Kejriwal to inaugurate revamped Chandni Chowk stretch on April 17

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will inaugurate the revamped and redeveloped section of Chandni Chowk on April 17

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will inaugurate the revamped and redeveloped section of Chandni Chowk on April 17. The 1.3km main carriageway between Red Fort and Fatehpuri mosque in the heritage market has been beautified and made pedestrian only on all days between 9am and 9pm.

A view of the pedestrian corridor made under the Chandni Chowk redevelopment project in New Delhi. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

“It is a historical heritage site and the entire area has been beautified, in an effort to bring back its glory days of yore. Now that the project is complete, tourism will get a major boost as people coming to Delhi would most definitely want to pay a visit to Chandni Chowk,” said Kejriwal in a statement shared by the government.

Conceived by the Congress-led Delhi government in 2006, the ₹99 crore project was much delayed and work finally started only in December 2018, on the directions and monitoring of the Delhi high court. In December 2018, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment project.

In the first phase of the project, utilities such as electric cables and other networks were taken underground, and dedicated lanes for non-motorised transport and walkways were constructed. Facilities such as toilets, ATMs, benches for visitors etc, have been provided in the redeveloped space. The Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC), which is the nodal agency for the redevelopment project, plans to start work on improving the façade of the heritage market in the second phase.

Garima Gupta, managing director, SRDC, said while some work is remaining, it would be completed in the next two weeks. “The work is almost complete now. The project includes various stages and things will keep happening simultaneously. In another 15 days, we should be able to complete the work in all respects,” said Gupta.

A senior Delhi public works department (PWD) official, on condition of anonymity, said, “We have to install a few CCTV cameras, some streetlights and get the basic cleaning done. All these will be done in the next few days. Traffic police is making arrangements to ensure that vehicles don’t enter the revamped stretch.”

While the first deadline for the project was November 2020, it was later revised to March 2021 due to several delaying factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the legal hurdles in removing encroachments, including a few religious structures.

Gupta said, “There have been various reasons due to which delays had occurred. The Covid-19 pandemic hampered the work progress as well.”

Sanjay Bhargava, president, Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal, said while the government is planning to inaugurate the project in the next two weeks, a significant amount of work is yet to be done. “On the ground, there is so much work that needs to be done. Lights and CCTV cameras have to be fixed. There are plans for stopping vehicular movement between 9am and 9pm, but there is no clarity on how this will be implemented. There are encroachments at Fountain Chowk and a few other points that need to be removed. I’m not sure if all that work can be completed in about 15 days,” he said.

But government officials said a detailed plan is being worked out to stop vehicles from entering the redeveloped area. As vehicular movement will be banned during the daytime, the Delhi government plans to introduce electric vehicles for public convenience. In a meeting held on March 25, the Delhi Integrated Multimodal Transit System was asked to submit a detailed report on plying electric vehicles on the 1.3km stretch.

A senior Delhi government official said there were many challenges in the redevelopment project such as taking the electric cables underground, shifting transformers and replacing sewage and water lines, among others. “A dedicated water line has been installed for the fire hydrants on both sides of the road and inside the very congested and inaccessible markets,” said the official, asking not to be named.