Festive shopping along with the exchanging customary gifts, ahead of Diwali, threw traffic across the city out of gear on Wednesday evening. Commuters spent significant time on roads as traffic volume increased considerably due to Diwali rush.
The respite from traffic congestion is not expected to die out soon as the rush is likely to continue till the weekend. Traffic Police’s advisory to commuters to avail public transport had little effect on people as more were out in their private vehicles.
A Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) rally in the evening further aggravated the traffic situation in the New Delhi area.
“A cheek-by-jowl situation was reported from Ashoka Road towards Windsor Place due to the rally. Traffic spilled on GPO and near Rakabganj Gurdwara till Talkatora Stadium, where the rally concluded late in the evening,” said a Traffic Police official. He added that additional deployment of police personnel has been made across the city to cope with massive snarls due to festivities.
As Delhiites attended to their festive duties, traffic volume was more than the normal days at all major marketplaces.
Reports of heavy vehicular movement were received during the evening rush hours due to festive shopping. long queues of vehicles could be seen on roads leading to markets — lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, South Extension, Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh and Sadar Bazar — causing gridlock along Ring Road, Outer Ring Road, Vikas Marg, Bhishma Pitamah Marg, National Highway-24 and ITO.
Heavy traffic was also reported from Ashram Chowk, Mukarba Chowk, India Gate, Pankha Road, Maurice Nagar and Azad Market. Dhaula Kuan was another major point that witnessed more than the usual traffic volume towards evening.
Commuters complained that it took at least 20 minutes to cross the traffic light, which usually takes five to 10 minutes.
The situation is unlikely to improve before the weekend since people will finish their last-minute shopping. To avoid jams and parking woes, Traffic Police have advised people to resort to public transport.
“Public transport is a much better option for those visiting markets because finding a place to park your vehicle is next to impossible. It is also better to visit the Diwali melas using public transport since parking remains a persistent problem everywhere. To avoid bottlenecks on major roads, Traffic Police personnel are challaning heavily for parking illegally on roads," added the official.