NEW DELHI: The plan to hold a two-day cultural extravaganza and food festival at Hauz Khas has been shelved because of ‘power back-up’ issues at the site and denial of permission from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which is the custodian of the green area around the cluster of heritage buildings of Sultanate era.
A huge Christmas tree created, reportedly at the cost of Rs 6.5 lakh for the event, will now be installed at Garden of Five Senses at Saidul Ajaib village.
Government officials, privy to the development, said that possibilities were explored to hold the event somewhere in the neighbourhood but couldn’t materialise. The festival was scheduled on Dec 21-22.
“The event ran into some technical difficulties of electricity load. The venue, which we had zeroed in, was deep inside Hauz Khas complex. We realised that carrying huge generators for power back-up was not possible as there is no direct access. The only way to reach the site is stairs. Earlier, we had planned to use cycle-rickshaws or hand carts to ferry generators but it was not possible. The prevailing situation in the city over CAA is another reason to postpone the event,” said an official.
Buoyed by the success of cultural festivals at Mehrauli and Shahpur Jat, the department had planned more events on the similar lines at heritage sites such as Quli Khan’s tomb and Lal Kot ruins. The now-cancelled ‘Hauz Khas Winter’ festival was part of that series.
“The tourism department (organisor of the festival) has got a huge Christmas tree prepared, which was to be the highlight at the event. It has now been decided to place it at Garden of Five Senses as it cost Rs 6.5 lakh,” said another official adding that the DDA had also refused permission.
Before scrapping the idea, the department had scouted three-four sites-parks as alternative venues but they did not work out. “We didn’t envisage this issue (power back-up) in the beginning. The other thing was, as the site is an ecologically sensitive area, permission for some activities and serving food was also an issue. Food is an essence of any festivity so without food, the festival doesn’t make any sense,” said the government officer.