Vehicle-free Connaught Place: Traders give shutdown call for tomorrow

New Delhi: Traders of the iconic Connaught Place market have called for a shutdown on Tuesday to protest the plan to make middle and inner circle vehicle-free.

The decision to make the middle and the inner circular roads of CP vehicle-free was announced last month following a meeting chaired by Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu and attended by officials of the Urban Development Ministry, NDMC and Delhi Police.

As per the plan, the middle and inner circular roads of CP in the heart of the national capital were to be made vehicle-free from February for three months on a pilot basis, a move aimed at decongesting the area.

However, the plan is yet to take off. The civic body is exploring ways for executing it and negotiations with various stakeholders are going on.

"CP will be closed tomorrow as traders want to voice their strong disagreement against the change in traffic and parking planning in the market. We will gather to chalk out a strategy if our demands are not heard," said Atul Bhargav, president, New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA).

According to NDMC officials, the modalities for execution of the plan are being worked out and discussions are on with traders and other stakeholders to assure them that the move will not cause financial loss to them.

"The execution of a plan of this scale requires multiple agency coordination and we are in consultation with different stakeholders to workout a detailed plan of action. Traders are concerned and we have been assuring them that a dedicated implementation of the plan will not cause any loss to them," a senior NDMC official said.

The drive which was expected to begin from February 1 is likely to kick-start by end of this month or early March.