Shopping for votes in south Delhi market?

NEW DELHI: With general elections round the corner, there is a sudden scramble to announce projects, both to pre-empt the model code of conduct as well as to catch the voters’ attention. Accordingly, Union minister for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Puri will be visiting Basant Lok market in south Delhi’s Vasant Vihar on Tuesday to inaugurate the makeover of the once popular commercial hub.
Delhi Development Authority has set aside Rs 10 crore for upgrading Basant Lok, with plans to install a fire fighting system, put up ornamental lighting, construct an open amphitheatre, open plazas and green spaces, and renovate the parking facilities.

When TOI visited the market on Monday, the revamp project appeared at least a third of the way from completion. With the VIP event scheduled for a day later, DDA officials were furiously trying to impart a degree of finished look on the market, even as hundreds of labours worked on the open amphitheatre that has replaced the old fountain in the main square. More were cleaning the corridors and other areas of the mounds of construction debris.
A DDA official said, “The installation of granite tiles and cobblestone is over, as is the installation of ornamental lights. We have reconstructed a portion of the parking lot and upgraded the drains, rainwater harvesting pits and pipeline.” He, however, said that another month was needed to construct the water tanks, install the public address system and CCTV cameras, make disabled friendly pavements and construct the back lanes.
Likewise, the redevelopment of the open piazzas and installing of tensile umbrellas at the open amphitheatre will take 60 more days. S S Lamba, president, Basant Lok Upgradation and Maintenance Committee, claimed that on completion Basant Lok would be the first fire compliant commercial complex in Delhi.
The market, constructed in 1970s, was a happening hangout but lost out to the multiplexes and glitzy malls nearby. Neglected maintenance and decaying infrastructure led many popular stores to down shutters and migrate to the malls at Vasant Kunj and Saket. “With no renovation for decades, the common areas and civic services were on the verge of collapse. We lost 40% of our clientele,” claimed Rakesh Thukral, a shop owner.
In 2008, a newly formed traders’ association regularly followed up with the lieutenant governor and DDA the subject of the commercial centre’s restoration. “We even agreed to pay for the preparation of a detailed plan. Finally, Rs 10 crore was allocated on the LG’s direction for the makeover of Basant Lok,” said Lamba.
Simultaneously, DDA is upgrading the district park abutting the market. “We have re-laid the lane connecting the park and the market. There is new landscaping and lighting, and the department of archaeology is carrying some repair work on the 600-year-old Bara Lao Ka Gumbad,” said a DDA official.