Traffic movement came to a standstill in several Central Delhi and bordering areas on Thursday evening causing much inconvenience to the commuters. Traffic woes that started during the morning hours due to VIP movements in Central Delhi areas refused to relent throughout the day. The situation aggravated during the evening hours leaving commuters particularly office-goers stranded for hours. Areas like ITO, Mandi House, India Gate, Connaught Place and Dhaula Kuan bore the maximum brunt given the heavy vehicular volume on these stretches during the evening peak hours.
Traffic snarls were also reported from Bhagwan Das Road, Ferozshah Road, Akbar Road, Zakir Hussain Marg, Pandara Road and other arms of India Gate C-Hexagon due to a function organised by an NGO to celebrate Republic Day at India Gate. Traffic situation could only be normalised past 9 pm.
Commuters complained that the traffic crawled on the city’s roads due to VIP arrangements at the India Gate C-Hexagon. “It took me nearly an hour to reach Janpath from ITO on Thursday evening, a distance which can be easily covered in 15-20 minutes on normal days. The waiting at ITO crossing is a nightmare,” said Kanchan Sharma, an IT professional. Delhi Traffic Police claimed it had issued an advisory asking people to avoid using the India Gate circle from 4 pm onwards. However, it proved to be of no use as most of the commuters were caught unawares.
As traffic crawled in Central Delhi areas, its cascading effects were also seen in other parts of the city. Massive jams were reported from Dhaula Kuan, Gurgaon Expressway, Aurobindo Road, Ring Road and Outer Ring Road. Commuters rued that it took over two hours to reach Delhi from Gurgaon.
“I got stuck for over 40 minutes on Gurgaon expressway toll plaza. Traffic was not moving at Dhaula Kuan,” said a cab driver. Even traffic personnel failed to ease the situation. The ongoing metro construction activities added to the snarls. This apart, Traffic Police said that traffic was heavy from Inderlok towards Keshav Puram due to weekly market.
“Due to weekly market, traffic is heavy from Inderlok to Keshav Puram. Please avoid this route. Traffic will remain heavy at Azadpur fruit mandi till 5 pm because road work is going on. Kindly avoid this stretch,” said the advisory by Traffic Police.
