KINGSWAY TO KARTAVYAPATH
Source: indianexpress
Context:
The iconic Rajpath, stretching from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate, was renamed Kartavya Path. “As we complete 75 yrs of Independence, it is only fitting to shed the colonial baggage and move towards India at 100 with our legacy.
The KartavyaPath
- The entire stretch and the area from the Netaji statue under the Grand Canopy to the Rashtrapati Bhavan will be known as Kartavya Path. As per the NDMC resolution, Kartavya Path includes the erstwhile “Rajpath and Central Vista lawns”.
- Kartavya Path, which will be opened to the public at the end of the official function, will exhibit landscapes, lawns with walkways, added green spaces, refurbished canals, amenity blocks, improved signages and vending kiosks.
- It also includes several sustainability features like solid waste management, storm-water management, recycling of used water, rainwater harvesting, water conservation and energy-efficient lighting systems, among others
- The revamped and expanded lawns on both sides of the erstwhile Rajpath are part of the larger Central Vista project, where a new triangular Parliament building, along with the Central Secretariat and several other government offices, is being rebuilt.
Kingsway to Rajpath
- It was called Kingsway during British rule, the three-km stretch was built as a ceremonial boulevard by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, the architects of New Delhi, more than a hundred years ago.
- The capital of the Raj moved to New Delhi from Calcutta in 1911, and construction continued for several years thereafter.
- Lutyens conceptualised the modern imperial city centred around a “ceremonial axis”, which was named Kingsway in honour of the then Emperor of India, George V, who visited Delhi during the Durbar of 1911, where he formally proclaimed the decision to move the capital.
- The nomenclature followed that of the Kingsway in London, an arterial road built in 1905, which was named in honour of King Edward VII, the father of George V.
- Following Independence, the road was given its Hindi name, Rajpath, on which the Republic Day parades took place over the decades that followed.
- During his address from the Red Fort on August 15, Prime Minister Modi stressed the abolition of symbols of colonialism.
- The new name and look of Rajpath, as well as the installation of the 28-foot statue of Netaji under the Grand Canopy under which a statue of George V once stood, are meant to represent the spirit of the proud new India.
| The construction of the Central Vista Redevelopment Project began in February 2021, with the new Parliament building and the Central Vista Avenue redevelopment in the first phase. The aim is to build an iconic avenue that truly befits the New India, the government has said about the Rs 608 crore Central Vista Avenue project. |
