Ghaziabad: Border checks trigger traffic snarls at UP-Gate

Ghaziabad:Intensified checks at the UP-Gate-Ghazipur border to enforce pollution-control restrictions caused long traffic snarls on Monday morning, leaving commuters stranded

Ghaziabad:Intensified checks at the UP-Gate-Ghazipur border to enforce pollution-control restrictions caused long traffic snarls on Monday morning, leaving commuters stranded.

The Delhi government implemented a ban on the entry of non-BS-VI vehicles into the capital from November 1 as part of its winter action. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The Delhi government implemented a ban on the entry of non-BS-VI vehicles into the capital from November 1 as part of its winter action.

An HT team at the border saw traffic building up between 10am to 12.30pm as police on both Delhi and Ghaziabad sides checked vehicles for compliance.

“I reached the UP-Gate in my BS-IV compliant Wagon-R, but I was asked to turn back and was allowed to enter Delhi. I then returned home and took my Scorpio SUV instead,” said Mohammad Abdullah, a resident of Islam Nagar.

Some commuters said the checks were causing more pollution than they prevented.

“Vehicles were crawling through the queues, adding to emissions. I saw the traffic and went back home, even though I had to go to Delhi. I should have taken the metro in the first place,” said Mohan Sangwan, a resident of Shakti Khand, Indirapuram.

Traffic police officials said 30-40 personnel had been deployed in shifts at six border points with Delhi. They said that 39 non-complying vehicles were turned back on Sunday.

“Monday’s figures will be compiled by late evening. We have deployed about 30-40 personnel at six border locations with Delhi. The snarls at UP-Gate were caused by checks by police on both sides of the border during peak hours. Most of the vehicles use the NH-9 and the Delhi Meerut Expressway to reach Delhi,” said Trigun Bisen, DCP (traffic).