Festive season traffic jam in Delhi leaves commuters stuck on roads for hours

In addition to the festive season rush, the Delhi Traffic Police had earlier also issued advisory in view of the opening of the BJP's headquarters in the city.

Amid the ongoing festive season rush, massive traffic snarls left commuters stuck in a jam for hours in South Delhi and other parts of the capital on Monday.

Massive traffic jam was also seen on the Maharaja Ranjeet Singh flyover during the inauguration ceremony of Delhi BJP's new office on DDU marg. (HT Photo/Arvind Yadav)

Heavy traffic congestion was reported in several parts of South Delhi on Sunday as well. Police said that the spike in traffic volume was due to the ongoing festive season, where devotees were making their way to Durga Puja pandals and Dussehra melas.

Netizens said they were stuck in traffic for hours as vehicles stood still on the congested roads.

"One day I decide to venture out beyond home in Delhi and the traffic stands still for over 40 minutes near Laxman Public School. What's happening? @dtptraffic it seems worse than Gurgaon, right now," wrote a user on X.

Meanwhile, another mocked the complaints over Bangalore traffic, saying that Delhi's jam "just exists".

"People complaining about Bangalore traffic while Delhi exists is peak comedy. Bangalore: 'Oh no, 2 hours to cross the city! Delhi: 'Hold my pollution mask' takes 3 hours to go 5km. At least Bangalore has weather as an excuse. Delhi just... exists," the X user said.

Another person posted, "Even after such a great connectivity of Delhi metro, traffic is such a big problem in the city, imagine what would've been the condition if the metro was not as well connected."

An X account said, "Bara Tooti Chowk, Sadar Bazar, Delhi 6, till Deputy Ganj up to the Rani Jhansi flyover road is fully jammed as no traffic policeman is present."

Earlier in the day, the Delhi Traffic Police issued an advisory ahead of the opening of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Delhi HQ.

The advisory was in place from 3 pm onwards.

The advisory said that restrictions were in place from 4 pm to 8 pm on BSZ Marg, IP Marg, JLN Marg, Minto Road, Ranjeet Singh Flyover, Mirdard Road and the adjoining stretches.

"No traffic allowed on DDU Marg. Commuters are advised to use public transport and Chelmsford Road for New Delhi Railway station (avoid Ajmeri Gate side)," the traffic police posted on X.

It further said, "Strict no parking on BSZ Marg, IP Marg, DDU Marg and Minto Road," adding that vehicles will be towed and prosecuted otherwise.

Sunday Jam

Commuters had to face traffic snarls on Sunday as well. The affected areas included Chittaranjan Park, Lajpat Nagar, Kalkaji Road, ITO and stretches along the Outer Ring Road.

"Due to the ongoing festivities, traffic volume in south Delhi has increased significantly. Devotees heading towards pandals and Durga Puja venues are adding to the rush. Additional personnel have been deployed to manage traffic and ensure smooth movement of vehicles," Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ajay Chaudhary told news agency PTI.

The traffic police had issued an alert, saying that there will be heavy traffic on Outer Ring Road, from Panchsheel to Greater Kailash, Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, JB Tito Marg, Inder Mohan Bhardwaj Marg and CR Park Main Road from 4 pm to midnight.

"Vehicles will not be allowed to ply on Gurudwara Road, Bipin Chandra Pal Marg and internal roads of CR Park and GK-II. Effective diversions will be implemented from Outer Ring Road (Under Panchsheel Flyover, Under IIT Flyover and Under Nehru Place Flyover) accordingly w.r.t LGV and HGV even if they carry valid NO Entry Permission," it had posted on X.

A commuter said that he was stranded in traffic for nearly two hours while returning home from the airport. "I was exhausted after a long flight, and then my car was stuck in the jam for almost two hours," he said.

Another said that the situation was "frustrating" as vehicles were "crawling" on roads, adding that it took him almost "two hours to cover a short distance".

(with PTI inputs)