Monster gridlock brings city to standstill yet again

Commuters in Gurgaon were stuck in a monster gridlock that lasted for several hours on Wednesday evening. The city roads were locked after heavy rainfall resulted in waterlogging.

Commuters in Gurgaon were stuck in a monster gridlock that lasted for several hours on Wednesday evening. The city roads were locked after heavy rainfall resulted in waterlogging.

Those who had left office at 5 pm in the hope of reaching home early were stuck at one junction or the other unable to inch their way forward for hours. (Parveen Kumar)

Lack of traffic police personnel on the roads made the situation worse.

Those who had left office at 5 pm in the hope of reaching home early were stuck at one junction or the other unable to inch their way forward for hours.

Between 5 to 9 pm, Gurgaon witnessed one of the worst traffic jams that harassed the commuters to no end.

HT reader Ankit Tiwari, who was stuck in a traffic jam near Iffco Chowk for several hours, said the traffic moved at a snail’s pace.

Sanjeev Kumar, who works in Udyog Vihar, said that it took him almost four hours to reach Dwarka as the Old Delhi Gurgaon road caved in front of the Sector 22 cut. “We could not move across the road and had to take a detour to Palam Vihar to reach our home. There was no traffic police personnel present on the roads,” he said.

A traffic official manning the stretch said vehicles could take neither left nor right at the Sector 22 cut. They could also not move ahead as the road caved in. “For almost 8 hours the road could not be used and vehicles had to return and use other roads,” he said. This resulted in long snarls on the busy Old Delhi Gurgaon Road, Dundahera, Hanuman Chowk and the adjoining Udyog Vihar.

The impact of the jam slowly spread across the city with the Delhi Gurgaon Expressway, Atul Kataria Chowk, Maharana Partap Chowk, Huda City Centre, MG Road, Sohna Road and most of the old Gurgaon coming to a standstill.

Ritesh Gupta, another commuter, said that traffic management was almost absent and people had to regulate movement of the vehicles themselves.

“I have been stuck for almost 2 hours on the Sheetla Mata Road. The traffic has not moved an inch since then,” said Ramandeep Singh, who is a daily commuter and uses his bike to reach office. His clothes were drenched because of the rain.