Delhi walled city revamp: Parking project delayed by three years

NEW DELHI: While the pedestrianisation of Chandni Chowk might get completed this year, there would be a much longer wait for the commercial complex-cum-parking project in Old Delhi because of the series of construction bans to curb pollution and the novel coronavirus-induced lockdown.
The project at Gandhi Maidan is aimed at developing parking space for 2,100 vehicles and 81 tourist buses over three floors of the basement with separate areas for retail shops and a food court. The nine-storey structure is being developed by a private builder and it is expected to have a floor area of 1.5 lakh square feet.
A senior official overseeing the infrastructure project said that the deadline of the project had been extended to April 2024.
“Customers will be able to access all specialties of the Walled City, like clothing, jewellery, spices, dried fruits, saris, essential oils and traditional Indian sweets and food items, under the same roof with easy access to parking and the metro station. This will help decongest Old Delhi and also provide an option to traders who want to move to a modern building with all amenities,” the official added.
Though construction was started in June 2019, the project faced multiple hurdles with very little work being carried out in the first year.
“Construction was stopped by Supreme Court on November 4, 2019 due to air pollution control measures and the ban was lifted in February 2020. Some digging work for the basement was finished, but construction was halted again in March 2020 because of the lockdown. Now, there is a shortage of labour,” the official said.
Giving details about the project, the official said, “Apart from the parking areas in the basement, there will be space for a large number of retail shops on the ground and first floors, while the second floor will have one of the largest food courts of the city featuring all Shahjahanabad specialities.”
The chaotic traffic jams and lack of parking space are a major deterrent for many who want to visit Old Delhi. “The multilevel parking-cum-commercial project is spread over 4.5 acres and it will be fashioned as a chowk. Initially, the project was estimated to get operational by 2021,” said the official.