The commuters travelling on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway faced hardship on Monday morning as the Delhi Traffic Police stopped vehicles to make way for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kim Jung-sook, the First Lady of the Republic of Korea, who is on a visit to India.
The passengers, travelling towards Central Delhi and towards Ghaziabad, Mayur Vihar and Akshardham were stuck in the jam from 11:30 to 1:00 am. Besides the VIP movement, the National Capital also witnessed a heavy traffic jam in the morning as the people stepped out in large numbers to nearby markets and other famous shopping spots on Dhanteras for their Deepawali purchases.
“It is peak office hour and also the beginning of the week, people have to attend meetings. wrap up work early to celebrate the festival season.
Why VVIPs movements hamper traffic flow. Alternate routes should be given during such movements,” said a software engineer, working at a private firm in ITO.
However, when asked, a senior traffic police official said, “The main reason for the traffic congestion is due to the festive season. The traffic police have already advised the commuters to utilise the public transport services such as bus, metro train and car pool cabs to avoid inconvenience, save fuel and reduce pollution.”
It is considered auspicious to buy gold, silver and utensils on Dhanteras. Major market areas that house jewellery shops like Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh, Lajpat Nagar, Sadar Bazar, Sarojini Nagar and South Extension witnessed traffic congestion, he added.
“We have deployed 4,000 personnel on roads for traffic regulation and facilitation. Apart from this, additional traffic police personnel are also deployed in at least 70 busy market areas of Delhi such as Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh, Sarojini Nagar to ensure the smooth flow of traffic,” said Alok Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic).
The major markets where a heavy footfall causing inconvenience to commuters witnessed was Connaught Place, Green Park, Nehru Place, Greater Kailash, Malivya Nagar, Saket, Lajpat Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Yusuf Sarai, Vikas Marg, Rajauri Garden, Tilak Nagar, Dwarka and Kamla Nagar.
The traffic police said that witnessing the heavy congestion on the roads the traffic unit has also sought help from beat police on roads connected to shopping malls and market areas to ease out the traffic situation and prevent any untoward incident.
“Delhi Traffic Police Helpline (011-25844444) will further help the general public in planning a hassle free travel by helping the commuters through its social media sites. We advise motorists to park their vehicles safely in the authorised parking lots to avoid congestion on roads” a senior official added.