Cleaning and beautification of roads, kerbs, footpaths and central verges etc in different areas of the national Capital will be completed by the end of December this year, ahead of the G-20 summit.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, New Delhi Municipal Council chairman Amit Yadav and senior officials inspected the ongoing beautification projects on Saturday. India has assumed the Presidency of the influential group for a year from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023. Informing about the steps taken to clean the roads, Sources in the NDMC said that the works of cleaning the footpaths and kerbs using recycled water through pressure hoses from mobile tankers, so that dirt and paan/guthka stains can be removed, have begun on a regular basis. Giving the details of the area on which the sanitation work is underway, they said that roads of Connaught Place that include, Barakhamba Road, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Parliament Street, Panchkuian Road and Janpath etc were being cleaned by the council. Apart from this, sites where works have begun include Khan Market, India Gate Radial, ISBT, Ring Road, Mandi House, Mathura Road, Sardar Patel Marg, Pragati Maidan, Lodhi Road and Purana Qila Road, among others, they said. Other than cleaning, several other works are being done by the civic agency such as repair and replacement of footpaths along with fresh painting of kerb stones is also underway, sources said.
“Thousands of flower pots with seasonal plants and flowers are being put along the footpaths and earthen side verges of roads. Similarly, the central verges of all these roads are being cleaned and adorned with fresh paint and uniformly planted flowering and seasonal plants,” they stated.“The entire exercise of repair and plantation is expected to be completed by end of December this year and cleaning exercise will continue on a regular basis,” said sources.
The NDMC plans to take up several civil, electrical and horticulture works on 41 arterial roads in New Delhi in preparation for the G20 summit, official said on Friday, adding that authority will spend upto Rs 150 crore on beautifying and rejuvenating the areas surrounding these roads.
Officials said the NDMC will especially focus on road leading from Indira Gandhi International Airport to city, and areas where delegates will stay and hold meetings. India is expected to host over 200 G20 meetings during its yearlong Presidency of influential group which will culminate with an annual summit on September 9 and 10 next year. Delhi is set to host a series of meetings, including a leaders’ summit next year.
While main site of summit will be redeveloped exhibition and convention centre in Pragati Maidan, several meetings will take place in NDMC areas. NDMC officials said that around 190 meetings are likely to be held in areas, and 12,000 delegates are expected to visit during one year of India’s presidency.