Vehicle-free CP: Traders give shutdown call

Traders of the iconic Connaught Place market have called for a shutdown on Tuesday to protest the plan to make middle and inner circle vehicle-free.

The decision to make the middle and the inner circular roads of CP vehicle-free was announced last month following a meeting chaired by Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu and attended by officials of the Urban Development Ministry, NDMC and Delhi Police.

"CP will be closed tomorrow (Tuesday) as traders want to voice their strong disagreement against the change in traffic and parking planning in the market. We will gather to chalk out a strategy if our demands are not heard," said Atul Bhargav, president, New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA). The drive which was expected to begin from February 1 is likely to kick-start by end of this month or early March.