Delhi has been built and re-built many times throughout history and its latest chapter, a new book by former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit says, was written during the 15-year tenure of the Congress government that ended in 2013.
“What disappoints me is that many things that we started have not yet been completed. The Signature Bridge project as well as many other flyovers are pending. My only wish and desire is that the current government completes these projects,” Ms. Dikshit said, as she looked back on her experiences.
Sitting in a stall at the World Book Fair at Pragati Maidan on Saturday, Ms. Dikshit made her debut as an author, signing copies of her coffee-table book Dilli Meri Dilli: Before and After 1998.
Key sectors covered
Comprised of photographs and write-ups by eminent people, including Mark Tully, E. Sreedharan, Virender Sehwag and Sunita Narain, the book looks at the changes made by Ms. Dikshit’s government from 1998 till 2013 in key sectors like transport, urban environment, health and sports. Photographs showing what Delhi Transport Corporation buses looked like before are compared to the low-floor buses. Her favourite photo in the book, however, Ms. Dikshit said was of her interacting with a child and mother at a hospital in 2005.
“You cannot let Delhi down, the greatest of rulers reigned from here,” Ms. Dikshit writes in the book.
Though the coffee-table book is yet to be officially released yet, Ms. Dikshit said her autobiography would also be coming out soon.
