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THE NEW- LOOK main market of Lodhi Road will be inaugurated by Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday.

The New Delhi Municipal Council ( NDMC) has revamped the market at a cost of Rs 1 crore. That the market draws foreign tourists and that their footfall is likely to rise during the Commonwealth Games were the main factors that prompted the move.

“ This is the first revamp of the market built in 1945,” an NDMC official said.“ We have tried to improve its aesthetic appeal.

Wooden windows have been replaced with aluminium and glass ones. The railing atop the building has also been given a fresh look.” The façade of the market, which houses shops on the ground floor and flats on the first, has been re- plastered and painted over. The verandahs in front of the shops have been reconstructed and relaid with granite. Shutters of the shops have also been renovated and each shop is provided with separate ducting for electricity.

“ Signboards of shops are of uniform size and will glow. We have chosen an attractive colour scheme for the building,” the official added.

The pavement, too, is re- laid with sandstone as it is not slippery and is water resistant.

The shopkeepers are upbeat.

“ The market has been given a swanky look. It resembles Connaught Place. We hope our business would expand manifold,” one of them said.