Festive rush clogs Gurugram roads, traffic police appeals to drivers to park judiciously

Traffic personnel said besides the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, jams were also seen on a section of MG Road, leading towards Delhi from Sikanderpur, and also on the road that leads to NH-48 from Sector 14

The festive rush led to long jams on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway on Wednesday morning and evening, traffic police said, adding that internal roads were also congested on Wednesday owing to haphazard to parking as people went shopping at locals markets on the eve of Karva Chauth, which will be celebrated on Thursday.

A view of traffic congestion on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway on Wednesday. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

“More personnel were posted at several key locations on the expressway that are prone to snarls as well as in other parts of the city in view of the festival crowd,” said Virender Singh Sangwan, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), adding that the situation is expected to remain the same until Diwali on October 24. His department is on its toes to keep the traffic regulated during peak hours in the morning and evening.

He said the snarls on internal roads was mostly due to on road parking by shoppers and temporary kiosks set up by vendors for Karva Chauth.

Traffic personnel said besides the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, jams were also seen on a section of MG Road, leading towards Delhi from Sikanderpur, and also on the road that leads to NH-48 from Sector 14.

Mansi Sharma, a resident of Sector 15 Part 2, said it took her over half an hour to cross the Jharsa flyover leading to NH-48 on Wednesday morning. “Mehendi walas had set up their stalls in the corners of local markets, occupying motorable lanes, leaving no space for parking or walking. I had to wait an hour on the Sector 14 road to reach the market,” she said.

Another resident said it took over 40 minutes to reach South City-2 market on Wednesday evening as the vehicles parked on the roadside left no space for moving traffic. “I went to Sector 31 market first but there was no parking space there, and so I had to visit South City -2 for getting my henna done. We had to wait an hour as someone had wrongly parked his car resulting in a long jam on the stretch,” she said.

Sangwan said that cranes have been kept ready in case they are needed to remove stuck or broken down vehicles. “We are continuously mobilising teams and staff to keep the traffic regulated. People are urged to keep an eye on our Twitter handle for traffic updates,” he said.

Police said those using private cars to go shopping should park their vehicles judiciously so as not to hamper flow of traffic on internal roads.

Meanwhile, the DCP also said a special drive was started on Wednesday to inculcate lane discipline in heavy vehicle drivers on NH-48 and to dissuade them from changing lanes at will. “The drive was started on the directions of the Haryana government. Our officers would hold meetings with tuckers’ union and action will be taken against drivers found violating lane rules,” Sangwan said.