BBC News
By Geeta Pandey
image captionRajpath has been a huge draw for Delhi residents and tourists over the decades
Rajpath (King s Avenue), in the centre of the Indian capital, is to Delhi ites what Central Park is to New Yorkers, or the Champs-Elysees to Parisians.
The manicured lawns on either side of the wide ceremonial boulevard are a place for thousands to gather to soak up the winter sun or have an ice-cream on summer evenings.
But the 3km (1.8 mile)-long road, stretching from Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace, at one end to the India Gate war memorial at the other, now resembles a massive dust bowl.
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The current Parliament House building was conceived about 100 years ago
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is rebuilding part of New Delhi, but the mammoth undertaking is drawing fire because it s estimated to cost billions at a time when the nation is grappling with a devastating coronavirus outbreak and the economic fallouts of local shutdowns.
The planned changes will cement PM Modi s legacy in one of the world s oldest cities by reconstructing central Delhi, which houses the legislature and other historical buildings. The project covers an area as large as 50 football fields. India will get a new parliament building. The present 94-year-old structure, built during British colonial rule, will become a museum. Open spaces are poised to be repurposed for government offices. While many details haven t been announced, media reports have said a new prime minister s residence is likely to be built. All of it is to be readied for 2024, when PM Modi faces Lok Sabha elections for a third term.