Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit causes massive traffic jams in Delhi
Tight security arrangement for the State visit of Chinese President XI Jinping threw traffic out of gear on Thursday as motorists were made to wait for hours. Traffic moved at a snail’s pace as commuters struggled to reach to their destinations. There was massive traffic jams in New Delhi, Central Delhi and roads connecting Delhi from Noida and Ghaziabad witnessed bumper- to-bumper traffic as the cascading effect has spread beyond the UP Gate in Ghaziabad. Even though Delhi Traffic Police had issued traffic advisory on Wednesday there were no proper diversions which the commuters could take as the Tibetan protesters were spread in different parts of the city.
Traffic was at a snail’s pace on several roads, including Dhaula Kuan, ITO, Daryaganj, Delhi Gate, Feroz Shah Road and around India Gate on Thursday morning after Traffic Police shut down parts of India Gate and Ring Road for the visit of Jinping to Rajghat and Hyderabad House. Many commuters, including the office goers, reached their destination late.
Due to protests by Tibetans, a massive traffic jam was also reported from Dhaula Kuan, and motorists had to face a lot of problems. Traffic jam was also reported on Ring Road where vehicles moved slowly, which also caused traffic snarls on roads leading to Ring Road. Traffic Police had on Wednesday issued a traffic advisory asking commuters to avoid Sardar Patel Marg, Dhaula Kuan and Ashoka Road as those areas would be closed for intermittent periods throughout the day.
Traffic snarls were also reported on roads leading to Hyderabad House, where scores of Tibetans staged a vociferous protest and also clashed with police. Policemen and paramilitary personnel were stationed at every intersection during the movement of Chinese President. The situation was worst at ITO intersection where motorists got stuck in traffic jams and it took them hours to cross the area. “Normally, it takes me 30 minutes to reach office in Connaught Place, but today, it took me two hours to reach there. Traffic snarls were at several busy roads,” said Rajesh Choudhary, a resident of laxmi Nagar. The same situation was also reported at Dhaula Kuan where Tibetans staged protest against Xi’’s India visit. Commuters claimed they had no choice but to wait it out as there were not many traffic officials who could guide them.