Connaught Place in Delhi to go vehicle-free for 3 months beginning February

Delhi will experiment with decongesting Connaught Place - the tentative plan is to make the middle and inner circular roads vehicle-free from February for the next three months on a pilot basis. The decision was taken at a meeting of the relevant authorities of the Urban Development Ministry, NDMC and Delhi Police.
The meeting was chaired by Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 5 January 2017.

The pedestrianisation of Connaught Place would be taken up on a pilot basis and would be implemented for three months from February for ground level testing of issues that would relate to changes in traffic circulation, experience of pedestrians and shop owners, management of reclaimed parking lots, traffic load on outer circle and other similar aspects.
The total parking capacity at the three locations of Shivaji Stadium, Baba Kharak Singh Marg and Palika are 3,172 and these are under utilized - on an average only 1,088 vehicles are being parked. The unutilised capacity could be fully used by promoting 'park and ride' concept. There would be bicycles for hire and also battery-operated vehicles that would be deployed for commuting of people in the business district.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Madame Tussauds wax museum to come up in Connaught Place by mid-2017

Madame Tussauds is an international wax museum and a popular tourist attraction and it is set to come to New Delhi - it will be the 22nd in the world and would be located at Regal Cinema in Connaught Place. Its tentative launch date is mid-2017.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 24 November 2016.

The Delhi museum, which will be spread across two floors of Regal Cinema and one can see both local and international figures. A few of them are Prime Minister Narendra Modi, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, and American celebrity Kim Kardashian apart from Big B Amitabh Bachchan.
Madame Tussauds is run by entertainment company Merlin Entertainment which is headquartered in Dorset, England and has the biggest and most popular Madame Tussauds wax museum in London. It has wax replicas of Indian figures like Sachin Tendulkar, Narendra Modi, Mahatama Gandhi, and Aishwarya Rai.
Amitabh Bachchan was the first Bollywood figure in Madame Tussauds London in 2000 and it has appealed to the Indian consumer. Hence, it is extending its reach by opening the museum in New Delhi.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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McDonald's stops adding tomatoes to its burgers in North and East zones

US burger chain McDonald's has stopped adding sliced tomatoes in its products in North and East India - the reason is that the crops being received by them is of poor quality. It came as a surprise to the customers when they found the tomatoes missing from their burgers and wraps.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 15 July 2016.

A notice displayed at the out lets by Connaught Plaza Restaurants, which operates McDonald's stores in northern and eastern regions of the country, has explained the situation. It seems the company was unable to add tomatoes in various products due to temporary unavailability. This is attributed to unpredictable conditions that have impacted the tomato crop, its quality and supply.
In the past few months, tomato prices in the country have gone up in leaps and bounds. The company was not using any substitute for tomato but are making do with lettuce and onions and waiting for proper supplies to resume.


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