Connaught Place, New Delhi

Connaught Place, also known as Rajiv Chowk or CP, is one of the main financial, commercial and business centres in New Delhi, Delhi, India. It houses the headquarters of several noted Indian firms and is a major shopping, nightlife, and tourist destination in New Delhi. As of July 2018, Connaught Place ranked as the ninth most expensive office location in the world, with an annual rent of $1,650 per square metre ($153 per sq ft).

Connaught Place, considered the principal commercial hub of the new city, holds a place of pride and is recognized as one of the top heritage structures in New Delhi. Developed as a showpiece of Lutyens' Delhi, Connaught Place features a prominent Central Business District (CBD). Christened after Prince Arthur, 1st Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, construction work began in 1929 and was completed in 1933. It was designed by Robert Tor Russell. Although Connaught Place was officially renamed in 1995 after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the term "Rajiv Chowk" is seldom used, with locals and officials alike continuing to refer to it as Connaught Place.

An underground Delhi Metro station built beneath Connaught Place is named Rajiv Chowk.

History

In the centuries preceding the construction of Connaught Place, the area encompassing Connaught Place was a ridge, covered with kikar trees and populated with jackals and wild pigs. Residents of Kashmere Gate and Civil Lines paid visits to the area during the weekends for partridge hunting. The Hanuman Temple attracted many visitors from the old walled city, who visited only on Tuesdays and Saturdays and before sunset, as the return trip was considered dangerous.