MCD to hold heritage walk at Chandni Chowk on Saturday

New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) From colonial-era landmarks to centuries-old places of worship, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi will showcase Chandni Chowk's heritage through a guided walk on Saturday under its proposed 'Summer Circuit' programme. The civic body officials said they are also considering taking participants through the historic Town Hall - the civic body's original headquarters - during the tour. Organised by the MCD's Heritage Cell, the walk will begin at 10 am and cover around eight to ten notified heritage structures along Chandni Chowk's main road. "The idea is simply to familiarise people with the heritage structures along the route and encourage them to engage with Delhi's built heritage," an official said. He added that the walk will include landmarks such as the historic State Bank of India building, the Jain Mandir and the Lal Mandir. "Since Town Hall is the birthplace of the MCD, we are also looking at the possibility of taking participants inside and telling them about its history," another official said. The Town Hall served as the headquarters of the MCD from its constitution on April 7, 1958, under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, until the civic body shifted to the Civic Centre in 2010. Built in 1866 by the British as the Lawrence Institute, the Town Hall remains one of Delhi's prominent colonial-era buildings and is closely associated with the evolution of municipal governance in the national capital. "We'll cover all of Old Delhi in phases. We're planning to cover the inner lanes of Shahjahanabad, including old havelis, Ghalib's Haveli and Jama Masjid," the official said. The civic body plans to organise similar heritage walks across other historic precincts of Delhi in phases under the proposed Summer Circuit programme. PTI MSJ APL APL