What to expect at redeveloped Central Vista Avenue

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the revamped Central Vista Avenue as part of the Centre’s ₹13,500-crore redevelopment of the area. It is the first of the five projects to be completed as part of the redevelopment and is being opened after 19 months with some restrictions on vending, especially food items. Here is what to expect from the revamped public space and what went into giving the space a new look:

New features

Walkways: Close to 16.5 km of them have been constructed across lawns and along the newly renamed Kartavya Path. The lawns have been paved with granite in the Lakha stone colour. Stainless steel tactile indicators would guide visually impaired persons about the change in slope and directions.

Pedestrian underpasses: One of the biggest difficulties visitors faced was crossing the road at Janpath and C-hexagon. Four pedestrian underpasses have been constructed on the two roads to link the lawns and provide smooth access to India Gate. Currently, traffic movement near the India Gate gets affected due to an at-grade pedestrian crossing. The parking facility has been developed along the lawns. To provide smooth access to India Gate and connect the lawns, four pedestrian underpasses have been constructed, said a Central Public Works Department (CPWD) official.

Public safety: To ensure this, new streetlights have been installed in the area. While 74 heritage light poles along Kartavya Path have been refurbished, close to 1000 new streetlights have been installed along it as well as canals, parking spaces, new plazas, and tree avenue. Close to 300 CCTV cameras have been installed in the area. The new system will be able to detect unattended objects.

Maintaining greenery: Officials said that maintaining the green spaces was a huge challenge earlier. A substantial part of the redevelopment work has been to correct the slope of the lawns and install a weather-based water sprinkling system.Earlier, there were portions in the lawns where water would stagnate, especially during monsoon, making the entire area inaccessible for the public. “But now, we have corrected the slope of the lawns and integrated them with drain channels to minimise damage caused by stagnation of water,” said a CPWD official. 101 acres of lawns have been replanted with different species of grass, appropriate to their location.

Amenity blocks: Eight amenity blocks have been constructed on either side of Kartavya Path with toilets and drinking water facilities.

Vending zone: Seven such zones, including two near India Gate at C-Hexagon, have been developed. Of the seven vending zones, five have space for 40 vendors each. There are two amenity blocks at India Gate with 16 shops. An official said these shops will be given to state emporiums or artisans to display their goods. In the revamped avenue, visitors are likely to miss the popular ice-cream carts along the Kartavya Path during evening hours as these will not be allowed initially. An official said no decision has been taken as of now regarding whether to allow these vendors on Kartavya Path or not. “We have to look at the situation once the area is open to the public. But the ice-cream vendors can sell their items in the earmarked vending zones.”

Officials called maintenance of the area a huge challenge and said that selling food items at the lawns near India Gate at C-hexagon and between C-hexagon and Mansingh Road will not be allowed. Selling food items on the two lawns near India Gate will not be allowed. People will be discouraged to eat on the first two lawns near India Gate. Fifty security personnel will be deployed to ensure no damage is caused to the newly constructed infrastructure. Selling or eating food on the lawns near the India Gate will not be allowed like earlier.

Additional parking space: The CPWD has created space for 1117 cars and 40 buses. The parking will be free for the first two months.

Republic Day arrangement: Officials said measures have been taken to provide permanent facilities for the Republic Day parade in the redeveloped avenue. Earlier, the preparations for the parade used to start two-three months in advance and it would take weeks to dismantle the temporary structures. Due to movement of heavy vehicles and the temporary structures that were erected for the parade, the lawns would get damaged. With the new system, officials will take just a few days to make all the arrangements. Measures have been taken to ensure minimum disturbance at lawns while making arrangements for the parade.

People-friendly area: New signage have been put in place to guide people while CPWD has installed 422 red sandstone benches.

All services underground: All cables for the public announcement systems, CCTVs, Wi-Fi, etc have been placed underground along the Kartavya Path.

Boating: Officials said that boating will be allowed in canals located on the first lawn opposite India Gate and the other near Krishi Bhavan.

Bridges over canals: Sixteen bridges have been constructed over the canals along the Kartavya path to connect the front lawn with the rear lawns and parking area on each side. The 3.2-km-long canals on both sides have been refurbished and 60 aerators have been installed for maintenance.