There was heavy rush on roads and in Metro trains on Saturday, as the Raksha Bandhan festivities drew a huge number of people out of their homes, bringing the national Capital literally to a standstill at various places. Outer Ring Road, its major arteries and areas such as Vikaspuri, Uttam Nagar in West Delhi, Aurobindo Marg, Vikas Marg, Marginal Pusta Road connecting Old Iron Bridge to Khajoori Khas Chowk, NH-24, Mukarba Chowk, Wazirabad in North, Badarpur and Nehru Place in South and Dilshad Garden, Seemapuri in East saw traffic jams since Saturday morning. ISBT Kashmere Gate and Anand Vihar witnessed heavy crowds since Friday night.
Due to heavy rush, the Delhi Metro daily ridership touched a new high of 31.75 lakh on Friday on the eve of the festival, while commuters poured in, in large numbers throughout the day as well. Authorities took extra measures for the festival that celebrates the bond between siblings.
Additional DTC buses and increased Metro trips had been arranged for the day. Free travel for women in non-AC DTC and orange cluster buses acted as a sweetener for many.
Anticipating the traffic snarls, Delhi Traffic Police had appealed to the public on Friday to use public transport like Metro or buses to avoid congestion on the roads. As people abided by the advisory, it left the Metro trains and buses packed to capacity.
Owing to huge commuter movement at various places in the city, there was heavy traffic since morning. Approach roads to every major marketplace were chock-a-block with traffic. Those who drove to Sarojini Nagar, Karol Bagh, Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazaar, South Extension or lajpat Nagar either had to turn back disappointed or remained stuck for hours. The traffic police was caught off guard with this rush.
“Roads leading to Connaught Place, Karol Bagh area, Vikas Marg, Aurobindo Marg, Station Road, Kali Dass Marg, Pankha Road, Africa Avenue Marg, August Kranti Marg, Subhash Marg have been facing traffic jams since the morning due to Raksha Bandhan,” a Delhi Traffic Police official said.
Areas around Sangam Vihar, Badarpur Road, Mangolpuri, Jamia Hamdard Hospital, Dharamshila, Kanpur road, Maharanapratap Road, Patel Road, and Rohini were also affected.
“The problems were further compounded with breakdown of buses at major connecting roads across the city,” the official added.
With more commuters preferring the Metro for travel, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) decided to introduce an additional 210 trips on Friday and Saturday due to Raksha Bandhan. “In view of the increased ridership observed by the DMRC in earlier years on the day before and on Raksha Bandhan itself, the Delhi Metro will run about 210 extra train trips on the two days,” an official statement from DMRC said. “On Friday, Metro ferried more than 32 lakh people,” Anuj Dayal, chief spokesperson of DMRC, said.
But for Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Noida, more Metro trains didn’t serve the purpose as he had to stand for over 10 minutes in a long queue just to enter the Metro station.
“I stood in a long line that ran onto the road for over 10 minutes to enter the Noida City Centre Metro Station. I found the Metros were running rather too slow, although the frequency was fine,” Kumar said. He also said a Metro ride to Dwarka took him more than two hours in an overcrowded compartment.