Traffic affected in Kalindi Kunj as Police shut two lanes for Kanwar Yatra till July 23

The restrictions, in place till July 23, have been imposed in view of the ongoing Shiv Kanwar Yatra, during which thousands of devotees walk towards Delhi, Gurugram, and Faridabad.

Traffic movement slowed to a crawl near Kalindi Kunj on Tuesday after traffic police shut two of the four lanes on the Kalindi Kunj bridge—from Okhla Barrage to Okhla Bird Sanctuary—to facilitate Kanwar pilgrim movement. The restrictions, in place till July 23, have been imposed in view of the ongoing Shiv Kanwar Yatra, during which thousands of devotees walk towards Delhi, Gurugram, and Faridabad.

Traffic congestion during the peak hours, in Noida on Tuesday. (Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times)

Deputy commissioner of police (Traffic), Noida, Lakhan Singh Yadav, said, “The traffic restrictions at Kalindi Kunj have been implemented in coordination with the Delhi Traffic Police,” adding that personnel have been deployed at key junctions like Okhla Bird Sanctuary and Chilla Border. Thousands of pilgrims currently use the Okhla route daily, and numbers are expected to rise from Wednesday, officials added.

To avoid snarls, commuters have been advised to opt for the DND Flyway or use Delhi Metro services during rush hours, traffic officials said.From the Noida side, 300 traffic officials have been deployed on the route during peak hours, while Delhi has deployed 1000 officers to control traffic flow (on all 13 Kanwar routes in the city), they added.

Despite the advisory, congestion at the Kalindi Kunj crossing was severe, especially on the stretch towards Shaheen Bagh. “Traffic gets worse every year during the Kanwar Yatra. The police should find an alternative,” said Vikas Kumar, a regular Delhi-Noida commuter. Vandana Mishra, who travels to her Delhi office daily via Kalindi Kunj, said, “The barricades are adding 20–30 minutes to my commute. Despite growing traffic, police repeat the same strategy every year without change.”

Authorities said the temporary restrictions are aimed at ensuring safe passage for pilgrims while maintaining traffic flow for vehicles.

“We issued a traffic advisory on Monday, detailing traffic restrictions on Kalindi Kunj and Agra Canal Road in view of the ongoing Kanwar Yatra. Half carriageways towards Noida and Badarpur will remain closed till July 23. Since heavy traffic is expected, we urge motorists to avoid the two routes and use alternate routes via DND and Ashram,” said additional commissioner of police (traffic) Dinesh Kumar Gupta.