The roads in the Capital witnessed massive gridlock on Saturday leaving commuters stuck in long tailbacks in many areas for long hours.
Though the traffic police seems to be active through their online forum regularly updating about the ongoing activities that caused traffic slowdown across the city, the scenario on roads was otherwise throughout the day.
The steeper bottlenecks were witnessed on the Netaji Subhash Marg, Red Fort, Darya Ganj, ISBT Kashmeri Gate due to the Jagannath Yatra Procession. Involving around 4,000 devotees, the procession hit the road during afternoon at 12:45 pm and covered routes around Aruna Asif Ali Road, Ajmeri Gate, Shradhananad Marg, Khari Baoli, Fateh Puri and Chandni Chowk. The traffic around these areas was sluggish till 6 pm when the procession was culminated at Red Fort.
“The advisory was updated online but as many commuters have to take routes where the procession was taking place, it created a road chaos,” said a traffic official.
Traffic official also said that the situation was expected during the day as, neither the procession can be avoided nor the commuters who use these routes regularly. Heavy traffic jam was also witnessed at Shastri Park intersection on Saturday afternoon.
The traffic obstruction was also seen near Hanuman Setu, ISBT Kashmiri Gate due to a water pipeline repairing work in the area. The vehicles had to move through a narrow passage as the major portion of the road-sideways was in pits.
The heavy snarl was seen effective in the early afternoon also in Naraina T Point to loha Mandi stretch due to Public Work Department (PWD) and BSES works at Junk Market in Mayapuri Red light. The situation seemed similar near Pragati Maidan due to the ongoing India International Trade Fair (IITF) 2015. As lakh of visitors daily visit the fair, traffic congestion is expected on these days at Mathura road, Bhairon Marg, Ring Road, Sheeshah Road and Purana Quila road, said a traffic official.