Tight security grid around redesigned Central Vista Avenue on Day 2

Police said the area received a floating crowd of 8,000-10,000 during the day, which increased to 15,000 in the evening. Police officials said the area received a footfall of 1 lakh visitors over the course of the day.

Nearly 400 security personnel from Delhi Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 50 private security guards deployed by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), around 70 door frame metal detectors (DFMDs), and scores of the familiar bright yellow iron police barricades comprised a tight ring of security around the Central Vista Avenue on Friday.

An illuminated water fountain near the India Gate as part of the revamped Central Vista, at Kartavya Path in New Delhi, Friday, September 9, 2022. (PTI Photo/Kamal Kishore)

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the refurbished Central Vista Avenue and the newly renamed Kartavya Path, thousands of people -- including foreign tourists -- flocked to the iconic zone with the administration making new arrangements to ease the flow of traffic and tourists alike.

Police said the area received a floating crowd of 8,000-10,000 during the day, which increased to 15,000 in the evening. Police officials said the area received a footfall of 1 lakh visitors over the course of the day.

“The heavy deployment of personnel was made not only as a security measure but also to facilitate the movement of visitors who may not have been aware of the new access arrangements,” said deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Amrutha Guguloth.

As part of the new arrangements, access to the India Gate lawns, the National War Memorial and the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose will be only through the four underpasses on either side of Kartavya Path – near the C-Hexagon and Janpath stretch. All visitors will have to pass through DFMDs installed in the underpasses apart from frisking by security personnel.

This is a departure from the past, when visitors were allowed to cross the India Gate Circle also known as C-Hexagon on foot to reach the lawns of the historic monument through either of the six radials.

On Friday, though, all six radials of the India Gate lawns were barricaded and manned by police as well as private security guards. “It is just a temporary entry and exit arrangement at the War Memorial point... However, our personnel on ground were directing and encouraging visitors only to use the subways, as that will be the future access points,” said a police officer.

While those visiting India Gate and the Bose statue were frisked once, those planning to visit the War Memorial had to undergo a second round of searching and frisking and walking through DFMDs. There were private security guards and a baggage x-ray machine at this security point.

The India Gate and Kartavya Path crossings were made signal free for vehicles and no pedestrians were allowed to cross the C-Hexagon. Barricades were also put along the pavements to dissuade people from crossing the road and slowing down the flow of vehicles. Traffic personnel were busy removing hawkers, auto-rickshaws, cabs and even private vehicles stopping on C-Hexagon to pick up or drop visitors.

Although Kartavya Path is yet to be opened for vehicular movement, pedestrians had to access it and its adjoining lawns through the DMFDs installed there as the area was heavily barricaded on Friday.

“The DFMDs and barricades along the Kartavya Path were placed for the inauguration ceremony on Thursday. We have started removing them. All of them would be removed by Saturday,” DCP Guguloth said.