Republic Day rehearsals, rain lead to traffic jams in Capital

The Capital on Tuesday morning witnessed heavy traffic in many areas due to the Republic Day restrictions and rain. However, the Delhi Traffic Police had earlier issued an advisory informing the public about traffic restrictions put in place for the Republic Day.

The areas that saw heavy traffic were particularly the bordering ones. But Mayur Vihar, Pitampura, Naraina, Dhaula Kuan, Mangolpuri also saw long queues of vehicles at peak hours on Tuesday. South Delhi areas like Moolchand and Lodhi road also witnessed crawling traffic due to the bad weather. Similarly, traffic moving from Ashram towards Sarai Kale Khan was also disrupted.

"I had to pick someone from Green Park and go to Okhla. It took me more than two hours. The traffic was crawling due to heavy rain. Since there were traffic restrictions in New Delhi area, the traffic was also diverted to south Delhi leading to chaos," said Shahid, who works as a driver at a taxi stand in Greater Kailash.

Similarly, Ankur Saxena, an employee at an advertising agency, who said he had to bring his car to the office in RK Ashram only because of rain, but got delayed. "Usually, I leave an hour before as I live in Saket. On Tuesday, I left 15 minutes early keeping in mind the weather but it was worse than expected. It took me two hours to reach office even when it was an important meeting day," he said.

Ahead of the ASEAN Special Commemorative Summit 2018 that is to be held on Thursday, the Delhi Traffic Police on Monday issued a traffic advisory for the citizens to maintain smooth flow of traffic and ensure a chaos-free day. The heads of the ten ASEAN countries are in the Capital for the Republic Day and security arrangements have also been adequately stepped up.

Senior police officers said that while ensuring a clear and uninterrupted passage during the movement of these dignitaries, traffic at various places like Rashtrapati Bhawan, Rajpath and Hotel Taj Palace, will be stopped on certain roads. Police advised people to avoid Satya Marg, Shanti Path, Teen Murti, South Avenue Road, Dara Shukoh Road, Akbar Road, Krishna Menon Marg, Vijay Chowk, Mother Teresa Crescent Road, Sardar Patel Marg, Panchsheel Marg and San Martin Marg during the day.

In addition, the police said that traffic on Kautilya Marg, Tyag Raj Marg, Safdarjung Road, Kushak Road and K Kamraj Marg will also be affected. Those driving are advised to take alternative routes to Aurobindo Marg, India Gate, Vikas Marg, Ring Road, Moti Bagh and Dhaula Kuan.

CITY SUFFERS 

• Heavy traffic was witnessed particularly in the bordering area 
   
• Mayur Vihar, Pitampura, Naraina, Dhaula Kuan, Mangolpuri saw long queues of vehicles at peak hours