Festive rush adds to city's Monday blues
Traffic movement across the national capital was slow dampening the festive fervour
With Diwali round the corner, the festive rush has led to massive traffic jams across the city and the National Capital Region. Most parts of Delhi has been crawling traffic, as the streets are choc-a-bloc with people stepping out to make festive purchases.
Staring Monday morning, traffic movement across the national capital was slow, adding to Monday blues, dampening the festive fervour. Areas like Lajpat Nagar, Greater Kailash, Saket, Malviya Nagar in south Delhi, parts of Central Delhi like Lodhi Road, Ashok Road, Connaught Place, Dhaula Kuan, witnessed heavy traffic. Office hours made matters worse, with peak-hour commuters complaining of "mismanagement" by the Delhi Traffic Police.
"There was a protest going on near my locality and the entire area was blocked. Vehicular density was also high compared to other days, because the festival is just a few days away. It led to a long jam, where I was stuck for three hours," said Rohit Jain, a resident of Alaknanda.
By evening the situation worsened further in Delhi-NCR, as rush hours clashed with shoppers and revellers. Cars inched on the Dhaula Kuan main road via Subroto Park on NH-48 around six in the evening.
Heavy traffic was also witnessed across Lutyens Delhi, with key points like India Gate, roads leading to President's Estate, wittnessing jams. While there was some breather for those in Jangpura, Chirag Dilli, Munirka, and JNU, key roads and areas like Africa Avenue, Hauz Khas, Vasant Kunj, Chandni Chowk had painfully slow vehicular movement. Okhla Industrial Area and Outer Ring Road also crumbled under long jams during the evening.
Ashram flyover also slowed down as well as DND from and towards Noida. "Festive season has become a headache for me over the years. Like monsoon, I dread Diwali, because there is so much madness and chaos on the roads. It is an annual affair and traffic is never managed properly," rued Ankit Chauhan, a resident of Dwarka.
Anticipating the chaos, The Delhi Traffic Police had issued an advisory on Sunday, urging people to avoid certain roads because of festive rush and the ongoing FIFA U-17.