Commuters stuck in Expressway pile-up

Scores of commuters were left stranded on the Delhi border toll plaza on Saturday morning after the traffic police’s experiment to stop vehicles, headed towards Delhi, from taking a U-turn near Ambience Mall proved disastrous and led to a huge pile-up, HT reports.

Scores of commuters were left stranded on the Delhi border toll plaza on Saturday morning after the traffic police’s experiment to stop vehicles, headed towards Delhi, from taking a U-turn near Ambience Mall proved disastrous and led to a huge pile-up.

HT Image

Though the flow of traffic was smooth from 8.30pm to 10am — the high court had ordered the concessionaire not to charge toll during these hours — trouble started after the toll-free hours.

As soon as the boom barriers were brought down at 10am, people coming from Udyog Vihar and other places in Gurgaon halted their vehicles near the U-turn, causing a massive jam. Commuters coming from Shankar Chowk on the Expressway and wanting to enter the service lane along the Ambience Mall were not allowed to do so.

The police also set up barricades. People visiting Ambience Lagoon Apartments, Ambience Mall and Hotel Leela Kempinski and those going towards DLF Phase-3 (by taking a U-turn) were stopped by the police during the toll-free hours between 8.30 and 10am.

As the volume of traffic swelled, the police were forced to remove the barriers at the U-turn around 10.10am and allowed vehicles to take a U-turn. “We are worried and are waiting for the court order on Monday,” said Raj Singh Gehlot, MD, Ambience management.