Faithful thumb a nose at traffic laws
Hooliganism and vandalism prevailed on Delhi roads in the name of idol immersion of lord Ganesha on Monday. City roads, particularly those leading to Yamuna Ghats, remained clogged as devotees turned unruly during the procession that began in the afternoon. Traffic and local police had a tough time handling the situation. A suspected drowning death was reported from the Haathi Khana Ghat in ITO but officials had not confirmed it as rescue operations were still underway. Delhi Traffic Police came a cropper as it had not done its homework. Poor planning and lack of foresight resulted in chaos on Delhi roads and it soon cascaded to other roads bringing traffic to a standstill. The problem started with devotees parking trucks and tempos on the roads. It not only blocked one carriageway but also impeded the flow of traffic.
All claims by Delhi Traffic Police to prosecute hooligans during the idol immersion fell flat as devotees and locals could be seen making a mockery of the traffic norms openly. They appeared brazen and cocked a snook at the law enforcing agency as its men and officers looked impish. “Our first priority is to free up choked traffic. We have made a note of the rule breakers and will prosecute them,” said Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Muktesh Chander.
There were reports of hooliganism from several parts of the city by devotees who were armed with lathis and iron rods. Many harried motorists were brought into submission by inebriated devotees who even attacked vehicles. Traffic flow was severely affected during the evening peak hours. Commuters from East Delhi heading towards Kashmere Gate and Central Delhi had a harrowing time as the ITO Bridge was choked for several hours.
Commuters, including children, women and senior citizens had the most difficult time as it was unbearable for them to bear the heat and sit inside the vehicle for long. On ITO Bridge, the sirens of ambulances could not be heard above the din and patients had no choice but to wait it out. Since there is no U-turn from Yamuna Bank Metro station till the ITO flyover, commuters were stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Since it was the first working day of the week, the traffic volume was on the higher side. Officer goers were stuck midway as none of the arterial roads in the Central, North and East Delhi were spared from the gridlock.
Delhi Traffic Police has deployed its men along the route of the procession but they too failed to manage the crowd and the traffic snarls that ensued. Traffic came to a grinding halt in areas like ITO, Trans-Yamuna area, Wazirabad, Malviya Nagar, Kashmere Gate, Seelampur, Sarita Vihar, Burari, Udeshiya Ghat, laxmi Nagar, Vikas Marg, NH-24, Noida-link Road and other areas. “I was stuck at Delhi Secretariat for more than an hour. I managed to go to Mayur Vihar so that I could reach office at Delhi Gate via Pragati Maidan,” said a commuter.