Traffic restrictions in central Delhi on day 1 of 2019; avoid driving to these areas

Traffic officials said though all arrangements had been made to control traffic snarls in popular hangouts, people should refrain from making plans around CP, India Gate and Delhi Zoo.

To avoid a rerun of the traffic standstill on the first day of 2018, when over a lakh people gathered around Connaught Place and India Gate in central Delhi, the traffic police on Monday advised people not to drive to these areas unless absolutely necessary.

Estimates show that on January 1, 2018, around 1.5 lakh people gathered around CP and India Gate alone in central Delhi. Another 50,000 people visited Delhi Zoo and Old Fort, causing congestion across Central and New Delhi.(Amal KS/HT File Photo)

Traffic officials said though all arrangements had been made to control traffic snarls in popular hangouts, people should refrain from making plans around CP, India Gate and Delhi Zoo.

Joint commissioner of police (traffic) Alok Kumar said traffic diversions would be in place on Tuesday around C-Hexagon to prevent illegal parking of vehicles and to control pedestrian movement.

“In case there is heavy pedestrian movement, we will have to stop traffic movement around the India Gate roundabout. This will depend on the situation we face tomorrow (Tuesday),” said Kumar.

In an advisory on Monday, traffic police said vehicles would be diverted 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.

The advisory said a large gathering is expected to gather around these areas.

Officials said the department was taking lessons from its experience last year when hordes of people hit central Delhi to celebrate New Year’s, causing traffic snarls that lasted hours.

Last year, in areas around CP, Mandi House, Lodi Road, Lajpat Nagar, Jungpura, Nizamuddin and ITO, commuters were stuck in vehicles with traffic crawling at snail’s pace. Not just on roads, after sundown, people found it difficult to walk on footpaths.

“We witnessed bottlenecks because revellers started walking in the middle of the roads, slowing down vehicular movement,” a senior police official said.

The official said estimates show that last year, around 1.5 lakh people gathered around CP and India Gate alone. Another 50,000 people visited Delhi Zoo and Old Fort, causing congestion across Central and New Delhi.

Kumar said people were being informed through the department’s social media handles to avoid driving to areas with multiple restaurants and entertainment hubs and use different modes of public transport instead.

“There is acute shortage of parking space in India Gate and Delhi Zoo and a surge of visitors will make the situation worse,” he said.