Visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry and his convoy were stuck in massive traffic near Satya Marg.
Visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry and his convoy were stuck in massive traffic near Satya Marg here this evening due to waterlogging caused by heavy rains while on his way to the hotel from the IGI airport. The convoy of Kerry, who arrived to participate in the 2nd Indo-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, was heading to the hotel in Chanakyapuri in south Delhi when it was stuck in the traffic jam near Satya Marg today, an official said.
Senior Delhi Police and traffic officials declined to share details of the incident claiming it was a "security matter".
The American media travelling with Kerry were the first ones to inform the general public about Delhi’s famous traffic woe befalling the former US senator. The former US senator, who landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), before his scheduled time of arrival, was stuck in traffic as he exited the airport. The journey from the airport to the US embassy – at a distance of almost 13 kilometers via NH48, usually takes 18 minutes without traffic. The American politician, who reached Delhi a little before 8:20 pm – his scheduled time of arrival, was welcomed at the US Embassy at 9:15 pm, almost an hour later. However, the state police soon came to the defensive and claimed, “Kerry was slightly delayed by a few minutes.”
Officials sought to downplay the incident saying the convoy was not stuck but had only slowed down due to heavy traffic and rainfall. The capital received heavy rains in the evening with the Safdarjung observatory recording 15.2 mm rainfall while the reading at Palam observatory was 8 mm. Vehicular movement was affected across the city with traffic crawling at various major intersections
Kerry, who is part of a larger international contingent to arrive in the capital, was travelling along a VIP corridor organised for him. “There is heavy VIP movement today and accordingly several arrangements were underway. However, the rains have slowed things down considerably,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Garima Bhatnagar.
With inputs from Ritika Jain
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