New-look visitor-friendly Mandi House area by August 15, 2022

Delhi: Mandi House, the cultural and theatre hub of Delhi, is under redevelopment for the past few months. The regular visitors of Mandi House will now see it in a new avatar in a few days. The construction for the redevelopment of Mandi House began at the end of March 2022 and will end by August 15, 2022. This initiative, as a part of the Smart City project, includes developing an amphitheatre, sitting space and beautifying its green pockets.

Since prestigious cultural institutions related to music, art, drama, and history such as the National School of Drama, Triveni Kala Sangam, and Lalit Kala Akademi are located next to each segment of the round-about, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) plans to develop green spaces facing the institutions making it citizen-friendly.

As a part of this project, NDMC plans to construct a small amphitheatre in one of the green spaces for the theatre students who want to practice art and drama. NDMC also plans to develop a sitting area for people to sit and relax and a table-top walkway at each segment. These green pockets will be decorated with trellis and colourful planters along with landscape lights to enhance the cultural vibe of the place.

The regular visitors to the Mandi House area have a mixed opinion about the whole redevelopment project. Says Nikita Sharma (21), a theatre enthusiast, "I liked Mandi house the way it was before. It was a lot greener then. I am afraid that all this concrete work will spoil its' earlier peaceful and easy on eyes look. But it may turn out that the regulars here may take a liking to these new developments. All I want is that the public spaces which the place had earlier retain their charm and flavour."

Meanwhile, NDMC also plans to redevelop the three stretches of mandi House round-about, including Kasturba Gandhi Marg, and Barakhamba Road. This includes redesigning footpaths, installing more lights and overall upliftment of the place.