Massive traffic snarls due to Kanwar Yatra rush paralyse Delhi

The Delhi traffic police said the influx of kanwariyas this year was higher than the previous years and they have deployed over 1,000 personnel

New Delhi: The Kanwar Yatra pilgrimage that entered its final stretch on Wednesday has triggered a traffic crisis in almost every part of Delhi since July 20, when the movement of kanwariyas started swelling.

The vehicles stuck in traffic jam due to movement of 'Kanwariyas' on the eve of conclusion of the 'Kanwar Yatra' on the Delhi- Haridwar Expressway, on Tuesday. (PTI)

Massive traffic snarls have paralysed Delhi despite the deployment of over 1,000 traffic police personnel and multiple traffic advisories. Many key routes connecting the national capital with Uttar Pradesh have been closed due to heavy rush of kanwariyas

Commuters said that even as the authorities have created dedicated lanes for the Kanwar pilgrimage movement using ropes, jersey barriers and iron barricades, kanwariyas on foot and in vehicles fitted with boom boxes and disco lights are often seen moving on the space earmarked for the general traffic.

People said the police personnel deployed on the Kanwar routes were seen observing violations without intervening and many kanwariyas even breached the routes and easily passed through residential neighbourhoods without facing any impediments from the administration.

“The enforcement has been largely cosmetic, as police personnel are standing like spectators and look helpless when it comes to regulating the movement of kanwariyas travelling in trucks, four-wheelers and on two-wheelers. I travel between my residence in Ghaziabad and my office in Gurugram daily. My average travel time is one and a half hours. But due to the Kanwar movement, it has doubled. It takes me nearly 2 hours to reach central Delhi from the Bhopura border, as many roads around the border are closed and the alternate routes have massive traffic jams,” said 41-year-old Atmprakash Shrivastava, a civil engineer by profession.

The Kanwar Yatra began on July 11 and is set to conclude on Wednesday.

On July 10, the Delhi Traffic Police issued a traffic advisory, detailing the routes for the kanwar pilgrims’ movement in the city and the roads where traffic restrictions and diversions were expected.

The rush of kanwariyas started increasing from July 20 and their massive influx began on July 21 after which the traffic police issued three more advisories, informing the public about the closure of Agra Canal Road, connecting Noida in Uttar Pradesh with Faridabad in Haryana via Kalindi Kunj-Yamuna Bridge, and seven more stretches in northeast Delhi, especially around the Apsara border, until Wednesday (July 23).

The traffic police issued advisories, warning of diversions from July 21 to July 23. However, people said the implementation remained inconsistent. Office-goers complained of reaching their office late and missing appointments. Even emergency vehicles had to take circuitous routes.

From Sunday to Wednesday afternoon, major stretches such as the GT Road, Wazirabad Road, Delhi-Meerut Expressway and National Highway-9, the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) flyway, the Vikas Marg, the Ring Road and the Outer Ring Road, the Mathura Road, and several parts of east and south Delhi remained clogged with long processions of pilgrims, many travelling in decorated vehicles, playing loud music beyond the permissible limit, and often occupying entire lanes meant for general traffic.

Apart from the Kanwar Yatra routes, kanwariyas on foot were also seen gathering in groups outside the kanwar camps across the city. Flanked by SUVs blaring devotional songs, they could be seen dancing and enjoying themselves in the service lanes as well as the main carriageways.

At least 374 Kanwar camps were set up across the city this year, 132 more than the number set up last year, with the administration’s approval.

“I saw many motorcycles parked outside the camps, trucks standing in no-parking zones and loudspeakers violating the sound pollution norms. Police personnel were also seen on-site, quietly filming everything on their mobile phones. Except a few of them requesting the kanwariyas not to disturb traffic and lower the loudspeakers’ sound, the police personnel were doing nothing to tackle the unruly people,” said 57-year-old Sushil Saini, a businessman from Indirapuram.

Similar scenes played out across key stretches—Najafgarh Road, Rohtak Road, Mathura Road—where Kanwar camps spilled onto the roads, often narrowing three-lane carriageways to one. In some places, e-rickshaws and local autos had to reroute through internal colonies just to avoid bottlenecks.

“Since Monday, traffic on roads around our neighbourhood, especially on the Mathura Road and CV Raman Marg, has remained in a chaotic situation because of the Kanwar pilgrims movement. One lane of the CV Raman Marg has been dedicated for kanwariyas and there is a Kanwar camp as well on the stretch. The loud music played on the loudspeakers during the night hours has been a matter of concern for residents, especially senior citizens, children and those suffering from various ailments,” said Chitra Jain, president of New Friends Colony, Ashoka Park residents welfare association (RWA).

“I personally feel that the administration should take a serious note of the situation and should prepare a better plan and arrangements so that the Kanwar pilgrims movement do not have to enter the city and the kanwariyas from Haryana and Rajasthan pass through eastern and western peripheral roads,” she added.

On the issues and problems raised by commuters and residents, traffic police officers said that they increased the deployment of traffic personnel to regulate the flow of traffic and ensure the movement of kanwariyas in the dedicated lanes.

“The influx of kanwariyas this year was higher than the previous years. We initially deployed 1,000 traffic personnel on the Kanwar Yatra duty. But when the flow of kanwariyas started swelling, we increased deployment. Considering the situation, we closed some stretches around the Apsara border and on the GT Road and issued advisories regarding the same on social media platforms. Our prime focus has been on handling the influx of kanwariyas, regulating their movement, avoiding any untoward incidents, and ensuring lesser convenience to motorists,” said additional commissioner of police (traffic) Dinesh Kumar Gupta.