India's 1st Pedestrianization Project Walks Into Triumph-BHADRA BLOOMS

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GLORIOUS PAST Speak Out - On road less travelled by chaos - BHADRA BLOOMS

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Is AMC's mega Bhadra renovation plan a move in right direction? India's 1st Pedestrianization Project Walks Into Triumph, As People Reclaim Historical Icon

Screeching vehicles, crammed streets, clamorous hawkers, and widespread encroachments had turned the once majestic Bhadra Plaza into a disfigured space that suffocated visitors. But the Walled City icon on Wednesday seemed to have miraculously reclaimed its magisterial ability to make people breathless in the most agreeable way . For those strolling through the plaza, it appeared to be a vintage Raahgiri experience as Bhadra let its original personality -imposing and radiant -shine undimmed on the true rulers of public spaces: pedestrians.

On Wednesday , the Maidane-Shahi could stretch its imperial flanks freely at last. The site lies between Bhadra Fort and Teen Darwaza where Sultan Ahmad Shah, the emperor who founded the city in 1411, used to hold court.

The skyline around the Bhadra Fort was at last free of every eyesore and looked as it must have once, thanks to the Bhadra Plaza Development Project. At Bhadra, vehicles were replaced by people, dingy corners transformed into vibrant nooks for conversations, while the usual bellows of outraged drivers and insistent hawkers were supplanted by the laughter of children.

It was in 2010 that the country's first pedestrianization project, at Bhadra, was conceptualized by which a highly congested area was to be redeemed for pedestrians, cyclists and road minorities.

In 2011 this project led the AMC to sign the first ever MoU with the Archaeological Sur vey of India (ASI) for rejuvenating this space. The success of the project has made it a model for the entire country .

Documentary traces city's history

As part of World Heritage Week, a documentary tracing the journey of Ahmedabad was shown to people at Bhadra Plaza.The documentary showed how Ahmed Shah I of the Muzaffarid dynasty captured Karnavati in 1411 and established Ahmedabad as the new capital of Gujarat Sultanate and built Bhadra Fort on the east bank of the Sabarmati River. Later, Bhavai, a popular folk theatre form of Gujarat, depicted life in a city pol and social hierarchy of the bygone era.