Diversions for I-Day parade, vehicle checking cause traffic snarls at Noida borders

Traffic diversions put in place for the Independence Day parade and vehicle checking at borders points brought vehicles to a grinding halt on Friday, much to the inconvenience of daily commuters

Traffic diversions put in place for the Independence Day parade and vehicle checking at borders points brought vehicles to a grinding halt on Friday, much to the inconvenience of daily commuters.

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The Noida traffic police issued an advisory for heavy vehicles, prohibiting them from entering Delhi, which was in effect from 10pm on Thursday to 12 noon on Friday.

Any such vehicles coming to the Delhi border via Chilla, Delhi-Noida-direct flyway or Kalindi Kunj were advised to take a u-turn towards the Noida-Greater Noida expressway and then go to Delhi via the Eastern Peripheral Expressway. However, the diversions led the traffic to crawl across all border points in the morning.

“The normal 40-minute journey took more than 70-80 minutes. The congestion started in the morning itself. Heavy vehicles were parked on the side of the roads blocking several lanes. Near Rajnigandha crossing itself, we could see some cars turning around but it was actually the vehicles parked on the lanes that were aggravating the traffic scenario. The police barricades further compounded traffic. The traffic situation was the same till most of the afternoon,” said Brajesh Sharma, a Noida resident, who travels to Khel Gaon, Delhi for work daily.

Officials from the traffic department said despite the advisory, many heavy vehicles tried to take the prohibited routes, which was the root of all the problems.

“Some of them were being turned around gradually. The traffic started slowing down around 7am and was the same across DND and Kalindi Kunj till around noon. Vehicles from Noida to Delhi were also being checked, which further aggravated the problem. Delhi police was also conducting checks. We kept sharing updates with the public on social media through our helpline,” said deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Ganesh Saha.

Officials also said the slow traffic movement on the Noida-Greater Noida expressway was due to an increase in the local traffic because of the diversions and the re-surfacing work going on there. The same diversions will be in place for the Independence day parade from 10pm on Saturday to 1pm on Sunday.