Central Delhi gridlocked, exits at 4 metro stations closed by police

Last year, on New Year’s, over 2.5 lakh people reportedly gathered around CP and India Gate leading to snarls that lasted hours. Revellers also hit the road making it difficult for traffic to be navigated.

Commuters are likely to face a harrowing time on the evening of the first day of 2019 as traffic started swelling in major roads leading to Connaught Place and India Gate from Tuesday afternoon.

Commuters are likely to face a harrowing time on the evening of the first day of 2019 as traffic started swelling in major roads leading to Connaught Place and India Gate from Tuesday afternoon.(HT File Photo)

Jams were reported near Rithala Metro Station, GPO New Delhi roundabout, at Najafgarh market’s outer road, near Savitri while going towards Kalkaji Mandir, outside Bangla Sahib Gurdwara and near the Jhandewalan metro station.

One Twitter user Jitender reported a 30 minute delay on Ashoka Road.

Another Twitter user Karan Aggarwal tweeted about a traffic jam near the GPO.

Traffic on the route to Kalkaji Mandir from Savitri Cinema was also jammed with the Delhi Traffic Police tweeting that due to heavy turnout of people coming to Kalkaji Mandir, traffic would remain restricted from Chirag Delhi to Kalkaji.

At the same time, it also tweeted that traffic would remain restricted around Kashmere Gate, Yamuna Bazaar and Hanuman Setu.

Exit from Central Secretariat, Mandi House, Pragati Maidan and Udyog Bhawan metro stations was closed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) from 2.50pm on orders by the police to stop people from gathering in central Delhi.

Despite heavy deployment around C-Hexagon, revellers began gathering around India Gate, and the numbers are likely to go up further, the police said.

“By evening, looking at the crowd we will decide on traffic diversions are whether roads leading to India Gate and CP need to be closed for traffic,” said joint commissioner of police (traffic) Alok Kumar.

Traffic police have advised commuters to avoid central Delhi, especially in the evening hours, to avoid getting stuck in traffic. An advisory issued by the department asked people to resort to public transport instead of using their personal vehicles.

Areas with entertainment hubs and restaurants also started witnessing the New Year’s rush early. Roads around South Extension, Defence Colony, Khan Market and Vasant Kunj saw slow movement on traffic on Tuesday afternoon.

Traffic police have advised commuters to avoid central Delhi, especially in the evening hours, to avoid getting stuck in traffic. An advisory issued by the department asked people to resort to public transport instead of using their personal vehicles.

Last year, on New Year’s, over 2.5 lakh people reportedly gathered around CP and India Gate leading to snarls that lasted hours. Revellers also hit the road making it difficult for traffic to be navigated.

Expecting a large number of people to gather around key points, Delhi Traffic police has put in place diversions from Sunheri Masjid near Udyog Bhawan, Janpath, Rajpath, Rafi Marg, Windsor Place, Rajindra Prasad Road, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Ferozeshah Road, Mandi House, W-Point, Mathura Road-Purana Qila Road, Mathura Road-Sher Shah Road, Zakir Hussain Marg, and Pandara Road.