Foot soldiers push for a walkable Chandni Chowk by reclaiming its streets
On this Independence Day evening, the historic Chandni Chowk street in Delhi’s Walled City, otherwise chock-a-block with chaotic traffic and a teeming mass of people, was wide open for a stroll. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC) for the first time ever organised ‘raahgiri’ in the city in collaboration with a leading English daily with an aim to promote non-motorised vehicles and to bring the charm and history of old Delhi closer to the people.
‘Raahgiri’, a street fete concept, now popular in the National Capital Region, involves people carrying out various activities on a street, minus the honking and polluting vehicles. Among the activities organised during the four-hour ‘raahgiri’ included cycling, kite-flying, painting the tricolour on faces, apart from enjoying street food, all in the backdrop of patriotic songs.
Visitors were seen enjoying riding ‘eco-friendly’ bicycle rides from the 1.2-km-long famed stretch from lal Mandir (Jain temple) on Red Fort end to Fatehpuri Masjid on the other. Chandni Chowk market area designed by Jehan Ara, daughter of Mughal emperor Shahjahan was built by him in the 17th century and to this day draws crowds from home and abroad, for its centuries-old shops and gastronomical delights.
The streets were filled with tricolour balloons and extra lighting and the old architecture of the shops flanking the street added to the aura of the event. Kite-flying on August 15, a tradition still followed especially in the Walled City, provided a colourful backdrop, even as visitors tried manoeuvring the manjha. A signature wall was also installed at the place for people to sign and write messages for the day and also leave hand impressions on the canvas.
The over 140-year-old historic Town Hall in Chandni Chowk area was also beautifully lit up to mark the 68th Independence Day. The colonial-era building earlier served as the headquarters of the erstwhile unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi before its trifurcation into three separate civic bodies — NMC, SDMC and EDMC — in 2012.
The NDMC had also planned a laser show at its current headquarters, the Civic Centre on Minto Road, opposite the New Delhi Railway Station, but the event was cancelled. Facade of the century-old Delhi Junction was also lit up in the national flag colours to mark the day. New Delhi Municipal Council, civic body for the lutyens’ Delhi, also held its own ‘raahgiri’ in the historic Connaught Place with a host of colourful activities.