R-Day parade rehearsals gridlock Delhi roads

Vehicular movement was severely hit on the route leading to Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg near the ITO, arterial roads of the Ring Road, between Ashram and IP Estate flyover, the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, National Highway 9, Vikas Marg, Pragati Maidan Tunnel, India Gate Circle

New Delhi

Traffic jam on NH 24, near the Yamuna. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

The week started with traffic snarls through the morning rush hour that lasted till well past afternoon, especially in central Delhi, owing to parade rehearsal for Republic Day, and the situation set to persist for the entire week. A traffic advisory is likely to be issued for Thursday’s full-dress rehearsal and the final event on January 26, Delhi Traffic Police said on Monday.

Vehicular movement was severely hit on the route leading to Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg near the ITO, arterial roads of the Ring Road, between Ashram and IP Estate flyover, the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, National Highway 9, Vikas Marg, Pragati Maidan Tunnel, India Gate Circle, Mandi House-Barakhambha Road, Man Singh Road, Rafi Marg, Janpath Road, Shahjahan Road, Akbar Road, Ashoka Road and other routes around the Kartavya Path.

Motorists blamed traffic personnel for not regulating traffic properly or removing vehicles that were parked haphazardly.

“There was nearly a kilometre-long backlog of vehicles between the Pragati Maidan tunnel and Ring Road on the route to the India Gate Circle. Initially, I thought the congestion was because of traffic restrictions on the C-Hexagon for the parade rehearsal. But when I exited the tunnel, I found that improperly parked vehicles on the Purana Quila Road opposite the Patiala House Court had narrowed the driving space,” said Lakshya Saini, a 32-year-old businessman from Indirapuram in Ghaziabad who was driving to Connaught Place.

A senior traffic police officer said the traffic police issued a detailed advisory through their social media handles on January 15 regarding traffic arrangements for the Republic Day parade rehearsal on January 17, 18, 20 and 21. It detailed traffic restrictions on the Kartavya Path-Rafi Marg crossing, Kartavya Path-Janpath crossing, Kartavya Path-Man Singh Road crossing, and Kartavya Path-C-Hexagon crossing between 10.15am and 12.30pm on Tuesday.

“Participants of the parade and security personnel on duty are arriving in nearly 600 buses. Stopping buses to pick and drop participants and personnel, and their parking on different roads are also disturbing vehicular movement. Some mechanised columns of the parade moved till Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg for parking because of which traffic is disrupted on the Vikas Marg, Tilak Marg, Ring Road, and Mandi House Road. We allow the vehicles to move when there is a gap of around one minute between one tableau and the another in the procession,” the officer said.