CP will get 50 utility screens with Wi-fi, charging points by May-end
NEWDELHI: The paan-stained and littered colonnades of Connaught Place may soon wear a modern look with the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) installing digital utility screens at every corner of the commercial hub to prevent the menace.
Introduced for the first time in the national Capital, these screens provide access to facilities such as free Wi-fi, mobile charging points and details about tourist places in city.
With 30 such screens already installed, officials said the project will be made fully operational by May end.
NDMC chairman Naresh Kumar said these screen would help dissuade people from spitting in corners. “The project included installation of 50 digital screens in the inner circle of Connaught Place. We have already installed 30 digital screens and remaining 20 will be installed in sometime. These screens will help us curb littering and the practice of people spitting in corners,” he said.
Though the concept was conceived last year, officials said it was implemented two months ago due to delay in completion of tendering process.
“Some of these screens have already been made operational. We have leased out these screens to concessionaires who will display advertisements on them 80% of time. In lieu of that, the contractor will provide free Wi-fi (within a radius of 25 metres) and mobile charge points for eight mobiles at each screen,” said a senior NDMC official.
NDMC officials said the initiative has also helped in stopping hawkers from encroaching upon the space around these pillars.
Traders, however, said they were not happy with the civic agency’s decision to “lease out” the space without their consent.
“As per norms, these are privately-owned corridors and belong to shop owners. In 1960s, the civic agency had taken over the space for sweeping, maintenance and creating space for pedestrians. But now they have started leasing out spaces on pillars and corners to generate revenue without the consent of stakeholders,” said Atul Bhargava, president of New Delhi Traders’ Association.
Traders also maintained that the spaces adjacent to these screens are still occupied by hawkers.
“The spaces around the screens that have been made operational have already been encroached upon,” said Bhargava.
A council official said this was not a commercial venture. “We are cleaning up the space and ensuring that it is free of encroachment. Clean spaces attract higher footfall. This, in turn, will help the traders,” said an official who is not authorised to speak to media.
The NDMC is also in process of installing 50 digital interactive screens at Khan Market, Sarojini Nagar and Connaught Place by July end.