Schools to reopen amid Delhi-Noida road closure
The blockade of Road 13A, an important link between Delhi and Noida, which began on December 15, prompted Delhi Police to stop all traffic on this road for the past 19 days.
As the sit-in protests over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) continued at Shaheen Bagh on Saturday, blocking an arterial road for over three weeks, commuters may face an even more harrowing time Monday when most private schools reopen after their winter break.
The blockade of Road 13A, an important link between Delhi and Noida, which began on December 15, prompted Delhi Police to stop all traffic on this road for the past 19 days. The closure has meant that traffic from Faridabad and parts of south Delhi had to take up other Noida-Delhi connections, such as Mathura Road and DND flyway, leading to traffic spilling over to Ashram Chowk and parts of Ring Road.
Ashram Chowk at Mathura Road is one of the busiest intersections in the city. According to traffic police data, about 350,000 vehicles use the intersection every day during peak morning and evening hours.
For residents of south Delhi such as Sarita Vihar, New Friends Colony, Kalkaji, CR Park, whose children study in private schools in Noida, a detour is likely to add an hour to their travelling time.
Police officers said that the Mathura Road stretch from Sarita Vihar has been carrying the additional load since December 15, but from Monday there will be even more vehicles.
Savita Mehta, vice-president of communications at Amity Group, said their schools would reopen on Monday for students between class 5 and 12. Most residents of south Delhi use Road 13A to reach the Amity campus.
“In the morning, there isn’t much traffic. Most schools begin before 8 am. However, we have sent messages to parents before the vacations that if they have safety concerns, they can opt out of sending their children to school. We can make up for the classes they will miss,” she said, adding that the school buses would ply regularly, wherever possible. “Wherever allowed, buses will take diversion to reach areas like Sarita Vihar and Jasola.”
Students and parents are concerned about the commute that they will now face because of the protests outside Jamia as well.
Requesting anonymity, a student of Air Force Bal Bharati School in Lodhi Road and resident of Jamia, said, “My school reopens on Monday. I am confused whether our school bus will come to our place or not. If not, I might take the metro.”
The school’s principal Sunita Gupta said that all their school buses would be plying regularly. “We will monitor the situation. If there is blockade and risk of violence, we will call the parents to pick up the children because it is safer that way instead of leaving them on the school bus. We will continue monitoring the situation on Monday.”
The Delhi Police are in talks with the protesters and have urged them to stop blocking the road.
In their notice to the protesters last week, the police have said that apart from traffic jams, the road blockage is also affecting the emergency services, such as ambulances to nearby hospitals, especially the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in Sarita Vihar, which is one of the biggest hospitals in the city .
