Photographers at India Gate Pushed to Margins as New Rules Bite

For 7 years, Anwesh Sharma, known as Bunty, captured memories for families against the backdrop of India Gate. Today, the 35-year-old stands on the edge of Kartavya Path, scanning sparse crowds with his camera slung over his shoulder, hundreds of metres away from where he once thrived. The Central Vista redevelopment project has fundamentally altered the landscape for approximately 130 photographers who have, in some cases, worked at India Gate for more than two decades.

“There is such frugal income on some days that by the end of the day, I am not even able to afford a plate of chole bhatura or rajma chawal, the profit is just non-existent,” laments Sharma.

The December 2022 declaration of the area as a no-vending zone marked a turning point. Before the redevelopment, photographers operated freely within the inner hexagon surrounding India Gate, where tourist footfall was highest. Now, new regulations enforced by Delhi Police and the New Delhi Municipal Council in July 2025 have pushed them beyond the central point, forcing them to solicit business from locations that make them barely visible to potential customers. The photographers who once enjoyed prime positions near the 1931 war memorial now pace along distant roads, attempting to promise tourists the perfect shot they can no longer deliver from up close.

Economic Impact

The financial toll has been devastating. Photographers report that their daily earnings have plummeted dramatically since the restrictions were implemented. Before the Central Vista project disrupted operations, many earned around Rs 1,000 per day. During the brief reopening in September 2022, photographers expressed hope of earning Rs 1,500 daily. However, by late 2024, the reality had become far grimmer.

The changes have slowly crept and now solidified in light of multiple security threats that have emerged. Bunty reiterates the same, "Part of this is also because of constant threats. First, Pahalgam, which made them make the security tighter and then the Red Fort incident as well." What Bunty says also matches the timelines. The July ruling of NDMC came after the war-like scenario threatened much of the security around the government areas that surround the Central Avenue. The stricter enforcement of these is also in light of the recent incidents that Delhi has faced.

Ranbir Sodhi moved from his village in Punjab to Delhi for employment and ultimately found work in his hobby, photography, only for things to turn sour now. “Photographers, anyway, struggled before the ban due to everyone choosing mobile photos, but still, 1-2 tourist groups, foreign tourists and a handful of domestic ones used to still come up and make it possible for us to make a profit. Now with the ban, clicking beyond the barricades either cuts off the monument or leaves people dissatisfied with the angles. Thus, they ultimately choose to go inside the central avenue themselves and click and see the fruitlessness of getting pictures from us, as we cannot click the best ones anymore.”

The photographers charge Rs 30 for printed photographs and Rs 10 for digital copies, but reduced footfall and poor positioning mean fewer customers. Some photographers have fallen behind on rent and debts for equipment, with several months of arrears accumulating as they attempt to sustain their families on diminished income.

“Most people want soft copies now, and rarely anyone wants printed ones. Profits are even more dwindling; we don’t even carry printers anymore,” laments Bunty.

The economic impact extends beyond individual photographers. Many work under maaliks (bosses) who own the cameras and printers, receiving only a cut of daily earnings. This arrangement, which was already precarious, has become unsustainable for numerous workers who now face the prospect of abandoning photography entirely.

Adaptation and Allegations

Photographers have attempted various survival strategies, though none adequately replace their former proximity to India Gate. Some allege they must now pay Rs. 100 individually to the police and Rs. 100 to the security guards to access the inner areas for photography, claims that Station House Officer Jaswinder Singh at Kartavya Path categorically denies. "Our role here is to maintain law and order, and we don't allow anyone unauthorised access inside," Singh stated, maintaining that rules are strictly enforced to preserve the site's sanctity and security.

The Central Vista project, which officially opened in September 2022, created eight organised vending zones with 40 vendors each, alongside designated parking for 1,125 vehicles and enhanced security featuring 80 guards and 300 CCTV cameras. However, photographers were not allocated space within these zones, effectively excluding them from the redeveloped area. The 3-kilometre stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate underwent extensive transformation with red granite walkways, 4,087 trees, and over 900 new light poles, but the beautification came at the cost of traditional vendors' livelihoods.

Additionally, the picnic ban was a fatal blow to these livelihoods. “Many people used to stay for hours on these lawns and picnic, from those groups too, we used to get pictures clicked, and thus, more opportunities were created. Now with the picnic ban, India Gate has become a walkthrough sort of monument; people come to stay for half an hour max and then walk off, domestic tourists from within Delhi rarely come anymore,” says Ranbir, stating how the July 2025 NDMC order of banning picnic culture at India Gate has also badly affected both vendors and photographers.

Uncertain Future

Critics argue that Central Vista prioritises aesthetics and middle-class comfort over the urban poor who depend on it for survival. The space that once served as a refuge for those lacking private open spaces has transformed into a controlled, exclusive environment.

“You cannot sit on the grass, you cannot stand around the two ends for too long without getting whistled or shooed away by the police. Amidst this, what photos will we get clicked?” says a tourist group from Tamil Nadu, who thought they could picnic at the lawn here but were told to head back to some other place.

For photographers like Kishen Yadav, who noted in 2014 that his daily income had already "halved in two years" due to tourists carrying increasingly sophisticated cameras, the current restrictions represent another blow to an already vulnerable profession. The rise of smartphone photography had already eroded the market; the spatial restrictions have now made traditional commercial photography at India Gate nearly untenable.

“We know photographers would click better pictures, but we don’t see the need anymore with phones and also angles. We went and got clicked right at the foot of the gate, but no photographer was allowed there. If it cannot be catered to customers' needs, I don’t think anyone will do it,” says another tourist from Maharashtra.

Many photographers face an existential choice: continue working under increasingly difficult conditions or abandon a profession that, for some, represents decades of accumulated skill and investment. Those like Bunty, who left agricultural work seeking better opportunities, now find themselves once again struggling to make ends meet—this time not due to failing crops, but due to regulations that have made their established trade virtually impossible to sustain at one of India's most iconic landmarks.

“It is almost the end of a culture, you all used to hate us haggling with you to get one photograph clicked. Now there will be nothing but silence and peace,” laments Bunty as he walks off to request a couple to get a picture clicked of him.