The countdown has begun for Delhi’s biggest international event—the G20 Summit. With a week to go, it is time to go green, clean, and add some sheen.
“More than 3.6 million saplings have been planted by the government this year to green Delhi before the G20 Summit,’’ said Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai at a press conference in the national capital on Wednesday. There are 180,000 potted plants that have been littered across the city, and 2,50,00 pots with flowers and foliage on the roads for the G20. To ensure that these plants don’t wilt before showtime, 300 officials have been deputed to keep them green. The plants have been “timed” so that the flowers bloom just at the right time.
Walls across the city are being spruced up. Flyovers are being given a lick of paint and street artists have been roped into turn walls into vivid canvases. Images of Krishna with his gopis, Ahilyabai, Maharana Pratap, and Prithviraj Chauhan have adorned the walls. Statues of lions, peacocks, horses have sprung in gardens and on traffic islands to give visitors a glimpse of street art.
The city centre will be in lockdown mode for the event. The iconic Connaught Place as well as Khan Market will be shut. This has led to some traders being less than happy. It is estimated that within Connaught Place and the surrounding areas, the closure of markets over the weekend could result in a loss of Rs. 100 crore. The closure of Khan Market, which has 50 restaurants and 200 shops, will lead to Rs 10 crore loss.
While the Khan Market Traders Association initially had protested the move, Sanjeev Mehra, president of the traders association, said the prestige of India trumps profit. “When we heard Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying inconvenience is regretted, we decided not to protest, especially as it does affect security. Considering national pride, safety and security, we withdrew our protest,’’ he said.
However, Delhi will be more than just a beautiful city. It will turn into a fortress. Air Force fighter planes will be the big brother in the skies to ensure that there are no drones or UAVs in the skies. National Security Guard will be posted in key locations in the city. Community centres in residential areas in Lutyens Delhi are being made available to the commandos for two days to ensure that they are on location in case of an emergency. The NSG bomb disposal squad will also be on hand.
The Delhi Police is also being equipped to deal with protesters. There have been intelligence inputs that protesters might chain themselves with a PVC pipe in a way that the police can’t break the handcuffs. This is especially true of Tibetans who might be protesting. The police are being equipped with bolt cutters to deal with that situation. There will also be Vikrant, anti-protest vehicles with tear gas, batons etc, parked in locations in the city so that there is peace on the streets during the event.
