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Going retro and how!

A pleasant surprise awaits the thousands of tourists and players coming to Delhi for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

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Connaught Place’s British-era beauty to be restored for Commonwealth Games

NEW DELHI: A pleasant surprise awaits the thousands of tourists and players coming to Delhi for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Though most of the areas in the capital will bear a “post-modern” look, the heart of the city, Connaught Place, would resemble the 1936 India under the British.   

After long brain-storming sessions on how to give Delhi a unique look for the Games, the civic authorities managed to get hold of old photographs and plans of Connaught Place, as the British architects had conceived it in 1931.

“We have decided to recreate the 1936 look at Connaught Place, as it is the heart of the city and a very popular tourist destination. Anyone who visits Delhi makes it a point to spend a few hours here,” said a senior official of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

“Most of the colonial-era buildings here are still in good condition and a little work would facelift the entire area,” said the official, adding that the growing commercial interest in the area had taken its toll and illegal constructions had mushroomed.  

To make the few hours spent at Connaught Place or CP, as it is popularly called, memorable, the civic administration has set aside Rs671 crore.

There’s a minor glitch. Though traders in the area are excited about the beautification project, they are also jittery about the loss they may incur with the authorities deciding to demolish some constructions to give the business centre at CP a British-era look.

“We have altered the shop areas and redone the outside flooring spending a lot of money, but now the authorities have decided to demolish all that. The worst part is, they would not compensate the loss,” said Rajan Bhargava, member of the CP market association.

The traders expect to lose up to Rs5 crore in the first six months of the beautification work. “All this is being done to impress the foreigners. We have played an important role in developing CP and now our shops would be demolished because the authorities think they are illegal. They are being very unfair to the businessmen who have been in this area for years,” said Praveen Khandelwal, head of the market associations of Delhi.

“If the old structures are considered part of heritage, I think the businessmen should also be given the same status as we have done business in the area for generations,” he added.

As per the plan, parts of CP will have a European look with cafeterias on streets and people soothing their taste buds with the many cuisines available in the market. “Since the Games start in October and the evenings are pleasant that time of the year, we have decided to allow cafeterias to make outside seating arrangements so that people could enjoy the evening life while having food,” the NDMC official said.

To further boost the interest of the visitors, a museum in the circular building in the Gole Market area will be also decked up. “Since we have a number of photographs, paintings and building plans of the British era, we will renovate the old building and convert it into a museum,” the official said.

v_gyan@dnaindia.net
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