Unexpected rally takes commuters by surprise, leads to jams in C Delhi
New Delhi Traffic was disrupted for nearly two hours in some parts of central Delhi, especially around ITO and near Rajghat, due to the show of strength carried out by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and workers before Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s arrival at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) headquarters, where he was summoned for questioning in connection with the excise policy scam case
New Delhi Traffic was disrupted for nearly two hours in some parts of central Delhi, especially around ITO and near Rajghat, due to the show of strength carried out by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and workers before Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s arrival at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) headquarters, where he was summoned for questioning in connection with the excise policy scam case.
The Delhi Traffic Police said the show of strength caused traffic congestion on some routes since it was an “unannounced roadshow” during the morning peak hours, and no information or application for permission was given to the central district police or traffic police for the same.
“Although not communicated officially by the organisers, we placed barricades on DDU Marg and diverted traffic going towards Minto Road or New Delhi Railway station to other alternate routes. It increased the volume of traffic on Vikas Marg and other adjoining roads,” said a traffic police officer, who asked not to be named.
At around 9am, Sisodia left his Mathura Road residence with scores of supporters for the AAP office at DDU Marg, where hundreds of workers gathered in his support. Sisodia then addressed the party workers from the sunroof of his car and then began a roadshow towards the Rajghat.
According to the traffic police officer quoted above, around 2,000 bikes were part of the roadshow that Sisodia led to Rajghat. The convoy passed through Vikas Marg and took the Ring Road to reach Rajghat, where Sisodia and a few senior AAP leaders were allowed to enter the samadhi sthal of Mahatma Gandhi.
As over thousands of AAP workers reached Rajghat, the movement of vehicles on Ring Road and the adjoining roads was badly disrupted. To avoid further traffic congestion, police used buses to block the roads and to stop the protestors from marching further.
“We used our available resources to stop the bikers and other protesters from crossing the Rajghat intersection. A majority of them were dispersed from there itself. Only the deputy CM and a few AAP legislators then drove towards the CBI headquarters. We detained at least five persons from near Rajghat and later released them. The entire roadshow lasted for around two hours,” said deputy commissioner of police (central) Shweta Chauhan.
The roads that witnessed the worst jams were the Mathura Road carriageway towards ITO, Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Marg between Minto Road and ITO, Vikas Marg from DDU Marg, Ring Road towards Rajghat and further to north Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru Marg both carriageways between Rajghat intersection and Delhi Gate, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, and Netaji Subhash Marg near Daryaganj.
Outside the CBI headquarters, the police barricaded both the carriageways, causing inconvenience to employees and visitors to the CGO Complex.
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