Dense fog disrupts traffic on Delhi-Gurgaon e-way

Low visibility owing to dense fog brought traffic to a crawl on Monday morning, especially between Hero Honda Chowk and the defunct Sirhaul toll plaza on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway for around four hours, traffic police said

Low visibility owing to dense fog brought traffic to a crawl on Monday morning, especially between Hero Honda Chowk and the defunct Sirhaul toll plaza on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway for around four hours, traffic police said.

Gurugram, India-January 09, 2023: Commuters are seen wearing warm clothes amid cold and foggy morning at Golf course road near Saraswati Kunj, in Gurugram, India, on Monday, 09 January 2023. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

Foggy conditions also led to an accident -- a truck ended up hitting two more trucks parked on the roadside near Jharsa Chowk as the driver failed to spot the stationary vehicles due to poor visibility. Police said two drivers were injured in the accident. They said one truck was parked on the roadside after it broke down and the second driver parked his truck behind it to relieve himself when the third truck hit them.

Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Virender Singh Sangwan said due to poor visibility, all thoroughfares across the city witnessed slow moving traffic. “The worst affected stretch was between Jharsa and Rajiv Chowk, where the accident brought traffic to a standstill. Though no casualty was reported, two drivers suffered minor injuries and they were given first-aid at the spot. Marshals were deployed and the patrolling team removed the trucks to make space for commuters,” he said.

Traffic police personnel said vehicular movement was hampered, especially between 9am and 1pm, resulting in a 5km snarl between Hero Honda Chowk and Jharsa crossing.

“Traffic police teams were deputed at all major points on the expressway to direct traffic. We used the service lanes of extensively at Rajiv Chowk, Jharsa Chowk and Hero Honda Chowk to divert vehicles. After 10.30am, the entry of trucks stopped, which helped in reducing the volume of traffic,” said DCP Sangwan.

Police said vehicles moved at a snail’s pace and many commuters called the police control room for assistance. The city witnessed snarls at most crossings, including the busy ones such as Iffco Chowk, Signature Tower, Huda City Centre and Old Delhi-Gurgaon Road. Traffic movement on Sohna Elevated Road, Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) and Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway was also affected, police added.

Priti Yadav, a daily commuter, said it took almost 90 minutes to reach her office in Udyog Vihar from Rajiv Chowk. She maintained that it was because of slow moving traffic due to the dense fog. “It takes 25 minutes to reach my office but on Monday morning, the traffic was crawling. Many people reached the office late because of the traffic situation,” she said.

Azim Khan, a daily commuter to Cyber City from Sector 86, said that despite using headlights and fog lamps, visibility did not improve. “Nothing was visible and this was a first such experience for me. We have requested my company to allow work from home until the weather condition improves,” he said.