Upping the ante against much-touted car-bandi plan of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), traders in Connaught Place will down their shutter on Tuesday from 12 to 3 pm. “We will not let NDMC plan happen since it is the question of our livelihood,” said Atul Bhargava, New Delhi Traders’ Association (NDTA)’s president.
Questioning motive behind the illogical decision to restrict entry of vehicles into the Inner and Middle Circles of CP, Bhargava said, “Not only traders in the Inner and Middle Circles, traders in Outer Circle will also join the protest. They are also opposing the move, because banning entry of vehicles in Inner and Middle Circles will also create chaos in front of their shops.”
NDTA also invited all the traders for opinion exchange on pedestrianisation idea of the council.
Former NDTA president Manoj Mohan Agarwal said, “We will gather in large numbers and will decide the next course of action. We will fight this impractical idea tooth and nail and will ensure that it never takes off.”
On the other side, sources in NDMC said that the action plan is still under discussion as no decision has been taken yet. “Traders can do whatever they want. There is no confirmation of the execution of the said plan,” they added
NDTA members have argued that the other stakeholders like Delhi Traffic Police have no sufficient workforce.
“CP is an important traffic junction of the city catering to vehicles moving from one side to another. If CP is closed for crossing traffic, the vehicular movement of the city will come under tremendous pressure,” said an NDTA member.