Rallies, rain lead to snarls, commuters bear the brunt

Amid heavy rain and waterlogging, rallies taken out for and against social activist Anna Hazare continued to disrupt traffic on city roads on Wednesday.

Amid heavy rain and waterlogging, rallies taken out for and against social activist Anna Hazare continued to disrupt traffic on city roads on Wednesday.

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It was the fourth consecutive evening when vehicular movement had to face traffic bedlam on many roads.

Vehicles moved at a snail’s pace on arterial roads of central Delhi while India Gate and its surrounding areas were the worst-affected.

Several busy roads, including Barakhamba Road, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Tolstoy Marg and Ashoka Road remained choked for over two hours during the evening rush hour. The police had a tough time managing traffic on these stretches.

About 1,000 people protesting against Anna Hazare's movement walked in a rally between India Gate and Jantar Mantar. The rally started around 4 pm, causing massive traffic jams near India Gate, Kasturba Gandhi Marg and Tolstoy Marg.

Around 7 pm, another rally carried out by hundreds of Anna's supporters clogged these roads when traffic movement was at its peak, forcing the police to divert routes.

“It took me almost two hours to cross a 250-metre stretch between Ashoka Road and Kasturba Gandhi Marg. First, it was anti-Anna protesters and later it was a candlelight march by the pro-Anna camp,” said Jaya Sharma, a commuter.