G20 logo installed near the Indira Gandhi International Airport in preparations for the G20 Summit, in New Delhi, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023.
Credit: PTI
India's presidency of the G20 has been commemorated in a municipal park in south Delhi with a giant thematic logo of the influential grouping and flags of member nations mounted atop 20 decorative pillars installed in its lush gardens.
The park is located in Greater Kailash and area MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said the heads of state and other delegates who will come for the G20 Summit next month, should remember the warmth extended by the city and its people.
The G20 Leaders Summit is slated to be held on September 9-10 and a large number of prominent roads and other areas in the city have been cleaned and beautified in the run-up to the mega event that will be hosted at newly-built international convention centre at Pragati Maidan.
Bhardwaj says many local residents have already started calling the park located in front of M Block Market at Greater Kailash-2, as the 'G20 park', even though it has not been formally named so.
The placement of the pillars in a semicircular arc behind the main G20 logo has been done in an open arena fashion.
"The 20 pillars, made of concrete mix with a wooden texture over them, bear a Gothic design, carrying a flag each on top. The idea was to create the look of a Greek amphitheatre," a senior official in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) told PTI.
Two artists and 10 labourers worked on this project for the last couple of months, he said.
"The M-Block market park is a landscaped park and we merged the artistic installations with the existing horticultural design of the garden, the plants and hedges and greens," he said.
Bharadwaj on Monday evening held a press preview of the commemorative park and said the project was executed with 'municipal funds' and 'not much fund was spent on it'.
"This park has a new identity now and it will symbolise the memories of India's presidency of the G20 and the G20 Summit being hosted in Delhi," he said.
Behind the logo, a huge blue-painted board displaying a world map and the G20 logo in metallic relief, and below the logo, 'Bharat 2023 INDIA' has been put up.
"We are making these arrangements to welcome the G20 delegates who will come to our city for the Summit. When they return, we want them to go back with fond memories and remember the warmth of Delhi and its people," Bharadwaj told PTI.
Besides, a large number of roads have been cleaned and beautified, hospitals have been put on 'high alert' and prominent heritage buildings are to be lit up, he said.
Asked if any of the old buildings and heritage structures have been taken up for illumination, the Greater Kailash MLA said a lot of small monuments have been identified for illumination.
"Particularly in my constituency, Chirag Delhi has three old arches which have been lit up by the archeological department of Delhi. We invite the G20 delegates and heads of states to visit the 'G20 Park' and the famous market in front of it, and we will extend our warm hospitality to them," Bharadwaj said.
India assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1 last year following which about 200 meetings were scheduled under different tracks, culminating with the Summit.
“We have planned a number of things to spruce up the city and improve civic amenities ahead of the Summit. We are planning to place more than one lakh flower pots at various prominent locations, extra dustbins will be kept in streets to control littering at key location and markets,” a top official of MCD earlier said.
Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi on Monday visited the iconic British-era Town Hall and Ghalib ki Haveli in the Walled City and said tourists who will come to Delhi during the G20 Summit time should be able to see the rich heritage of the city.
She was accompanied by Delhi Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and senior officials.
"We have given a new paint job to the Town Hall as it is a historic building and we wanted it to be in a presentable state just in case any delegates visit the landmark," Bharadwaj told PTI at 'G20 Park'.
The redevelopment of the 'Shaheedi Park' in ITO area was also taken up as part of the civic projects ahead of the G20 summit.
In Delhi, other civic projects undertaken include beautification work at the Mahipalpur roundabout, which is close to the airport, and development work at a market near PVR Anupam cinema hall. Signage and display boards are being put up to improve the look-and-feel of the city.
The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in Delhi will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.