G20 summit: CCTV to art installations, Capital facelift gets final touch

In Delhi, the India Gate has been the site of a rigorous remaking in the past couple of years. Now, it is witnessing finishing touches to delicately sculpted tiered fountains on the periphery of the hexagon housing the war memorial.

The fountains aren’t an exception. Art installations have come up across the national capital, with just a month to go before it hosts the final G20 leaders’ summit. They are as diverse as they come — from a winged unicorn on Mathura Road, which leads up to the main venue, Bharat Mandapam, to birds and animals representing G20 countries, such as a puma representing Argentina in the Chanakyapuri area.

Most of these installations have been made using scrap such as automobile junk, gas cylinders, iron bits, construction rods and other such materials, in keeping with one of the key issues on the G20 agenda — sustainability and climate action.

As Delhi gets decked up to welcome global heads of state, it is leaving no stone unturned to put its best step forward. Civic authorities are ensuring CCTV cameras are in place on important stretches, streetlights are in working condition, and the sidewalks are shipshape. In many areas, such as Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, or Mathura Road, fencing of green plastic leaves has been placed for a neater look.

Work is in full swing across important monuments as well, such as the 15th-century domed tomb, Gol Gumbad, at the Lodhi Road intersection. Not far from the tomb, a huge signboard reads “EV charging station coming up”, hinting at the policy push towards electric vehicles.

And further down, one of the many drinking water facilities is being set up. The hard-to-miss bright orange walkway on the pavement sits well in the lush green background of Lodhi Road, but its barred canopy does little to provide much shade from the sun or rain.

Gol Gumbad aside, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is sprucing up some 20 monuments across the city, including the Mehrauli Archaeological Park and the Mutiny Memorial. The ASI is also ready to display the first ever chariot that was found during excavations at Sinauli in Uttar Pradesh. The 187-year-old renovated and restored St James’ Church, also known as Skinner’s Church, in Old Delhi’s Kashmiri Gate is also set to be unveiled.

While leaders would congregate on September 9 and 10 at the newly built Bharat Mandapam for the summit, their spouses could head to monuments, parks and shopping areas.

The Delhi government has identified 61 roads and footpaths that need repairing, especially those around the bigger markets, monuments and 28 hotels where the delegates will stay. The city government is mulling a proposal to request schools to remain shut on Friday, September 8, when delegations start arriving, and the rest of the city to work from home preferably.

Administrators have found varnishing the city easier than dealing with waterlogging woes since Delhi has received excess rainfall this monsoon. Delhi’s reputation as one of the world’s most polluted cities is a concern, too. Tractor-mounted heavy-duty pumps, suction machines and spray jets would be at the disposal of civic agencies to prevent waterlogging. Thirty teams of the Delhi Pollution Control Board will keep a lid on polluting activities.

Civic agencies have been thorough in removing encroachments. Street vendors and hawkers would not be allowed to ply their trade in some markets and roadsides during the duration of the summit. But campaigns aimed at demolishing slums and catching stray dogs have run into controversy. After protests from animal rights activists, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has shelved its extensive plan to sterilise and keep stray dogs for weeks in shelters. The canines will now be kept in shelters for fewer days and released back to the localities from where they were picked up after the summit. A citizens’ group led by activist Harsh Mander and others has flagged how slums have been demolished and the right to livelihood snatched away from thousands.

The Delhi Police, responsible for ensuring security and smooth traffic movement, has plans to post women personnel outside key Metro stations. It has sensitised cops to introduce a more “invisible security” rather than “overwhelming deployment”. 

After the inauguration of Bharat Mandapam last month, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora wrote to senior officers to ensure “thoughtful implementation of the concept that a good security arrangement should have low visibility while being all-pervasive”.

In readiness

Art installations across city; most of these have been made using scrap in keeping with a G20 agenda of sustainability and climate action

CCTV on important stretches

ASI is sprucing up 20 monuments

Delhi govt has identified 61 roads and footpaths that need repair

Civic agencies tasked with preventing waterlogging; pollution control board to keep a lid on polluting activities

Campaigns aimed at demolishing slums and catching stray dogs have met with protest

Delhi Police has sensitised cops for a more “invisible security” rather than “overwhelming deployment”