Ghaziabad residents staged a protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday demanding the widening of NH-24 and 58 at the earliest.

The protest was held under the leadership of the city Residents Welfare Association (RWA) federation. “These highways are a lifeline for Delhi and a means of livelihood for the commuters of Trans Hindon areas —Indirapuram, Vasundhra, Vaishali and other colonies.

"These roads also serve as a means of communication for the military, incase of any external aggression,” said Col Tejender Tyagi of Ghaziabad RWA federation.

“If highways emanating from Delhi, including the Delhi-Agra, Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Chandigarh highway, have been widened then why is the government delaying the widening of NH -24 and 58,” said one of the residents.

“A proposal to widen these highways from 10 to 16 lanes in different stretches is already in Parliament but the surface ministry is not giving a firm time schedule. Commuters are suffering every day due to traffic snarls on NH-24 and 58,” said Pramod Sharma, a resident.