Late night walks in some Delhi parks in the offing

Delhiites may soon get an opportunity to take a late night walk in their favourite gardens this summer as the New Delhi Municipal Council is mulling a plan to keep parks under its jurisdiction open till 11 PM.
Talkatora Garden, Nehru Garden, and Lodhi Garden are the three parks where the NDMC is planning to bring into effect the extended park hour as a pilot project.
"Since these parks only remain open till 7 PM in the summers and 6 PM in the winters, the walkers usually go to India Gate. So, we have decided to extend the park hour till 11 PM so that those who want to spend some time with their families in the open after dinner can do so," an NDMC official said.

The plan will be executed in another two months as the civic agency is currently looking at the security angle.
"We do not want to compromise with the security, especially of women when we implement this plan. So we are looking at a few things from the security point of view such as deploying guards in these parks after 7 PM," he said.
The Chief Security Officer of the NDMC has been asked to provide training to young guards who will be then deployed at these parks to ensure safety and security of the public.

The Central Park at Connaught Place has been kept out of the purview of the plan due to security reasons.The security aspect is essential as the parks will not be flooded with lights.

Keeping in mind that the parks are inhabited by birds, the area will not be completely lit up.
"The parks will not be lit up completely to take care of the birds. Thus we will have footlights or path lights which will provide the walkers adequate visibility.Also, our guards will be taking the rounds with neon jackets to check upon the public," the official said.
Hawkers and the ice-cream vendors will also be allowed to stand outside the gates of the parks, he said.