Delhi’s protest geography has changed, with the Delhi Police designating Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and the Central Business District Ground in East Delhi as new demonstration sites after removing Jantar Mantar from the list.
The three venues vary significantly in size, location and surrounding infrastructure. Their designation shifts large public gatherings away from the central protest landmark and places greater importance on traffic planning, crowd management and access arrangements around densely populated and commercially active neighbourhoods.
Burari Ground, also known as Nirankari Ground, is located on Delhi Development Authority-owned land near Burari, Timarpur and Jahangirpuri, along the Delhi-Chandigarh Highway. Spread across around 50 acres, it can accommodate between 80,000 and one lakh people and is approximately 22 km from Parliament.
The ground has previously hosted political rallies, religious congregations and the 2020-21 farmers’ agitation, when hundreds of farmers camped there for months. It is also used for cricket matches, driving classes and national-level kite-flying competitions. The Sant Nirankari Mission leases the site for its annual congregation in November.
A police officer cited by The Indian Express said the venue was preferred for large gatherings partly because vehicles could be parked along the roadside. However, events at the site have also caused congestion on the Delhi-Chandigarh Highway, creating an operational challenge if the ground is used regularly for protests.
Ramlila Ground, around five kilometres from Parliament, covers approximately 12 acres and has a capacity of about 50,000 people. It is administered by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, which charges around Rs 50,000 per day for bookings. The venue is surrounded by densely populated areas, including Turkman Gate, and lies close to Asaf Ali Road, Chawri Bazar and roads leading to New Delhi Railway Station.
The ground has hosted major political and public movements, including the 2011 anti-corruption movement led by activist Anna Hazare. It was also associated with events linked to the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party and the oath-taking ceremony of its ministers in 2013. Its central location gives it a strong public and political legacy, but heavy traffic and dense surrounding neighbourhoods could complicate crowd movement and emergency access.
Ramlila Ground also hosts two major Ramlila events during Dussehra. The venue has no available dates for other events for the next two and a half months, according to the report. Parts of the ground are used by local residents for cricket and vehicle parking.
The third venue, Central Business District Ground, is owned by the DDA and can accommodate around 15,000 people across 12 acres. Located in Shahdara district, it is surrounded by Vishwas Nagar, Krishna Nagar, Jagatpuri and Anand Vihar. The ground is used mainly for Ramlila performances and wedding functions, and three Ramlila events were underway when the report was published.
The CBD Ground is near Cross River Mall, Unity One Mall, several banquet halls and the office of the Joint Commissioner of Police, Eastern Range. Karkardooma Court Metro station is about half a kilometre away. However, traffic congestion is already a concern during Ramlila performances and wedding functions, while routes from central Delhi pass through ITO, Vikas Marg, Laxmi Nagar and Preet Vihar.
B S Vora, president of the Federation of East Delhi Resident Welfare Associations, said protests and confrontations with the administration could be easier to manage in central Delhi. He said the CBD Ground lacked the infrastructure needed to accommodate such activity without disrupting surrounding areas, adding that nearby markets and daytime traffic could create traffic and law-and-order problems.
The new arrangement places three different urban settings—an outer-city highway corridor, a dense central neighbourhood and a busy East Delhi district—at the centre of Delhi’s protest-management system. The immediate administrative challenge will be to match the scale of demonstrations with each venue’s access, parking, traffic and crowd-control capacity.
