Traffic police act as killjoys at India Gate

Those who stayed home on Sunday after rain god smiled down on the Capital were luckier than those who went to relish the fresh air at India Gate.

Those who stayed home on Sunday after rain god smiled down on the Capital were luckier than those who went to relish the fresh air at India Gate.

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Several Delhiites, who left home to enjoy the lovely Sunday evening at Delhi’s favoured spot, returned home dejected. The Delhi Traffic Police had barricaded all turns at Rajpath, despite the traffic signal, preventing any vehicle from coming
to India Gate.

Pedestrians, however, could still come to the war memorial. Some eager citizens parked their vehicles far and walked down, as the traffic police had closed down entry points to Rajpath three hours before scheduled time of 7.30 p.m.

“Following an instruction issued on March 17, we barricade Rajpath at 7.30 p.m. every day. But today we barricaded the area around 4.20 p.m. as over 50 vehicles gathered in the area looking for parking. We know this caused lot of problems for the public … but we were helpless. We just followed orders,” said a head constable, who did not want to be named.

However, Special CP (Traffic) Ajay Chadha said that no order has been ever issued to barricade Rajpath. “Traffic police barricade the road to restrict vehicle entry as there is not space to provide them for parking. We have no alternative but barricading them to ensure there is no law and order problem at India Gate.”