An American CEO who was invited to the AI Impact Summit dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last night was forced to skip the event due to the traffic chaos that unfolded outside the venue. Sara Hooker, the co-founder and CEO of Adaption Labs, said she waited four hours in traffic to reach the dinner venue, gave up, and eventually returned to her hotel to order room service.
In a post shared on the social media platform X, Hooker shared a photograph of the Indian food she ordered at her hotel.
Why Sara Hooker skipped dinner
Hooker said that on Wednesday, after attending several sessions of the India AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam, she returned to her hotel to change her outfit. She went from wearing jeans to dressing up for the gala, which PM Modi hosted at Bharat Mandapam on Wednesday night for a handful of VIP delegates and tech leaders who have descended upon Delhi for the mega summit.
Unfortunately, Hooker could never return to Bharat Mandapam for the dinner — she was stuck in traffic for four hours before she gave up.
“I got the invite to the gala with the Prime Minister, but got stuck in traffic getting back to the venue after I changed into gala attire (changed out of my jeans),” she posted on X.
{{/usCountry}}“I got the invite to the gala with the Prime Minister, but got stuck in traffic getting back to the venue after I changed into gala attire (changed out of my jeans),” she posted on X.
{{/usCountry}}Eventually, Hooker returned to her hotel and ordered food. “Would have been honored to attend. But after 4h in traffic was equally honored to sit down to really excellent room service at 11 pm,” she said.
Chaos outside Bharat Mandapam
The CEO of Adaption Labs was not the only victim of the traffic chaos that unfolded in central Delhi last night. Several attendees of the AI summit said they were forced to walk for kilometres as the road outside Bharat Mandapam was blocked for VIP movement.
With the nearest Metro station shut and cabs barred from entering, guests at the summit walked on foot for kilometres to book cabs. Many took to social media to complain. (Also read: Roads blocked, cabs barred, Metro closed: AI summit guests walk for kilometres)
The VIP movement also led to a long traffic jam close to the venue. Some motorcyclists, fed up of waiting, were even filmed crossing the divider illegally to escape the jam.