Swiss President’s visit hits traffic in Noida, Greater Noida

As there were around 10 vehicles in the Swiss President’s motorcade, along with security teams, we had to briefly stop traffic to facilitate the movement, traffic police .said

Traffic was disrupted across parts of Noida and Greater Noida on Tuesday during Swiss Confederation President Guy Parmelin’s visit to Noida International Airport in Greater Noida’s Jewar, with police briefly stopping vehicles to facilitate movement of his motorcade.

Several commuters took to social media to complain about the prolonged traffic snarls and tagged the Noida Traffic Police to allege poor traffic management and inadequate communication regarding the VIP movement. (HT Photo)

Traffic police said Parmelin, accompanied by a delegation of around 65 members, left Delhi around 10.30am and reached the airport via the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) Flyway, Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and Yamuna Expressway.

After the visit, the President left the airport around 2.20pm and reached the Delhi border around 3.20pm. Congestion built up on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and adjoining roads during the return journey.

“As there were around 10 vehicles in the Swiss President’s motorcade, along with security teams, we had to briefly stop traffic to facilitate the movement,” a traffic police officer said.

The traffic disruption also highlighted the challenges faced by commuters and school buses during high-security VIP movements. With several major expressways and arterial roads serving as key links between Noida, Greater Noida and Delhi, even brief traffic stoppages result in significant congestion, particularly during afternoon peak hours, said commuters.

“Sir, our kids have been stuck in traffic at Pari Chowk for the past 1.30 hours. No food, no water, probably. Please get the traffic moving or provide food and water to the kids in the Somerville School bus,” a user wrote on social media.

Another user said, “Why is VIP movement not communicated to schools in advance or planned better? School buses have been stuck for over an hour (from 2.20 pm to 3.20 pm) at one point in Sector 132. It’s like children are being held hostage.”

The Noida traffic police said an advisory had been issued in advance on Monday and that the movement of all commercial vehicles was restricted from 7am to 10pm on Tuesday on designated routes.

Pravin Ranjan Singh, deputy commissioner of police, traffic, said, “Traffic was stopped for around 10 to 15 minutes. We also temporarily diverted traffic onto internal arterial roads. However, as the traffic volume was high, congestion built up briefly.”

Parmelin, who is on a visit to India from October 5 to 7, visited Noida International Airport to review the terminal, cargo facilities and other infrastructure and operational arrangements.

The airport is being developed by Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd (YIAPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG.