Onlookers’ curiosity causes huge snarls

The pedestrian bridge collapse choked the traffic on the Defence Colony flyover on Tuesday afternoon.

The pedestrian bridge collapse choked the traffic on the Defence Colony flyover on Tuesday afternoon.

HT Image

The flyover overlooks the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium. For about two hours, one of the carriageways on the flyover that goes towards Defence Colony was badly hit.

Curious onlookers and outside broadcast vans (OB) of television channels blocked the traffic. "Several onlookers stopped on the flyover to catch a glimpse of the pedestrian bridge that had collapsed.

As a result traffic slowed down on the stretch," said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic). Several traffic personnel were rushed to the spot to clear the backlog.

Onlookers parked their cars on the flyover, worsening the situation. The residents of nearby areas flocked the flyover and were seen taking pictures on their mobile phones.

The traffic was affected till Bhishma Pitamah Marg. The police later brought tow away vans to lift the vehicles that had been parked illegally. Only two days ago, the Lieutenant Governor had issued an order banning parking of vehicles around 470 prohibited sites including Commonwealth Games venues and stadia.

On Tuesday this order was violated with impunity as people parked their cars and two wheelers right outside the stadium gates. "We just heard that something has collapsed so I stopped my car to see what has happened.

I also made a video on my phone," said Rajeev Kumar, a resident of Greater Kailash.