack of shade and competition for space during the festive season.

Ramlila Maidan has a history of hosting public agitations, such as this one in 2014. (HT Archive)

While Ramlila Maidan is the closest to central Delhi, it is a paid venue that is already in demand for seasonal events. CBD Ground is surrounded by residential and commercial developments, while Burari Ground lies on the outskirts of the Capital, raising questions about whether demonstrations there can attract the same public and political attention as those held at Jantar Mantar.

Author and city chronicler Sohail Hashmi said the shift from the Boat Club lawns near India Gate to Jantar Mantar was itself questionable, and moving protests even farther from the seat of power would make it harder for citizens to be heard.

“It was an open space for people to gather and present their demand to government… Tens of thousands of people could assemble near the seat of power. In Washington, people can gather right outside Capitol Hill. Why should we be moving people away?” he said.

Located around 4km from Jantar Mantar, Ramlila Maidan is the closest of the three designated venues to Lutyens’ Delhi and has a long history of hosting political rallies and public agitations. But access there comes at a cost, and its availability will be severely limited during the festive season.

A senior Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) official said booking the 12-acre venue costs ₹50,000 a day, along with a refundable security deposit of ₹55,000. Applicants must also obtain a no-objection certificate from the Delhi Traffic Police.

“Half of the Ramlila Maidan is being used for parking space for heavy vehicles and the remaining half is open for booking. We do not offer a small section or parts of Ramlila Ground to be booked. People can only book the entire section,” the official said.

The requirement to book ir could prove a hurdle for smaller groups that do not need such a large space. Unlike the tree-lined stretch at Jantar Mantar, the open maidan also offers little shade, potentially making prolonged demonstrations difficult in hot weather.

The venue is already in demand: MCD data shows it was booked 27 times between January 2024 and September 2026. With preparations under way for Ramlila performances and fairs, finding an available slot could become more difficult during the festive season.

CBD Ground: Congestion all around

Spread over 12 acres, CBD Ground in Shahdara is maintained by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). A famous venue for weddings and other large events, it sits amid densely residential and commercial areas, raising concerns about traffic management and the impact of demonstrations on nearby neighbourhoods.

BS Vohra, who heads the East Delhi RWA Joint Front, said the ground was unsuitable for protests because of the surrounding buildings and the potential disruption to local traffic. “How can a protest site be made in such an area? There is a hotel and two malls nearby, dozens of wedding venues and so many residential enclaves. There is some open area in the middle, but how can protests be held there? Even now, you’d find Ramlila and wedding tents in the ground,” he said.

Vohra added that protests often require barricades and traffic restrictions, which would be impossible to implement in such a densely populated area.

A DDA official said CBD Ground was also a paid booking facility. “We will wait for Delhi Police to clarify how protests can be carried out and whether there will be free areas,” the official said.

Burari Ground: Far away

The largest of the three venues, Burari Ground -- also known as Nirankari Ground -- spans around 50 acres in northwest Delhi. It is roughly 18km from Jantar Mantar, with the area around it far removed from the Capital’s central administrative district.

Its size offers room for large gatherings, but its location raises a different concern: whether demonstrations held there would remain visible to policymakers, the media and the wider public.

During the 2024-2025 farmers’ protests, the ground was offered as a possible venue for demonstrators. Farmers’ unions rejected the proposal, describing the site as an “open jail”. They argued that its isolation and fencing would contain the protests and keep them away from public view, reducing their impact.

For Hashmi, the purpose of a protest site goes beyond providing an open stretch of land large enough to accommodate a crowd. It must also allow citizens to bring their grievances close to the people they seek to hold accountable. “Protest sites are spaces to be heard, where media can come, people’s representatives can gather. Jantar Mantar may have been a small space, and had its own set of issues, but Burari, Ramlila Maidan and CBD Ground are farther away and have their own problems,” he said.