Faced with the need for heightened security after Thursday’s terrorist attack, a portion of Talkatora road in front of Parliament House is likely to be closed to the public to pave the way for an integrated Parliament complex.
The proposal was given the go ahead at a high-level meeting convened by Lok Sabha speaker G M C Balayogi in October after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US. It proposes diversion of traffic on the Talkatora Road between Parliament House and Parliament House Annexe, Parliament sources said on Friday.
In the light of Thursday’s attack, the proposal is likely to be expeditiously implemented, the sources said. Urban development minister Ananth Kumar strongly supported the proposal at the meeting which was attended among others by the Delhi Police Commissioner, the Lok Sabha House committee chairman and the secretaries general of both houses.
However, Delhi Police and NDMC had expressed reservations in view of the heavy traffic on the section used by nearly 30,000-35,000 vehicles during peak hours. They said other connecting roads had to be widened.
Kumar said at the meeting that the thoroughfare on the section of the Talkatora Road between two high security and sterilised zones was at variance with the norms of security.

Bureau Report