New Delhi:

The NDMC on Monday said it is contemplating to deploy security guards to prevent vandalisation or theft of assets like fountains and sculptures installed ahead of the G20 Summit.

Different agencies, including the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), made extensive preparations for the two-day G20 Summit that saw heads of state from across the world gather in the national capital and concluded on Sunday.

Road infrastructure was spruced up, roads were adorned with over 7 lakh potted plants and fountains, statues, sculptures and street furniture were installed in area near the summit venue.

“We will maintain the assets, including 65 fountains and nearly 20 sculptures, that were installed at prominent locations and roundabouts for the G20 Summit,” NDMC vice-chairman Satish Upadhyay said.

The civic body also decorated road stretches, roundabouts and other prominent locations with 1 lakh potted plants. Some of these could now be moved to locations like NDMC buildings, health centres and schools but the overall greenery will be maintained, he said.

“We will evaluate if there is a need to deploy guards at some of these places to ensure that the assets are not vandalised or stolen in the coming days so that the efforts and hard work put in to beautify the NDMC area do not get wasted,” Mr Upadhyay said.

The NDMC will also try to maintain the cleanliness in its area and ensure that the response mechanism that was established for quick disposal of complaints during the G20 Summit also remains effective in the future, he said.

The reason behind the quick response by different agencies during the summit was the high-level of coordination among them, he added.

Mr Upadhyay urged Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena to hold monthly or bimonthly meetings of different agencies to ensure better delivery of civic services to people.

The G20 venue, Bharat Mandapam; G20 secretariat and hotels where the heads of the state stayed fell under the NDMC’s jurisdiction.

Satish Upadhyay had earlier said that 44 roads in the NDMC area were spruced up for the G20 Summit. Roundabouts were redeveloped and the civic body’s Horticulture Department planted saplings to enhance greenery along the roads and open spaces.

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The 18th G20 Summit will be held at the newly built Bharat Mandapam at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi next week. Authorities in the national capital have been making extensive arrangements to welcome delegates from across the world that will include over 25 heads of state and global institution leaders.

To ensure the smooth functioning of the summit, Delhi Police has also issued orders for the movement of the Delhi Metro. The gates of some metro stations will remain closed due to security reasons from September 8 to 10 when India will be hosting the G20 Summit. 

According to the order issued by the police, traffic will be completely shut off at Moti Bagh, Bhikaji Cama Place, Munirka, RK Puram, IIT, and Sadar Bazar Cantonment metro stations. Passengers can neither enter nor exit these metro stations.

Meanwhile, the police have kept Dhaula Kuan, Khan Market, Janpath, Supreme Court, and Bhikaji Cama Place metro stations on the list of sensitive places. Along with this, the Supreme Court Metro Station, the nearest station to the venue, will remain completely closed. 

Other than the specified gates, the Delhi Metro will continue to operate normally.

Passengers going towards the Delhi airport from the night of the 7th to the evening of the 11th of September have been advised to use the metro.

Earlier, the Delhi Metro announced that they will be selling ‘Tourist Smart Cards’ through dedicated counters at 36 stations from September 4-13. 

These ‘Tourist Smart Cards’ are available on regular days too, but in view of the G20 Summit, dedicated counters have been opened which would start selling these cards for a period of 10 days starting Monday, a senior official said. 

The 36 stations where these cards will be sold through dedicated counters include — Kashmere Gate, Chandni Chowk, Chawri Bazar, New Delhi, Rajiv Chowk, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhawan, Lok Kalyan Marg and Supreme Court metro stations. 

Meanwhile, Delhi traffic police have also released a detailed advisory on the traffic movement in the national capital. The official statement revealed that all traffic restrictions will come into effect from the night of September 7 and remain in place till September 11.