The BRICS Summit is reshaping weekend plans across central Delhi, with traffic restrictions, road diversions and regulated movement prompting cultural venues, fitness groups, event organisers and visitors to alter schedules or choose destinations outside the affected areas.
The disruption is particularly visible around central Delhi, where galleries, cultural institutions, restaurants, heritage sites and event venues are popular weekend destinations. Some institutions have announced closures, while others remain open but are advising visitors to account for restrictions and possible difficulties reaching the area.
The Bazaar at Sunder Nursery will remain closed on Sunday. Rohan Aggarwal, the event’s coordinator, said the decision was linked to concerns about vendors and visitors reaching the venue and moving through the city. “Since it involves vendors bringing in their products from various far-off locations and visitors travelling in, any restrictions or movement-related disruptions can make logistics quite challenging,” he said. He added that the decision was intended to prevent last-minute inconvenience for vendors and visitors.
Other weekend activities have been rerouted. Heritage walk leader Nitika Arora is organising a Metro Morphosis walk that will take participants between metro stations and conclude at a station outside central Delhi. She said visitors could also consider destinations such as Tughlaqabad Fort, Shalimar Bagh and Adilabad Fort, using the metro to travel between locations.
An exhibition linked to artist Kanchan Chander’s 50-year retrospective has also changed its schedule. The exhibition was due to open at Bikaner House on Saturday, with a reception planned for the same day. The reception has been postponed to Monday, September 14. Chander said traffic restrictions could have reduced attendance and that she wanted visitors to be able to see the works properly.
Fitness groups that normally meet at Kartavya Path and Shanti Path have also moved their gatherings. Harshit Seth, an entrepreneur from Rajouri Garden, said he had shifted his daily runs to the Delhi Cantonment area after seeing route restrictions around Shanti Path and Nehru Park. He cited previous advisories linked to VIP movement and concerns about confusion and congestion along the Shanti Path-Nehru Park stretch during the summit weekend.
Several central Delhi destinations remain open, although visitors have been asked to plan around traffic restrictions and diversions. These include Purana Qila, Humayun’s Tomb, India Gate, Kartavya Path, the National War Memorial, Delhi Zoo, Sunder Nursery, the National Crafts Museum, the National Science Centre, the National Gallery of Modern Art, IGNCA, the National School of Drama and venues in the Mandi House theatre circuit. Markets including Janpath, Connaught Place, Palika Bazaar and Khan Market are also among the locations visitors may need to approach cautiously.
Some cultural institutions have separately announced closures. Lalit Kala Akademi and the National Museum are to remain closed over the weekend, while the National Gallery of Modern Art will remain closed on Friday. The summit-related restrictions are expected to continue influencing access and programming through the weekend, with organisers and visitors adjusting plans around the regulated movement in central Delhi.
