Government’s aggressive social distancing pitch coupled withArchaeological Survey of India (ASI) shutting all its protected sites fromTuesday has left Delhi’s two iconic structures — the Qutub Minor and LotusTemple desolate, giving an eerie feeling.
Qutub being an ASI protected site — the only sight thatgreets you is a closed reception, few private security guards and anindifferent snack shop outside.
“I have just opened it,” said Ram Lal, who sellspuffs outside the Qutub Minar. “This time of the year, it used to be peakseason as its neither too hot nor cold. But corona has left us without businessthis year,” he adds.
A government employee present at the closed Qutub receptiontold IANS requesting anonymity, “Still we find 10 to 15 people turning uphere unaware of the restrictions. Last year, mid-March, we had a tough timemanaging crowds. Such is the irony.”
To put things into perspective, in 2018-19, there were 2.9million tourists who visited Qutub Minar. The data was shared by the CultureMinistry in Parliament.
Ironically at one corner, “stand in queue” birdstands alone amid the deserted premise of the 14th century victory tower builtSultans Qutb-ud-din Aibak and his son-in-law Iltutmish.
Though, the situation in Lotus Temple in South Delhi is notas haunting as the Qutub’s, but the footfall has decreased by approximately 90per cent, say the shops outside the structure, whose business too have taken ahit.
When IANS visited the temple, barely a hundred people werescattered around the vast expanse of the temple premise. The main temple areawas closed.
Subhashish, who started working for the administration ofthe Lotus Temple barely a month ago told IANS: “I have seen long queuesthat would run into a few hundred meters. Today there is no queue in the firstplace. This is unprecedented.”
He added the footfall drastically dropped after this Sunday,around the same time when COVID-19 cases inched closer to 100 in India andtouched 7,000 world wide.
“Corona ka saya hai (It’s the shadow of Corona),”said Bablu, who sells banta-soda outside Delhi’s iconic structure that hasoften come to be synonymous with the national capital. He complained,”Dhanda band para hula hai (There’s no business).”
Fakhruddin Ali, a tourist from Kanpur, who had earliervisited the site sounded surprised. Said he could never imagine such an emptyLotus temple, ever.
This eerie feeling is the result of the governmentaggressively pitching for social distancing and avoidance of public places tocontain the spread of the deadly Coronavirus and bring down the graph that hasso far killed two in the country, including an elderly mother from West Delhiand paralyzed all major institutions like schools, gyms, movie theatres,swimming pools.
India may not have reached China’s Wuhan-like shutdown, butthe semi-haunted tourist spots of Delhi only speak volumes about how badly thecapital has come under the corona-grip.