Mridula, Thanks for the nice post on <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1lace><st1laceName>Lotus</st1laceName> <st1laceType>Temple</st1laceType></st1lace>. Can you share with us how the traffic jam last Friday had affected you or your loved ones? My father told long queues of visitors at the ticket counters of Pragati Maidan added to the plight. Vehicles were parked illegally on the roadside, due to absence of parking space. These blunders brought the vehicular movement to a standstill for long hours in and around ITO. The public obviously blamed the traffic police for such mismanagement. I myself found the traffic moving at a snail’s pace. It was utter chaos. It took me an hour to drive from the zoo to ITO. I was stuck in the jam on <st1:Street><st1:address>Mathura Road</st1:address></st1:Street>.
Delhi is a shopper’s paradise. Among one of the more delightful experiences that you will have in Delhi, is the wonderful opportunity of shopping. Everything that one desires to buy is available in Delhi. From international brands to simple handicrafts of some remote village, Delhi offers everything. Delhi markets and malls offer a staggering variety in terms of commodities. The national capital has been for long an important trading center of northern India and presently it is one of the most favorite places of the upwardly mobile class to buy sophisticated items. Shopping in Delhi is a pleasure that one cannot afford to miss.
Amrita, you are right! <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:City><st1lace>Delhi</st1lace></st1:City> indeed is a shopper’s paradise. It is a popular shopping destination for tourists. Tourists are attracted by items like carpets, silverware, jewellery, silk, leather, hand-printed cotton clothes and handicrafts. In <st1:City><st1lace>Delhi</st1lace></st1:City>, items are available in a wide price range and hence they are affordable to everybody. Shoppers need not worry about quality, in <st1:City><st1lace>Delhi</st1lace></st1:City>. They can be rest assured that they will find the best of the items in <st1:City><st1lace>Delhi</st1lace></st1:City>. <st1:City><st1lace>Delhi</st1lace></st1:City> has quite a few marketplaces and each market has an ambience of its own. Be it the Chandi Chowk, or the <st1:Street><st1:address>Connaught Place</st1:address></st1:Street> or the Hauz Khaus, each marketplace has an air that is different from the other.
Chandni Chowk almost always steals the show as far as shopping is concerned. Along the winding lanes and by-lanes of Chandni Chowk, one finds a plethora of items that are beautiful and characteristically Indian. Dariba is the place to shop for silverware. At Khari Baoli, there is the spice market where almost every type of spice is available. The bazaars offer a glimpse of the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:City><st1lace>Delhi</st1lace></st1:City> of the past. The antique shops near Jama Masjid offer many special items. They will never disappoint you, if you are looking for something for a long long time. <st1:Street><st1:address>Connaught Place</st1:address></st1:Street> is the place to buy Tibetan jewellery and ritual objects.
If you want to visit a large Lifestyle Department Store, you can visit the City Square. It is a shopping mall located in Shivaji District Center. It was developed by the MGF Group. This mall has a KFC and a Nike store. TDI Mall is located in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1lace><st1laceName>Shivaji</st1laceName> <st1laceName>Place</st1laceName> <st1laceType>District</st1laceType> <st1laceType>Center</st1laceType></st1lace>. This shopping mall was developed by the TDI Group. The mall has four floors with two basement levels for parking and services. The central point of this mall is a large atrium into which all the shops open. I love visiting the large TATA Westside Department store in this mall. The mall also has stores of major local and international brands like Levi’s, Adidas, Reebok, United Colors of Benetton, Dockers, etc.
The TDI Mall also has a food court. It also has a number of restaurants including Ruby Tuesday, Subway and Pizza Hut. When I was in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:City><st1lace>Delhi</st1lace></st1:City>, I liked visiting the TDI Paragon Mall. This shopping Mall is located in <st1lace><st1laceName>Shivaji</st1laceName> <st1laceName>Place</st1laceName> <st1laceType>District</st1laceType> <st1laceType>Center</st1laceType></st1lace>. As the name suggests, it was also developed by the TDI Group. This mall is spacious with three floors and two level basements for parking and services. I loved the Wave Cinemas multiplex that this mall has. This four-screen multiplex on the third floor was opened in 2007, just before we shifted from the capital. This was the first of the three multiplexes to be opened in the district center.
Another feather was added to the cap of Delhi Metro!! It has bagged the prestige of the “Most Improved Metro” at the third Metro Awards Ceremony in London. The award ceremony was attended by more than 250 delegates from 70 Metro organizations from 40 countries around the world. The event was held on March 23, 2010 at London’s Victoria Park Plaza. E. Sreedharan, the DMRC Managing Director, was given a special mention for his “Outstanding Contribution to the Urban Transport Industry” in the awards ceremony. The main purpose of the awards is to recognize those Metros that have displayed “an unparalled ability to succeed” in operating Metro networks. Bow
The Delhi Metro engineers who were involved in the construction of the Central Seceretariat-Badarpur corridor have built the highest HIGH-TENSION transmission towers. These towers carry 220 kV power lines overhead to help in the passage of a launching girder near the Sarita Vihar Flyover. The DMRC officials say that this is the first time that such kind of work has been done in the capital. The heights of the towers were raised from 29.5 m to a record height of 58 m without hampering the regular supply of power to the residents of Sarita Vihar. Four 58-metre-high towers have been built. :thumbsup
Friends, As Kolkata is burning in rage due to the failure of firefighters to contain the fire at Stephen Court, Park Street, we, Delhites, can be PROUD of our firemen. Delhi may have lost more than Rs 250 crore in fire accidents in the past five years, but the infamous fire-fighters have also managed to save property worth almost Rs 1000 crore. This achievement of the fire-fighters was revealed in the latest performance audit of Delhi Fire Services for the fiscal 2008-09 done by CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General). According to the Auditor, the firemen have saved property worth Rs 985.46 crore in the consecutive five fiscals till 2008-09 and the maximum was saved in the fiscal 2006-07 when it touched Rs 306.20 crore.:bowdown
The CAG has also pointed out that the fire force in the capital is so “ill-equipped” and short in manpower that in a huge 77 per cent cases, the rescue workers had reached the spot of the tragedy well after the stipulated five minutes. The Auditor said the shortage of adequate equipments, ranging from 13% to 67%, indicates that the department did not have sufficient fire fighting appliances to ensure fire safety and fight fire hazards. According to the CAG, out of the 278 static water tanks available with the fire brigade, 164 were not functioning. It was also found out that 846 schools in the capital were running without fire safety and prevention measures. :hide:
