Be ready to encounter loud music, people dancing on the streets, and a general euphoria amongst the masses as wedding season officially began on Tuesday, which marked the auspicious occasion of Dev Uthani Ekadashi, when around 50,000 weddings were celebrated in the National Capital. However, what is ‘party mode’ for some will be a major headache for the commuters traversing through the roads of Delhi, especially through South Delhi and East Delhi.
The sounds of celebration will continue until December 16 with the city witnessing around 4.5 lakh weddings across the different venues in Delhi in a span of 18 days. The day is also seeing a surge in weddings since the day also marks ‘Tulsi Vivah’, which is considered a highly auspicious day to get married as Goddess Tulsi married Shaligram, a form of Lord Vishnu.
As ‘baarats’, which are the procession a groom takes out via reaching the venue where the marriage is taking place, the commuters faced hardships as the processions led to traffic woes in the city. Areas like Mahipalpur, Mehrauli, Karnal, and Rohini among others saw congestions due to wedding related activities.
It took hours to cross even small stretches, as the weddings added to the already existing problem of persistent traffic congestion in different areas across the Capital. Many a time vehicles parked around these wedding venues also leave the roads narrower. and normal traffic has to wade through the cramped spaces. Shopping related to wedding events will also create a jam around key market areas. According to Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) estimates, this wedding season is expected to generate over Rs 6 lakh Crore in trade.
In light of these issues, Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ajay Chaudhary spoke about the special arrangements made to avoid any hassles, and keep the load off of the city roads. He said that in addition to the already existing force of about 4,500 traffic personnel, the police department has deployed an additional staff of 250.
Addl/CP (Traffic) Satyaveer Singh Katara added that with a special focus on the traffic congestion resulting from the extra flow due to the ceremonies, they have adjusted the duty timings of the staff in a way that the maximum number of police is on the ground, and managing the flow at the hours when these celebrations usually take place across the city.
Highlighting the issue of unmanaged parking around these venues, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Shashank Jaiswal shared that the police has held several meetings with wedding organisers to ensure there is ample place to park the vehicles of the attendees and doesn’t lead to cramping the roads. “We are doing our best including motorcycling patrolling and deployment of cranes to remove vehicles amid the festive season. We understand that this traffic can also choke important highways , hence the traffic department is fully ready to tackle it.”
