New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) No Games lanes in this part of the capital but residents of north Delhi came out of their houses Saturday evening in hordes — just to catch a glimpse of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
Clad in her signature cotton sari, the politician arrived here at the Dilli Haat, Pitampura more than an hour late to inaugurate a festival.
‘It is very rare that she (Sheila Dikshit) comes to our side of the city and I really admire her for the things she has done for Delhi… Hope I get to meet her,’ Abhishek Mishra, a local, told IANS.
Another nearby resident Pooja Khanna said: ‘I don’t think the Commonwealth Games would have been possible in Delhi with all the flak going around if it was not for the way she cracked the whip on most of the issues. I want to get a picture clicked with her.’
The security, however, went for a toss witnessing the crowd.
‘We had no idea of the turnout. This is huge. There are more than 2,000 people here and all we thought it’s the food festival that brought them here but the bee line behind Sheilaji shows their fondness and belief in her,’ a security official said.
Organised by the Delhi Tourism in partnership with Coca-Cola, the culinary fest is a part of ‘Delhi Celebrates’ – a fortnight-long grand cultural fiesta to celebrate the Commonwealth Games beginning Sunday.
The gala includes a food fete with exotic cuisines from 12 participating nations — Britain, Tibet, China, Lebanon, Burma, Bangladesh, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Italy, Japan and Pakistan. The gala is on till Oct 13.
