he Delhi Police conducted full dress rehearsals smoothly largely owing to advisories issued in advance and light vehicular movement on Sunday. The forces escorted carcades from different parts in the national Capital, said officials. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and the Prime Minister's Principal Secretary P K Mishra were among the senior Government functionaries who visited key sites related to the upcoming G20 Summit meeting to take stock of preparedness for the mega event.

In order to avoid inconvenience to the public, Saxena and Dr Mishra, along with all senior officers, travelled by minibus. They visited Bharat Mandapam, the convention centre that will host key G20 meetings, the Palam technical area and some of the roundabouts in the area through which the foreign delegates will be travelling, officials said.

The Delhi Police, which is the nodal agency for security arrangements of G20 Summit, has officially clarified that there will be no lockdown, suggesting residents to use Delhi Metro during the summit. The Delhi Traffic Police conducted the rehearsals in three shifts from 8 am to 9 am, between 9.30 am to 10.30 am and 12.30 pm to 4pm.

On Sunday, the restrictions were in effect on 30 points or stretches of roads for an almost seven hours to facilitate the movement of carcades from different parts of the city towards the New Delhi district.

The visuals of the  rehearsals show that the traffic was affected briefly when the carcades were moving. The police advised people to follow real-time traffic updates on the’G-20 Virtual Help Desk' for route suggestions for commuting from/to the airport, railway stations, or bus terminals.

Delhi Police chose a quirky way to assure Delhiites that there is no need to panic over the traffic situation during the G20 Head of States and Governments Summit on September 9 and 10.

With a filmy twist, it shared an image from the South Indian movie Don No.1 and clarified that there will not be a lockdown during the summit in the national capital. This comes after speculations of a possible lockdown in the capital city in view of maintaining the security.

“Dear Delhiites, don't panic at all! There is no lockdown. Just keep yourself updated with traffic information available on @dtpftraffic's Virtual Help Desk,” it said on X (formerly Twitter).

During the carcades rehearsals, traffic were restricted at Mahatma Gandhi Marg, IP Flyover, Rajghat Chowk, Shanti Van Chowk, Saleem Garh Bypas, Bhairon Road, Ring Road, Mathura Road, Shershah Road, C-Hexagon, roundabouts at Mansingh Road, Gol Methi, Teen Murti, Yashwant Place, Brig Hoshiyar Singh Marg, and Tolstoy Marg. Commuters too said that they avoided taking the road in anticipation of traffic jams.

People who will be travelling on the north-south corridor have been advised to take the Ring Road, Ashram Chowk, Sarai Kale Khan, Delhi-Meerut Expressway, Noida Link Road, Pusta Road, Yudhistir Setu, ISBT Kashmiri Gate, Ring Road and Majnu Ka Tila.