A visit by a foreign dignitary to Rajghat along with rains lashing different parts of the national Capital made Monday a nightmare for commuters and office goers as vehicles were seen crawling at a snail’s pace on the roads of the city due to traffic congestions, especially in Central Delhi.
Security was tightened on the city roads with increased deployment of police authorities as Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Raj Ghat, the memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, and laid a wreath there. He also became the third generation of the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to plant a sapling at the site.
The security arrangements in view of the visit irked commuters who expressed their anguish over the traffic situation in the city. An X user expressed his anguish over the traffic jam in the city and said, “Just build a Helipad at Rajghat; will be a lot easier than giving Central Delhi a traffic heart attack whenever any foreign or domestic dignitary wants to pay their respects to Gandhi.”
Interestingly, even the former Delhi Traffic Police Head commented on the situation of traffic in the city. Former Special Police Commissioner (Traffic) of Delhi Dr Muktesh Chander took to X and said, “Every morning there is a long traffic jam on the Delhi side of Kalindi Kunj bridge. What will happen when Jewar airport starts? Is there any plan? Never saw a senior Traffic Police officer on the choke point at the end of this bridge,” he stated.
Metro delays were also witnessed with the trains getting delayed at various stations. A passenger who alighted the metro at ITO said that the metro police curtailed them from going out while releasing some of them in batches every 20 to 30 minutes.
“We were being held at the ITO exit gate for over half an hour which made me get late for my office. What made the situation worse was that the metro security curtailed us from going and released passengers in batches every 20 minutes,” said a media professional.
Presently, Delhi ranks as the 44th most congested city centre among 387 around the world in 2023, as per the 13th annual traffic index published by Dutch geolocation technology specialist, TomTom.
Further, the situation was exacerbated with rains lashing the city leading to traffic snarls in areas including Dhaula Kuan, Mundka, ITO, Sangam Vihar, Mehrauli- Badarpur road, Najafgarh, among others due to waterlogging.
The Delhi Traffic police issued an advisory on the same and said, “Traffic is affected on Rohtak Road in the carriageway from Nangloi towards Tikri Border and vice versa due to potholes and water logging. Kindly avoid Mundka and take alternate routes accordingly.”
Another commuter stated that it took him approximately two hours to cover a distance of 28 Kilometer.
Taking a jibe at the traffic jams in Delhi, a 30 year old Suhasini said, “Whenever there is stress, a hair spa is the best way to calm yourself. However, it is of no use since the traffic and pollution in Delhi will cause headaches again.”
