New Delhi, Sep 3 : As many as 21 hotels have been assigned for the delegations flying in from September 7 (starting with US President Joe Biden) to attend the G20 Summit, but from a security point of view, five have been designated as most sensitive.
These top-end five-star hotels are all in those privileged parts of New Delhi where India’s civilian and military top-brass resides.
The hotels where the five most closely watched delegations will check in are: ITC Maurya, Chanakyapuri (US President Joe Biden); Taj Palace, Chanakyapuri (Chinese President Xi Jinping, if he comes finally, or his Premier, Li Qiang); Shangri-La by Eros, Connaught Place (British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak); The Claridges, Motilal Nehru Marg (French President Emmanuel Macron); and The Imperial, Connaught Place (Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese).
Most delegations are staying in one hotel, but some are checking into more than one. The Italians, for instance, are moving into two hotels (JW Marriott, New Delhi Aerocity, and the Hyatt Regency, Bhikaji Cama Place); the Spaniards into two (Roseate House, New Delhi Aerocity, and the Hyatt Regency); the Turks have settled for three (The Trident, Gurugram; The Oberoi New Delhi; and Pullman, New Delhi Aerocity) and so has the delegation from Mauritius (ITC Maurya; Le Meridien New Delhi and the Hyatt Regency).
Le Meridien New Delhi, which is located in the heart of the national capital in Janpath, will house three more delegations — from The Netherlands, Nigeria and the European Union).
In fact, if one draws a straight line from Le Meridien, one will cross the Shangri-la (temporary home of Rishi Sunak) and The Imperial (Anthony Albanese’s base, which will be shared by last year’s hosts, the Indonesians), making it a VVIP mile.
A little farther down, the Canadian and Japanese delegations will moving in at The Lalit on Barakhamba Avenue.
The other such concentration stretches from the Hyatt Regency to The Leela Palace (where the Saudi Arabian delegation led by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman will check in), leading up to the ITC Maurya and Taj Palace (which, incidentally, will also house the Brazilians), the most sensitive locations for the security agencies.
Although Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t be coming to New Delhi, the delegation that will represent him will be very much present at The Oberoi New Delhi. At The Lodhi, on the other side of the road from The Oberoi, the Omani delegation shall be checking in.
As reported earlier by IANS, Aerocity and Gurugram hotels have a minor role in the lineup of delegation hotels, obviously because of the distance between these and venue, namely, the Bharat Mandapam at the ITPO Complex (the former Pragati Maidan).
The hotels in the Aerocity and Gurugram that are in the picture are: The Trident, Gurugram; Andaz, Pullman and Roseate House, New Delhi Aerocity.
Three delegations have opted for hotels at quite a distance from the city centre, and they are: Bangladesh (The Grand New Delhi, Vasant Kunj); Egypt (Sheraton New Delhi, Saket); and Mexico (Radisson Blu, Dwarka). (IANS)