New Delhi: A tiranga yatra organised by New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) in Connaught Place Monday drew sharp criticism from traders, who alleged that they were neither informed about the event beforehand nor consulted about its arrangements.Holding it on a working day disrupted businesses, they claimed, adding that road blockades and tents installed by the civic body made it difficult for shopkeepers, employees and customers to access shops, offices and eateries.The traders also objected to restrictions on entry to Inner Circle, saying all entries were opened only around 2pm, an hour after the event concluded.The yatra, organised as part of ‘Har Ghar Tiranga – 2026’ campaign, was attended by 6,000 students and others. Flagging it off from Janpath radial, CM Rekha Gupta said, “Building a Viksit Bharat cannot be achieved through govt efforts alone; the collective contribution of every Indian is essential for this endeavour.”Vikram Badhwar, general secretary of New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA), said, “None of the eight entries to Inner Circle were opened to public before 2pm. The radial roads were closed from Sunday evening, and when we objected to attempts to close the entries to Inner Circle at night, NDMC did not listen to us. Who will compensate for our losses?”NDMC officials, however, claimed all entries were open Sunday night and until 10am Monday. “Traffic police ensured there was no jam in the area. Also, the event used to be held after Independence Day earlier as well, and no issues were reported by anyone,” said an official.However, a trader said, “The decision to hold it in CP when several other venues, including Talkatora Stadium and India Gate, are available within NDMC jurisdiction is questionable.”Many traders also said the event highlighted the difference in how they and illegal hawkers are treated. “Unlike us, the illegal hawkers were hardly visible during the event and all of them appeared to have prior information about it. As soon as the entries were reopened in the afternoon, they again flooded CP. NDMC is hardly taking any action to remove them despite a court order,” said Amit Gupta, joint secretary, NDTA.Refuting this claim, NDMC said the question of not informing the traders about the event doesn’t arise as they were invited to participate in it.
