Traffic speed reduced to just 10-km per hour

It looked like the entire population of vehicles was on Delhi’s roads. Crawling at a speed (or lack of it) of hardly 10-kmph even at the busiest arterial ways, on Friday evening Delhi roads were the worst place to be on.

It looked like the entire population of vehicles was on Delhi’s roads.

HT Image

Crawling at a speed (or lack of it) of hardly 10-kmph even at the busiest arterial ways, on Friday evening Delhi roads were the worst place to be on. Vehicles took around almost two hours to cover distances, which typically take around 15 minutes.

Most of the traffic lights were out, adding to the confusing and unruly traffic. At places where traffic police personnel managed manually, the snarls extended up to two kilometers.

“We did not see traffic police at most places. Drivers did whatever they wanted. That increased the chaos,” said Manu Kumar, a government official returning home by his scooter.

“The situation worsened as it rained just before the peak hours,” said SN Srivastava, Joint Commissioner, Traffic. He, however, blamed people’s disorderly driving habits for the mess.

“People drive on the wrong side just to leap ahead of the jam, but eventually cause another deadlock altogether, adding to the whole mess,” he said.

The New Delhi areas, which have the widest roads, too remained choc-a-bloc with cars and buses.

The VIP areas, adjacent to Parliament and Raisina Hill establishments, too, remained clogged.

“In New Delhi area, where roads do not have a central verge, people tend to cross on the other side leading to jams. We are not responsible for manning traffic lights,” he said.

Some of the worst affected areas were Dwarka and Moolchand underpasses, Tilak Bridge, Minto Bridge, Shanti Van Road, Lajpat Nagar, Lodhi Colony, Pusa Road, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Gupta Market Road, M-block Market, GK-I, Hari Nagar, Jangpura, Defence Colony flyover, Shanti Path, Khan Market, Man Singh Road and Diplomatic Enclave.