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Farmer protest halts traffic in Delhi
New Delhi: Hassled commuters were stuck in long traffic snarls in central and south Delhi on Saturday after pre-emptive advisories were issued by the Delhi traffic
New Delhi: Hassled commuters were stuck in long traffic snarls in central and south Delhi on Saturday after pre-emptive advisories were issued by the Delhi traffic police warning commuters of likely holdups at the Delhi-Meerut expressway because of farmers marching towards the national Capital.
The Ashram intersection, an important link between central Delhi, south Delhi, Noida and Faridabad, was the worst hit. The traffic situation was made worse with the ongoing construction work of a 750-metre underpass – work had started earlier this month – starting from Nizamuddin Bridge till CSIR Apartments on Mathura Road. The Delhi government’s Public Works Department (PWD) has put up barricades at sections on the intersections, which has shrunk road space for vehicular movement.
A senior Delhi traffic police official said Saturday that over 15,000 farmers were expected to enter the national Capital’s in the morning. The police had issued traffic advisories on the possibility of jams in case the farmers cross Delhi’s borders.
As a precautionary step, traffic movement was stopped from the Ghaziabad border (UP gate) on National Highway-9 and NH-24 towards Nizamuddin till the afternoon. Officials said regular traffic movement resumed in the evening.
Sudipta Mandal, a commuter on the stretch, said she was travelling from Noida to Connaught Place and was stuck at the Ashram intersection for nearly 40 minutes.
“I had a meeting at Barakhamba Road, which I had to postpone because of the traffic jam. This route is usually clear, especially during the weekends,” Mandal said. Commuters said that on Saturday, it took them over half-an-hour to cross the intersection from Maharani Bagh towards India Gate (Mathura Road) – a journey that usually takes just seven minutes.
Traffic going from New Friends Colony (NFC) towards Lajpat Nagar on the Ring Road has also slowed down to a crawl.
Apart from Ashram and the Delhi-Noida-Direct flyway, traffic was also hit near Lajpat Nagar, Moolchand, South Extension, Sarai Kale Khan, and Noida Link Road.
In the evening, rainfall in some parts of the city and the resultant water logging added to slowing down vehicular movement in many areas.
“In the morning, many people took the DND flyway to avoid getting caught at the Meerut expressway. This led to traffic jams. We had deployed our personnel to manage the rush,” a senior traffic official said.
The official said that the situation was made worse by construction activities started by the PWD. Motorists playing on the intersection have to face minor traffic diversions because of the construction barricades put up by the agency. Estimates by the traffic police show that every day, nearly 3.5 lakh vehicles cross the Ashram intersection during the peak hours of morning and evening.
“The construction work has just begun. The main digging work is yet to start but some road space is being used up,” the traffic official added.
