Residents’ protest stirs Gurgaon e-way disorder

Several residents of Lagoon Apartments in Ambience Island took to the streets and blocked traffic for more than an hour on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway toll plaza on Wednesday morning.

Several residents of Lagoon Apartments in Ambience Island took to the streets and blocked traffic for more than an hour on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway toll plaza on Wednesday morning.

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The Gurgaon police were forced to use batons to disperse the crowd.

Following protests and jams, the authorities had to remove the barricades and allow commuters to gain entry to the service lane near Ambience Mall.

Entry to the township has been affected since the Punjab and Haryana High Court banned entry in the service lane for vehicles coming from Gurgaon after taking a U-turn.

Praveen Kumar, administrator, Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda), asked officers to remove the barricades to ease traffic chaos.

“The court has given directions in the interest of the public but this directive has been affecting a huge number of people so we have decided to remove the barricades to ensure smooth ride for residents and customers of Ambience Mall,” said Kumar.

Hundreds of residents and employees of Ambience Mall blocked the stretch during the rush hour from 9.15am to 10.20am on Wednesday.

Vehicles piled up from the toll plaza to the Mahipalpur flyover and commuters were even seeing having heated arguments with protesters.

Commuters, mainly those headed to offices, seemed the worst affected by the pile-up.

The police have lodged an FIR against the protesters but no arrests had been made till the report was filed.

Almost 35,000 people visit the mall daily.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court last week ordered closure of the U-turn for traffic headed towards Delhi just ahead of the toll plaza, sparking confusion.

On Monday, the bench told Haryana police to ensure that no vehicle was allowed to take the L-turn at the toll barrier near Ambience Mall on the Gurgaon side. It directed the police to penalise motorists taking the L-turn.