The aam aadmi felt the pinch on roads of Delhi as its representatives took to streets seeking punitive action against some Delhi cops on Monday. The surface and Metro Rail transport was paralysed in Central and New Delhi areas consequent to the indefinite dharna by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the Central Secretariat.
The traffic was thrown totally out of gear at several stretches, including Patel Chowk, Ashoka Road, Janpath and Connaught Place circle for most part of the day. As a precautionary measure four Metro stations in the vicinity of the protest venue were closed that spelt trouble for the office-goers.
The CM’s dharna on Monday gave a harrowing experience to commuters who had to literally struggle to reach their destination owing to the unplanned closure of four Metro stations in the New Delhi area. This included Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhavan and Race Course Metro stations. If this was not enough, vehicular movement too was a total mess with motorists remaining confused as the police had barricaded most of the important arterial roads like Raisina Road, Rafi Marg, Dalhousie Road and Dr Rajendra Prasad Road.
At 9 am, the peak office hour, DMRC was directed by the Delhi Police to shut down the four Metro stations to prevent AAP supporters from coming to the North Block where the dharna was originally scheduled. Trouble came in for many unaware office-goers who had to get down at these Metro stations but they were prevented from doing so. Scores of office-goers were late to their work places as they had to walk down longer distance to reach there. “I had to get down at Patel Chowk for going to office, but today the train stopped but the door did not open. I had to get down at Rajiv Chowk and take an autorickshaw to reach the office,” said Amarendra Kumar, a Government employee. However, Patel Chowk and Race Course stations were opened around 2 pm, whereas entry and exit in the other two stations remained shut. At Central Secretariat station, travellers were allowed to take the interchange Metro.
Contrary to its usual serene atmosphere, the posh lutyens’ Delhi was turned into a place of screeching horns and bumper-to-bumper traffic. Hundreds of people had to take long detours owing to the prohibitory orders imposed in and around the high-security area. Heavy security was deployed and barricades were put in several places to restrict movement. The roundabouts of Ashoka Road, Janpath and Krishi Bhavan witnessed a crawling traffic. Jams were reported from Feroz Shah Road, Jantar Mantar Road and Janpath. “I had to go to Chanakyapuri, but every road I turn my car to be barricaded and the traffic refuses to move. Does the CM wants good for the people at our cost onlyIJ” questioned an agitated Riya Chawla, a software engineer. Traffic was diverted on Rafi Marg, Raisina Road and Dr Rajendra Prasad Road. Traffic was restricted on roads leading to Central Secretariat. This had its cascading effect in areas like Connaught Place, ITO, Mandi House and India Gate where traffic moved at snail’s pace during the rush hour.