More than ten kilometre long traffic jam was witnessed on the stretch from Kashmere Gate ISBT to Yamuna Vihar and Wazirabad on late Monday night that couldn’t be cleared till wee hours of Tuesday.
long tailbacks were witnessed as Khajuri Chowk was completely gridlocked with commuters complaining of being stuck for hours.
A commuter travelling from ITO to Yamuna Vihar said usually it hardly takes 30-45 minutes at night time to reach home. “But on Monday, I left work at 9 pm and reached only after 12 midnight. I took a longer route via badly maintained roads,” he said.
Traffic policemen were found unable to tackle the situation due to heavy increase in the amount of traffic on the stretch. “The traffic jam was not because of any obstruction but due to a sudden increase in traffic due to the wedding season. Traffic officials were sent to the spot to regulate the traffic, but the jam could be cleared only late in the night after 2.30 to 3 am,” he said.
Traffic officials had earlier said adequate deployment is being made to control traffic and wedding planners are being directed to use one lane for walking.
Commuters complained of long tailbacks on Wazirabad Bridge, Khajuri Chowk, Bhajanpura, Yamuna Vihar, New Usmanpur, Kartar Nagar, Marginal Pusta Road, Geeta Colony, Nanaksar to Wazirabad, Pusta Road to GT Road intersection and Ansari Road. Heavy traffic was also reported at Seelampur towards ISBT, where commuters claimed of zero movement for hours.
“Traffic officials seemed to be clueless as they were unable to handle the heavy traffic flow at the stretch,” said a commuter.
Traffic police officials said that breakdown of a DTC bus at Wazirabad Bridge was also responsible for the traffic mess. To add to the woes, wedding shoppers thronged major markets, including Karol Bagh, lajpat Nagar, South Extension etc, leading to major snarls in traffic in the surrounding areas.
On Tuesday as well, heavy traffic was reported in different parts of the city. Commuters were stuck around Azad Market, Tis Hazari, Anand Vihar towards Ghazipur, Kalindikunj, Sarita Vihar and Kashmere Gate ISBT due to bursting of a water pipeline. Frustrated commuters took to social media to vent their anger.
“For the past 10 minutes, I am trying to drive down the Moolchand flyover towards Jangpura. It is bumper to bumper driving. It is a regular feature all through the day,” Sanjeev Kochhar, a commuter, posted on Facebook.
A protest by All India Teachers’ Association also sparked traffic jams as Sansad Marg was closed for traffic due to the demonstration by the teachers. A religious procession also led to long tailbacks at Tis Hazari, Barafkhana, Clock Tower, Mori Gate, Shakti Nagar etc. Heavy traffic was also reported on Mathura Road and Bhairon Road due to India International Trade Fair (IITF).
The Pioneer had earlier reported that with around 100 days of festivities in a year, four months of monsoons with severe water-logging, two months of extreme winters with foggy conditions, big events like IITF, India Africa Summit and various VIPs living in Delhi, a detailed traffic plan needs to be formulated for the city taking into account all these factors.