Security curb, barricade disrupt Sunday plans for tourists in Delhi

NEW DELHI: For some, India Gate was a Sunday sightseeing stop

NEW DELHI: For some, India Gate was a Sunday sightseeing stop. For others, Connaught Place was a lunch destination. But barricades, road diversions and police restrictions disrupted plans for visitors, as security was tightened across New Delhi on Sunday.

Heavy security deployment at Connaught Place in New Delhi. (Ishant Chauhan/HT Photo)

Groups of visitors from Bihar, Nigeria and the United States arrived at the India Gate but were asked to leave, with police citing security reasons.

Barricades were placed at all entry points to the monument as security arrangements continued for a second consecutive day amid the possibility of fresh protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Sanjay Kumar from Bihar said, “I had come for an excursion to the India Gate on Sunday but the police told me that I could neither sit on the lawns nor walk up to the monument.”

The restrictions also disrupted plans for visitors who had travelled to the Capital for other reasons.

Ravi Prakash Gupta, 23, a national-level bodybuilder who won a bronze medal at the Khan Classic National Bodybuilding Competition on Saturday, said his journey to Delhi had already been disrupted after his scheduled train was cancelled. He eventually travelled by bus.

On Sunday, Gupta and his friend Vishwajeet Singh, 24, planned to visit a restaurant in Connaught Place but had to change their route.

“Our train, which was scheduled for Delhi on Saturday, was cancelled, so I took a bus. We were planning to visit a restaurant in Connaught Place, but police asked us to take a longer route. We were also told that the restaurant might be closed,” Gupta said.

For visitors unfamiliar with the city, the barricades and diversions meant navigating unfamiliar roads. Uncertainty over access to public spaces and functioning of restaurants added to the inconvenience.

“We had planned to spend a few hours around India Gate and then head towards Connaught Place, but we had to rethink our plans after seeing the barricades. We understand that security is important, but it is difficult to know which areas are accessible and where we can go,” said a visitor.

The restrictions came as police maintained a heavy deployment across Lutyens’ Delhi, with barricades at key intersections and roads leading towards Jantar Mantar blocked to prevent protesters from assembling.

While police claimed that the measures were to maintain law and order amid calls for demonstrations, Sunday’s scenes showed how the security cordon also affected tourists, commuters and people simply trying to go about their day.