He said: вЂњThe footfall is expected to increase by 60 per cent as there is no traffic jam now.Д«hargava also said the air quality has improved in the area. President of Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal Sanjay Bhargava said business has improved in the area and business will get better once the pandemic settles down. Traders are also divided over the redevelopment.

He said the police have to deflate tyres at times to reduce overcrowding. Manually peddled rickshaws clogging the street are a common sight in DelhiвЂ™s Chandni Chowk | Manisha Mondal | ThePrintД¬ommuter Pramod Kumar, though, is irritated that the area is now overrun by rickshaws, making it difficult to enter nearby Chawri Bazar. Ibrahim, 32, who has been in the business for 10 years, said: вЂњCustomers ko ab rickshaw se hi jana padta hai, par licence hona chahiye (Customers now have to travel in rickshaws but we need licences to operate).вЂќД«ut his friend Rajdeep, who drives a battery rickshaw, is unhappy because entry is banned for him. With cars missing from the scene, business has improved for the rickshaw pullers. The permanent stakeholders of the area - regular commuters, shopkeepers, rickshaw pullers, residents and streetside hawkers - whose livelihoods and heritage are connected to the main street are either happy or circumspect. To top all efforts, the market did not stop bustling even one day during the redevelopment work - except for the Covid lockdown.ДЄlso read: Who razed Chandni Chowk Hanuman mandir, AAP or BJP? Residents donвЂ™t care, just want it back He added: вЂњThereвЂ™s no plan for vending zones in the stretch as hawking has been prohibited here by various courts.вЂќ Nodal officer of the project, Nitin Panigrahi, said: вЂњSince Chandni Chowk is the very kitchen of street food, gas pipelines have been laid along the entire stretch so as to make these congested food joints safe.вЂќ A dedicated water line has also been created to feed street fire hydrants in the area which is notorious for frequent blazes. The old water pipeline has been replaced with new ones, while the existing sewerage network has been cleaned with its inner surface re-laid. Several residents felt that the street is now a touristвЂ™s delight, a shopperвЂ™s haven. The untangled mess of the overhead wires, the low-hanging loops have also been taken underground.

The Chandni Chowk road is freshly tiled with red sandstone, its sides colourful with flowerpots, punctuated with benches for the tired feet. There are also questions on when the rest of the teeming area will get a makeover as the first phase missed several deadlines due to Covid and other issues.ДЄnd what are the permanent stakeholders saying - those whose livelihoods depend on the economy of the main street? Phase 1: The new lookДЄs one enters Chandni Chowk, posters on steel gates warn that motor vehicles would be fined Rs 20,000 if they enter the revamped road opposite Red Fort between 9 am and 9 pm. Murmurs have, therefore, risen whether laying tiles over the central verge has вЂњsilenced the dynamism of centuriesвЂќ. Preservation is a one-way street as there is no going back, experts said. However, like other attempts at the redesign of a historical place, Chandni ChowkвЂ™s preservation is also fraught with criticism. The work, which started in December 2018, has been implemented by the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC) and DelhiвЂ™s Public Works Department (PWD). The dirty mesh of overhead wires has also been removed. The street has also been beautified - retiled, potted with plants, and pavements widened for a better walking experience. I hope all this is resolved before the formal inauguration,' an officail had said earlier.The menace of motor vehicles is gone from this road as only manually-pedalled rickshaws are allowed. Encroachment is another big problem in the market. вЂњOther than a few finishing touches, toilet complexes in the area are also to be made functional. The project got delayed further and was set for inauguration in April this year but the event was cancelled due to surge in COVID-19 cases.

It was to be completed in March 2020 but the project got delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic and its deadline was further pushed to December 2020. The stretch has been made a вЂњno-traffic zone' for motorised vehicles between 9 am and 9 pm.ДЄccording to PWD officials, the project was approved in August 2018 and work on it began in December 2018.

The stretch has been developed as a pedestrian friendly corridor and made aesthetically appealing with the help of red granite stone, decorative lights, plants and street furniture etc. Now, there are underground electric wires, traffic fixed and CCTVs installed. In the redevelopment project, the 1.3-km-long stretch in Chandni Chowk between the Red Fort and the Fatehpuri Masjid crossing has been improved and beautified.

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