Session with Sena: Reporting on the Central Vista project during a pandemic

In May, we released an NL Sena, “The New New Delhi”, a deep dive into the Narendra Modi government’s much-touted project to redesign Central Vista, the heart of the national capital. Reporter Hameeda Syed also analysed just why the government was pushing forward with the project even as the Covid-19 pandemic was ravaging the poor.

In this edition of Session with Sena, Hameeda, along with Newslaundry’s Chitranshu Tewari, talks about the story with the subscribers who made it possible with their contributions. This Sena story was supported by over 50 of our readers, including Sangeeta Thotakura, Shreekant Gupta, Zameer Ansari, Sree Harsha R, Vidhu Saxena, Dhiraj Kumar, and other NL Sena members.

Hameeda says the Centre went ahead with the project “without talking about it to experts”, and that the project “came as a shock” to them. A subscriber, Dhiraj, asks about reporting during the midst of a pandemic, and whether it made being on the ground more difficult. Hameeda says it was a problem, since it was visually important to “map all the developments” happening with the project.

Subscriber Rupa Banerjee asks about the aftermath of the project. “The aftermath has already happened,” Hameeda says, adding that the Supreme Court had refused to stay the redevelopment plan. “Even though there is a lockdown, I feel there should be some resistance towards the project.”

Tune in.

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