Traffic diverted in parts of Delhi as Bharat Jodo enters Capital

The significant routes that were impacted included national highways 9 and 24, Barapullah Flyover, Mathura Road, ITO, ISBT, Delhi-Noida-Delhi Expressway, Ashram intersection, Moolchand Flyover, Lodhi Colony, India Gate and parts of Old Delhi, according to commuters.

The national capital saw traffic diversions that led to congestion in several areas on Saturday as the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra traversed through Delhi after it entered the city from the Badarpur border point at 6.30am.

Traffic held up at the Ashram intersection on Saturday afternoon, as the Bharat Jodo Yatra passes through the busy crossing. (Raj K Raj/ HT Photo)

While the Delhi Traffic Police issued an advisory for travellers a day earlier and diverted routes, commuters reported long delays amid traffic rerouting and increased vehicular volumes due to the Christmas weekend.

The significant routes that were impacted included national highways 9 and 24, Barapullah Flyover, Mathura Road, ITO, ISBT, Delhi-Noida-Delhi Expressway, Ashram intersection, Moolchand Flyover, Lodhi Colony, India Gate and parts of Old Delhi, according to commuters.

As the Congress leader and thousands of participants entered Delhi from the Badarpur area – the area’s Metro station was the starting point – people who needed to enter or exit the Metro station ran into congestion. The situation, however, eased as the yatra moved towards the interiors of Delhi.

Rina Kumari, a Class 10 student who was waiting on the street in the Badarpur area, said: “I have my science pre-board exam and need to reach my school by 8.30am. But no autos are plying on the stretch...”

The Congress march later crossed Sarita Vihar and New Friends Colony to reach the Ashram intersection, where it took a break for about 2.5 hours and a media briefing was held. However, because of Gandhi’s presence in the area, scores of people gathered at the intersection and the flyover, leading to traffic congestion for a few hours. Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Saurabh Chandra said: “We deployed our staff at all the major intersections and tried to regulate the traffic to the best of our abilities. Not many diversions were required because the crowd was moving. The only hassle point was Lodhi flyover where also one lane was always moving,” he said.

A commuter, Deepshikha, who goes by her first name, was among those who got delayed due to the congestion. Around 1.25pm, the Delhi resident was seen navigating through the Ashram underpass traffic. “I have a train at 2pm from Nizamuddin station. I’m unable to find an auto-rickshaw. The flyover is blocked because of the march,” she said.

She then decided to walk from Ashram to the Nizamuddin railway station. At least 350,000 vehicles use the Ashram intersection every day and it is currently being prepared for closure for 45 days to complete construction work in the area.

People entering Delhi from Noida and Ghaziabad and those who took the Delhi-Meerut Expressway also faced traffic snarls at Akshardham and Sarai Kale Khan. “I had to attend an event in Lutyens Delhi and knew about the possibility of traffic, therefore I took a cab. But because of massive traffic around India Gate, I had to let go of the cab and walk about a kilometre to reach the event,” said Rakesh Chawla, a resident of Ghaziabad’s Vaishali.

Alka Anand, a resident of Greater Kailash, said that she was heading towards Lodhi Road, which roughly takes 25 minutes from her residence, but it took her an hour and a half to reach her destination on Saturday. “The stretch from GK to Adchini crossing takes a few minutes and even on heavy traffic days, it takes no more than 10 minutes but it took more than 40 minutes today,” she said, adding that all service lanes and crossings were packed.

“The primary motive of the Delhi Traffic Police was to ensure that minimum inconvenience was caused to the commuters. Decisions were taken in real time as the situation demanded,” a traffic police officer said, asking not to be named.