Traffic diversions, curbs cause gridlocks in Delhi
Traffic police officers attributed the jams to the restrictions and diversions put in place for the two major events.
The Capital was thrown into chaos on Friday as restrictions and diversions put into place for several major events caused bumper-to-bumper traffic on key stretches, particularly during the peak hours in the morning and evening. Major delays turned the many roads in south and central Delhi into crimson streaks on Google Maps.
Earlier this week, the Delhi Traffic Police had issued traffic restrictions and diversions for Friday’s foot march (padyatra) led by self-styled seer Dhirendra Krishna Shastri of Bageshwar Dham from Adhya Katyayani Mandir in south Delhi’s Chattarpur to Shree Banke Bihari Mandir in Uttar Pradesh’s Vrindavan, and also for the celebrations marking the 150th year of the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ at Indira Gandhi Stadium in central Delhi. The event at Indraprastha (IP) Estate near ITO was attended by around 11,000 people who arrived in 1,000 vehicles and 300 buses, according to police. Moreover than 30,000 people participated in the foot march that began in the morning and continued till late evening.
Delhi Traffic Police said that they had deployed adequate numbers of personnel on streets to handle the traffic jams, but frustrated commuters took to social media to vent about the situation with posts, photos, and videos.
Due restrictions and diversions on the foot march route, massive traffic snarls were witnessed on roads around Mehrauli, Chhatarpur, Aaya Nagar, Jaunapur, and Dera Mandi till the Faridabad border. The cascading effect was felt on the key stretches in south Delhi and routes connecting to Gurugram that were being used by motorists to avoid the snarls.
Outer Ring Road between Rao Tula Ram and Okhla, Ring Road between Dhaula Kuan and Rajghat, Aurobindo Marg, the Mehrauli-Badarpur (MB) Road, CRD Chowk, Mandi Road, the Mehrauli-Gurugram (MB) Road, Mathura Road between Ashram Chowk and Badarpur border, and Kalindi Kunj Road were all badly affected.
Long tailbacks and crawling traffic were also witnessed on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, National Highway-9, the Ring Road between Ashram Chowk and Rajghat, Vikas Marg between Preet Vihar and ITO Chowk, roads around ITO and Daryaganj — such as Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Tilak Marg, Mathura Road, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) Marg, Minto Road, Jawaharlal Nehru Marg Geeta Colony flyover and Salimgarh Bypass Road — from around 9 am till 1 pm due to the event at the IG Stadium that was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The frustrations of commuters was evident on social media. An X account by the name of Mohit Mishra, around 11.30 am, tagged Delhi Traffic Police in a post and said, “standstill traffic at Mahatma Gandhi Road (the Ring Road) need help to get this clear sitting in car from the past 15 min”.
Another user shared a video of traffic at a standstill said, “It takes longer time to take right turn towards Africa avenue from Outer Ring Road under IIT Flyover causing increased toxic vehicular air pollution and loss of man hours. Kindly increase the time for right turn to maximum. Thanks.”
“Chirag Delhi has become a major jam point. Causes issues to kids. Sometimes it is the traffic light or such breakdowns. Please ensure it doesn’t affect kids who are stuck in buses endlessly,” posted an account by the name Liza Saha.
Traffic police officers attributed the jams to the restrictions and diversions put in place for the two major events. They, however, said that restrictions on vehicular movement were imposed only during the VVIP movements and no massive traffic jams were reported to them or the traffic control room.
“We had deployed 200 traffic police personnel for regulating traffic during the two events. Traffic was briefly stopped in central Delhi during the VVIP movement. The rest of the time vehicles moved smoothly,” said a senior traffic police officer, who did not want to be named.