General Bipin Rawat's funeral: What are the traffic restrictions imposed in Delhi?

The funeral of General Bipin Rawat, who died along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other personnel of the armed forces in an air accident this week, will take place on Friday at 4pm.

Ahead of India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat's funeral in Delhi on Friday, heavy traffic restrictions have been imposed in several areas of the national capital.

General Rawat's funeral: The Delhi police made several traffic arrangements in the Capital for Friday.  (PTI / File Photo)

News agency ANI reported citing traffic police officials that curbs will be imposed on the K Kamaraj Road in the national capital in view of the high-profile funeral procession. Moreover, public transport will also be diverted on a couple of other routes, affecting the movement of buses and auto-rickshaws.

The funeral of General Bipin Rawat, who died along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other personnel of the armed forces in an air accident this week, will take place on Friday at 4pm.

The bodies of the army couple will be kept at their 3, Kamaraj Marg residence from 11am to 12:30pm for people to pay their final respects. Military personnel can pay their respects between 12:30pm and 1:30pm and the final journey to the Brar Square crematorium in Delhi Cantonment is scheduled to begin around 2pm.

Here are the traffic arrangements in the Capital for Friday, according to the Delhi traffic police:

• K Kamraj Road will be closed for public transport soon after the bodies of CDS General Rawat and his wife reach their Kamaraj Marg.

• All public transport on this road will be diverted. This change in route will affect buses the most since there is a stop situated near the late CDS' residence.

• Whether auto-rickshaws and other means of public transport are also to be stopped will be decided in a meeting among traffic officials on Friday.

• The K Kamraj Road, however, will be open to private vehicles, but this can change on the basis of information of VIP movement received by the police. A number of decisions regarding route diversions will be taken later today, according to ANI.

• The VIP movement on the roads will start from 7-8am, which will last till late evening.

• The DCP (traffic) of the New Delhi Range, the ACP, and other senior police officials will be present near the K Kamaraj Marg on Friday. Along with them, around 75 to 100 police personnel have also been assigned duty from this morning to ensure the smooth conduct of procession all the way from K Kamaraj Marg to Brar Square crematorium.

• The final journey to the Brar Square crematorium is scheduled to begin around 2pm onwards. This funeral procession will start from the K Kamaraj Road and proceed towards Rajaji Road, Teen Murti, 11 Murti, Sardar Patel Road, and then from Dhaula Kuan, it will move towards Brar Square via the Narayana Route.

• The Delhi Traffic Police have already made adequate arrangements in view of the funeral procession. About 10-12 police vehicles will be constantly behind the procession, and according to the cops, traffic on both sides may even be stopped during this time due to security reasons.

The last rites of Gen Rawat will be performed with full military honours. Apart from the CDS and his wife, his defence adviser Brigadier Lakhbinder Singh Lidder and staff officer Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh also died in the crash.

The other nine defence forces personnel who died in the chopper crash are Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan, Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh, Junior Warrant Officer Rana Pratap Das, Junior Warrant Officer Arakkal Pradeep, Havildar Satpal Rai, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar, and Lance Naik B Sai Teja.

Group Captain Varun Singh, who is the lone survivor from the crash, has been shifted to Air Force Command hospital at Bengaluru for further treatment.