With the Engineers India limited missing deadlines repeatedly, the Connaught Place redevelopment plan is still in a shambles as it has added massively to the woes of the traders in the area and shoppers in Connaught Place.
With the deadlines being extended over and over again, the shopkeepers and vendors are left even more flustered than before. Parking problems, dust and dirt caused due to delayed construction activities is not just proving to be a health hazard but has also led to a dip in sales and affected the business drastically.
"People are unable to trace the locations of our establishments as we cannot place hoardings. There is no proper parking space. Our guest feedback, which is most important for the hotel industry, is very poor as there are a lot of midnight complaints", said Vaibhav, a dismayed front office supervisor of a leading hotel in Connaught Place.
It's not only the delay and slow construction activity troubling the trading community but also due to underground construction work people are facing difficulty in crossing roads. Power cuts due to construction are yet another factor adding to the woes of the shopkeepers. Poonam Anand, the owner of a store 'Hidesign' laments, "Every time they dig up, they cut down our electricity, it becomes impossible to charge people with credit cards. Sales have been badly affected. Situation is the same since three years. Pillars have been broken and reconstructed five times. Dust and dirt prevent people from coming here affecting sales."
Atul Bhargava, the president of the New Delhi Traders Association said, "It's the middle circle which is the most affected. A lot of inconvenience has been caused due to repeated deadline misses, the final deadline has been given and if the contractor fails to deliver this time they must reimburse the money to the traders. "It's not just shopkeepers, the street vendors too are getting affected adversely as people do not prefer to street shop because of the filth all around and rather prefer walking into shops. This is adding to the sufferings of these street vendors for whom their only source of livelihood is being taken away.