The redevelopment work for the much-anticipated Central Vista Avenue was completed just in time for the 73rd Republic Day celebrations, but spectators who attended the event on Wednesday expressed mixed reactions. The most common complaint was that portions within the redeveloped area were “in an unfinished state, causing inconvenience to public movement”.
Noor Shams said he and his friends navigated with difficultly through muddy portions of barren land near the entry points leading to the seating area.
“The work here is clearly unfinished. The surrounding areas are filled with mud due to the rains, and it has to be fixed. The mud is so loose that the foot gets stuck in it. Arrangements for such an event should be proper, especially when there is limited attendance due to COVID restrictions. The vehicle parking designated to us was full and so were the seats at the venue,” he said, adding that he has been a regular attendee at the annual Republic Day and Independence Day celebrations events for several years.
Another attendee said there was confusion over the parking of vehicles as “most of them reached their full capacity”, adding that “better arrangements” were in place during events in previous years.
Expected inconvenience
Some were unhappy with the overall arrangements whereas a few expressed satisfaction with the redeveloped Rajpath stretch, where the annual Republic Day parade was held on Wednesday, adding that “small inconveniences” were expected.
According to the details shared by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the redeveloped area, which spreads across 85.3 hectares, houses 16,500 metres of redeveloped cross pathways while the number of benches stand at 422.
The total number of trees in the area, which previously stood at 3,890, has been increased to 4,087 while storm water drains have been introduced along with granite pathways, according to the Ministry.
Apart from this, 114 signages showcasing a compact design and 915 light poles in the garden areas are part of the redevelopment plan.
Pending work
The pending work includes a step-based garden set-up, eight amenity blocks and four underpasses for pedestrians, which is currently in progress.
“Most of the redeveloped area that I could see was on the Rajpath stretch, but there are portions surrounding this which are still with construction material and looks incomplete. It seems to be unfinished, so one can’t look at the Rajpath and say that the whole area has been redeveloped completely,” said a spectator.