Festive rush, diversions bring Noida, Gr Noida traffic to crawl

Noida Commuters across Noida and Greater Noida faced a harrowing time on Wednesday as heavy traffic congestion brought vehicular movement to a crawl at several key stretches of the city

Noida Commuters across Noida and Greater Noida faced a harrowing time on Wednesday as heavy traffic congestion brought vehicular movement to a crawl at several key stretches of the city.

The situation was aggravated by multiple factors including festive rush, traffic diversions and enforcement drives by Delhi Traffic Police at the Delhi-Noida borders. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Long queues of vehicles, bumper-to-bumper traffic and prolonged delays were reported at multiple locations.

According to traffic police officials, the situation was aggravated by multiple factors including the festive rush, traffic diversions due to ongoing repair work on the Noida Elevated Road and enforcement drives by Delhi Traffic Police at the Delhi-Noida borders over compliance with BS-VI emission standards.

Among the worst-affected stretches were Chilla Border, the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, Maharaja Agrasen Marg, particularly the Sector 61-Sector 18 stretch beneath the elevated road, Sector 27 Atta Market, Sector 62 and Gaur Chowk in Greater Noida. Several adjoining roads and internal sector roads also witnessed heavy congestion as traffic spilled over from affected stretches.

The usual morning and evening peak-hour rush further added to the pressure on the city’s road network.

One of the worst-affected stretches was Maharaja Agrasen Marg, where traffic movement was severely disrupted beneath the elevated road connecting Sectors 61 and 18. The restrictions, imposed to facilitate ongoing repair work on the Noida Elevated Road, have resulted in a significant traffic diversion onto the already busy stretch.

With vehicles coming from Greater Noida and Sector 61 being redirected beneath the elevated road, the additional traffic load has affected connectivity across several neighbouring sectors, including Sectors 53, 33A, 25, 24 and 23. The diversion has also caused long queues and slower movement on adjoining roads.

A traffic police officer said the diversion has considerably increased the burden on the existing road network. “Due to Elevated Road restrictions, the pressure increases on existing traffic of this road connectivity to sectors.”

Commuters on the affected stretches said the congestion had made even relatively short journeys considerably longer. “With traffic being diverted from the elevated road and congestion building up at every junction, reaching the office on time has become difficult,” said Abhishek Gupta, a commuter.

The 4.8-km elevated stretch is a crucial arterial road for commuters travelling from Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida towards Sector 18, the Noida Expressway and other parts of the city.

Meanwhile, the festive rush has further compounded the situation, with increased movement of shoppers and private vehicles adding to the volume of traffic on major roads and commercial stretches.

A senior police official, requesting anonymity, said, “”To streamline the traffic without any congestion, additional traffic police personnel have been deployed across the district.”

Noida and Greater Noida together have nearly 500 traffic police personnel, who are being deployed at different locations to regulate traffic, said officials.

Another major congestion point was Chilla Border, where traffic movement was affected by enforcement drives conducted by Delhi Traffic Police against vehicles that do not meet BS-VI emission standards.

HT’s visit to the spot revealed that Delhi Traffic Police personnel were randomly stopping vehicles to check their Bharat Stage (BS) emission standards. Vehicles found not complying with the prescribed standards were being asked to return.

The checks, conducted on an already congested three-lane stretch, further slowed down vehicular movement. Even brief stoppages for checking documents and emission standards resulted in vehicles piling up behind one another.

Noida Traffic police officials said they had taken up the matter with their Delhi counterparts after congestion intensified and vehicular movement came to a virtual standstill.

Traffic advisory

Noida Traffic police, meanwhile, have introduced diversions in Sector 18 and Atta Market ahead of Diwali and Dhanteras to manage the expected festive rush. Autos and e-rickshaws have been restricted between Atta Market and Atta Peer.

“If congestion increases, other vehicles will also be diverted via Film City underpass, DLF Mall and nearby sectors,” said Noida police in a statement.

Vehicles approaching Atta Market from Atta Peer will be redirected towards Rai Residency Chowk and Cambridge School.