Red Fort blast halves tourist footfall, leaves Chandni Chowk reeling
The everyday bustle around the Chandni Chowk gate — once a magnet for tourists, including foreigners keen to admire the Red Fort and hear tales of Delhi’s Mughal past — has been transformed since Monday night’s explosion.
Local tourist guides say visitor numbers have halved. Those who do arrive are now more interested in learning about the deadly blast than the monument’s heritage.
Many vendors who once ran food stalls or sold trinkets have been forced to abandon their businesses, having lost most of their goods in the chaos.
On Friday afternoon, a small group of foreign tourists gathered near the barricades as 25-year-old guide Iqbal recounted the incident. He has barely spoken of anything else since the explosion.
“I used to take at least ten families or groups around every day,” he told PTI. “Now tourists aren’t coming to the Red Fort at all, and those who do only want to know about the blast. For the last two days, that’s the first thing everyone asks.”
Sohail, a guide with nearly a decade of experience in the area, said his tours have changed entirely.
“Chandni Chowk is the heart of tourism in Delhi. On one side you have the historic market, on the other the Red Fort,” he explained. “We used to bring tourists here to show them the monument. Now, instead of talking about Shah Jahan and the Mughal dynasty, we’re explaining what happened on Monday night and what the police have found. We’ve lost more than half our visitors.”
He recalled the moment of the explosion: “I was having tea with friends. Suddenly there was a blast so loud we couldn’t hear for a while. My ears went numb. We just ran.”
Rakesh Sharma, another guide, described a scene that changed in seconds. “I saw a flash, then people screaming and running. When I came back later, the road was covered in smoke and damaged vehicles,” he said. “Tourists keep asking if it’s safe now. We can only repeat what the police tell us.”
The blast has not only altered the narrative of Chandni Chowk but disrupted the lives of workers who depend on the area for their livelihood.
Devender, 50, who sold toys and trinkets near the site, initially thought a transformer had burst.
“The explosion was so fierce it reached my stall and destroyed many of my items,” he said. “People were running everywhere, and things from my stall were scattered. I’ve lost most of my goods. I’ve now rented a rickshaw from a friend and started pulling that while waiting to return.”
Street food vendor Mohammad Tahir also believed at first that the noise came from a transformer or cylinder. “I ran for my life,” he said. When he returned, he found virtually nothing left. Like Devender, he has taken up rickshaw-pulling to support his family.
In a nearby lane, resident Joginder, a regular at the area’s historic gurdwara, said the shock was felt across the neighbourhood. “The blast was so loud our whole house shook. When we rushed outside, 500 to 700 people were running,” he said. “We couldn’t sleep that night. We went to the gurdwara early the next morning for some peace. All day, people came to talk — many were still shaken.”
The high-intensity explosion tore through a slow-moving car near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, setting several vehicles alight and injuring many. A number of the critically wounded later died, bringing the death toll to 13.
Now, guides and vendors are slowly returning to their usual spots around the Red Fort — but to a Chandni Chowk still bearing the scars of that night. The stories they share with visitors, once rich in history and heritage, now begin with a single tragic event that has cast a shadow over one of Delhi’s most visited landmarks.