Barricading, farmers’ blockade lead to congestion at Sirhaul toll plaza in Gurugram

Due to a protest march by Shiromani Akali Dal leaders in central Delhi against the three farm laws introduced by the Centre exactly a year ago, Delhi traffic police officials set up multi-layered barricades across all its major borders, including the Sirhaul toll plaza

Barricading by Delhi traffic police at the Sirhaul toll plaza on Friday led to congestion on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, affecting the movement of vehicles going towards Delhi. The congestion was at its peak between 9.30am and 11.30am, when commuters took nearly 30 minutes to cross the stretch.

Heavy traffic jam at the Sirhaul border on Friday due to police screening of vehicles. Farmers called for a protest in central Delhi against three controversial farm laws passed exactly a year ago. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Due to a protest march by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders in central Delhi against the three farm laws introduced by the Centre exactly a year ago, Delhi traffic police officials set up multi-layered barricades across all its major borders, including the Sirhaul toll plaza.

Agitating farmers had first gathered at the Sirhaul toll plaza around 11.30pm on Thursday and blocked the movement of vehicles on the carriageway heading towards Delhi.

According to Ravinder Singh Tomar, DCP, Gurugram traffic police, a joint team of Gurugram Police and Delhi Police then asked the farmers to vacate the area, and after 1am, vehicular movement started returning to normal.

“In the interim, we diverted heavy traffic from Gurgaon-Faridabad Road and Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway, due to which congestion at the toll plaza was managed,” said Tomar.

“After Thursday night’s situation, Gurugram Police and Delhi Police were on alert. Delhi Police already had prior notice about possible disruptions. Around 9am, a group of 15-20 farmers tried to block the expressway again. However, they were quickly dispersed, after which the intensity of checking increased,” said Tomar.

Coinciding with peak morning hour traffic, for two hours, between 9.30am and 11.30am, the congestion at the toll plaza was at its worst.

“It took me nearly 30 minutes to cross from the end of the Shankar Chowk flyover till Rajokri. There was heavy barricading by Delhi police and they were stopping vehicles at random and letting others through,” said Uday Mishra, a resident of GK 1.

As updates regarding the Sirhaul toll plaza barricading were shared via word-of-mouth and on social media, commuters altered their travelling plans accordingly.

“My brother had informed me about the congestion at the toll plaza. I had to drop a relative at the airport and instead of the highway, I drove via MG Road. On my way back to Gurugram, the carriageway was completely empty, and I could see the situation was far better on the other carriageway than an hour ago,” said Sandeep Kumar, a resident of DLF 5.

Tomar and officials deputed at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) control room said that post noon, the traffic situation improved as Delhi traffic police started barricading the carriageway only at intervals.

“After 12pm, there was only minor congestion at the toll plaza, compared to the situation in the morning. Delhi traffic police were closing the barricades at random, and opening the carriageway completely soon after, whenever they observed traffic build-up,” said an official at the control room.

“Our workers were protesting across all Delhi border entry points from Thursday night onwards, such as Delhi-Gurugram border, Tikri border, and Singhu border. We had given prior notice that we will be holding a peaceful march in central Delhi on Friday. Despite this, our workers and the vehicles they were travelling in were being stopped at border areas. We had no choice but to protest at the border points,” said Dr Daljit Cheema, spokesperson, Shiromani Akali Dal.

Cheema also said that more SAD workers were stopped at border areas from 9am onwards by Delhi Police and a lot of them weren’t able to make it into Delhi.