Civic body to clean CP mess blockwise

Following a meeting with Connaught Place traders and restoration consultant Engineers India Limited (EIL) on Wednesday, officials of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) decided to continue blockwise the much-delayed restoration work. Neelam Pandey and Hamari Jamatia report.

Following a meeting with Connaught Place traders and restoration consultant Engineers India Limited (EIL) on Wednesday, officials of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) decided to continue blockwise the much-delayed restoration work.

It will start with blocks A and G. And only once they are completed, work will begin in the other blocks.

CP is a popular landmark of the Capital and a string of missed deadlines leading to dug-up roads, waterlogged corridors and nightmarish parking have inconvenienced traders and visitors alike.

HT’s Save Connaught Place campaign has already garnered 1,773 supporters.

At the meeting, NDMC officials also promised to redo the wide footpath that was hampering vehicular movement in the Middle Circle. They agreed to break down the existing structure and reconstruct it.

“Traders are unhappy with the widening of the footpath, especially in the Middle Circle, since it is not of uniform width. We have agreed to demolish portions of the pavements. We have also assured traders that we will take up work phase-wise so that the inconvenience is minimum,” said a senior NDMC official.

President of New Delhi Traders’ Association, Atul Bhargava said, “We have also demanded that all the exposed electricity cables be covered up as they often lead to short circuits.”