Recently the GMDA announced a complete makeover of MG Road to what national daily’s called a “European Look”. This is great news for areas and societies that touch the road including Essel Towers and Sushant Lok A Block, but is MG Road even ready for such a makeover?
The idea of GMDA to beautify MG Road is very good but it will not be successful till we see some of the prime concerns of the people living on this famous address destination.
A few points which come to my mind are that we must have proper walking paths apart from having cycling tracks. All over the world, both walkers & cycling enthusiasts have shared spaces and equal rights.
The second issue is of the prostitution racket flourishing on MG Road which we have been fighting for many years to control. For the past month, the police teams of various police stations in and around have started a combined campaign to control which hopefully will bear results. Earlier it was only done by the MG Road police post on MG Road.
The third very important point is to completely remove the hawkers on MG Road who were last temporarily removed during the G20 team visiting Gurugram. Needless to say that these hawkers, who are also vote banks, have local politicos’ protection. Whatever beautification they may do it will be marred by the vendors who are simply above the law. No doubt these hawkers also have the right to livelihood but beautification & hawkers work completely on cross purposes.
by Rajeev Sinha (President, Essel Tower RWA)
