Missing: vendors and charm

The ice-cream vendors were conspicuous by their absence. And so was the weekend buzz on Rajpath.

The ice-cream vendors were conspicuous by their absence. And so was the weekend buzz on Rajpath.

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The stretch between India Gate and Rashtrapati Bhavan had clearly lost a bit of its charm for its habitual visitors on Saturday.

“Most of us don't come here to soak in the heritage, but for the vibrancy this area represents," said Satyapal Singh (25), a regular and an engineer.

Rajpath is to Delhiites, what Chowpaaty is to Mumbaikars. The road, apart from India Gate, witnesses a huge rush of families and youngsters on weekends.

“The safety paranoia is excessive and completely destroying the wonderful places of Delhi,” said Ravi Sundaram, a fellow at Centre for the Study of Developing Societies.

The vendors were ousted from Rajpath by Delhi Police earlier this week, as they are perceived as a traffic hazard. They are now confined to the bit of Shahjahan Road leading up to India Gate.

“Now if I have to eat something, I will have to walk all the way down to India Gate for this," said Kamal Kumar, a student.