As the New Delhi Municipal Council is busy in replacing signages in the newly-christened Kartavya Path, hundreds of people from across the national capital thronged the India Gate on Sunday evening, turning it into a ''picnic'' spot once again.
For many families, the iconic India Gate became their favourite weekend destination for resuming their pre-COVID-19 routines from jogging, walking or taking their toddlers for a stroll.
Signages around the India Gate hexagon are mounted on stainless steel-made unipoles with horizontal plates bearing white text on green background. Late Friday night, one of the signages with three green plates bore name of two streets -- Sher Shah Suri Marg and Dr Zakir Hussain Marg -- while 'Rajpath' inscribed earlier in the top plate could be seen scraped off, as also from other signages that bore the old name. On Sunday, another signage was seen with 'Rajpath' erased from the middle plate, flanked by 'Akbar Road' plate above and 'Ashoka Road' plate below it.
Meet Barkha and her family who came from Sitaram Bazar to India Gate for a Sunday picnic. With bedsheet spread, snacks and cold drinks stacked inside a basket beside them, they called it a perfect weather for a picnic.
With her 15-year-old Aryan playing with her cousins and other members of her family clicking each other's pictures, it turned out to be a fun day for her family. When asked about the picnic plan, Barkha’s husband Anirudh said, "It feels good to be back here post lockdown. Feels like we have got a fresh air to breathe, free space for children to play and some time for family to bond." Aryan who was playing with her cousins said, "Today, was our holiday, so we insisted to come here. It looks so beautiful with lights lit and most importantly the place looks so clean. I hope it remains the same always."
A Sweden national was busy jogging along with his group of colleagues. He landed in New Delhi last night for a work-related purpose. While jogging with his colleagues, he said, "I landed here last night and today here I am at the iconic tourist spot. It feels good. This is the first time I have been here. I will keep coming for my morning walks here till I am here."
There was a good strength of police deployment at the Kartavya Path ensuring that the public does not cross the road to the other side where the statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose has been installed.
A senior police officer deployed at the spot said, "Large number of people have been visiting India Gate since Saturday. So, we have a good number of personnel deployed here to ensure safety and security of public. We have also been making regular announcements urging public to not cross the road and instead use the underpass to visit the other end." On the other side, from youngsters to the elderly, everyone were busy taking selfies on their mobile phones. At the same time, professional photographers also rejoiced as many insisted on getting their pictures clicked at the new spots. Priyanka who came from Aya Nagar with her family said, India Gate has got a new look with all the latest installations done.
"I am so happy to be back with my family post covid here. At least kids have a free space to play now. All the installations done here also looks very good. It gives a good vibe. But yeah, being Sunday it is crowded but I am really enjoying it," she said.
Sunday is also the last day of a drone show depicting the life and legacy of Netaji.