MCD bulldozes New Delhi’s top designers

NEW DELHI: MG 1 and MG2, the fashion hub of Delhi, will never look the same again.

Following the court directive to target commercial complexes in Lal Dora (village areas where commercial complexes are barred), MCD bulldozers mauled one of the buildings (MG1) beyond recognition on Wednesday.

The result: Dislocation of fashion outlets that were associated with some of the biggest names in the Indian fashion industry, including, Sunit Verma, Rohit Bal, Mandira Wirk and Manav Gangwani.

The drive began at about 11 in the morning and carried on till late in the evening. The news about the demolition had reached designers in advance and before the MCD team reached the spot, all the goods had been removed on Tuesday. Those who could not were seen carrying their merchandise away in the morning.

While some watched helplessly as the lone MCD bulldozer gnawed into the imposing building, others chose to shed silent tears in a corner. There were others who protested the demolition in hushed voices, other than those who threatened to come in front of the bulldozer.

Vandana Shawney, an interior designer whose outlet was first to be razed, created a ruckus when she threatened to lie before the bulldozer. "If the government wants to destroy, it should destroy all the buildings on MG Road. Why MG1 only?" she shouted. Other designers echoed similar sentiments.

"Look at the other markets like South Ex or Greater Kailash. Big commercial complexes there stand in the middle of residential colonies and still have been spared," said S K Verma, who has an art gallery in MG2. They felt they were being targetted only because the MCD had to show that it was working.

"We are not the big fish. We are only small designers earning our daily bread," said SK Wadhwa who runs a jewellery design outlet in MG1. Most importantly where was MCD when these buildings were coming up?" questioned Manav Gangwani, a fashion designer.

However, MCD had its rationale in place. Ajay Kumar, MCD's south zone DC said, "Both MG1 and MG2 fall in the Laldora area, where commercial complexes are not allowed. Acting on court's order to target commercial complexes in the area, we are carrying out these demolitions."