2 lakh revellers shut down traffic

NEW DELHI: More than two lakh people and a volume of motorists celebrating the New Year at key landmarks in Delhi led to partial closure of the busy Lajpat Nagar flyover and resulted in crippling traffic jams across the capital on Monday.

Delhi almost came to a standstill as the traffic jams in South and Central Delhi, due to the closure of one of the carriageways of the Lajpat Nagar flyover for repair, spilled over to other areas, making life difficult for commuters.

What’s more, Dipendra Pathak, special commissioner, traffic police, said, “The number of pedestrians was three to four times higher than the last year.”

The police issued a traffic advisory asking people to avoid routes around India Gate C hexagon and Connaught Place. They closed a part of the India Gate circle and the roads leading towards it when the crowd reached an unmanageable level.

As the situation worsened, the police began managing the traffic manually.

They also switched off the traffic signalling system on several roads. Many attempted to take the Delhi Metro, but stations such as Central Secretariat, ITO, and Rajiv Chowk, were packed with commuters trying to get into the trains.

Many people, struggling in the traffic jam, advised people to look for alternate areas. One of the victims tweeted, “Don’t get out of your homes unless emergency. Traffic chaos in entire Delhi.”

Columnist Suhel Seth tweeted, “Hello @DelhiPolice? Have you folks noticed the traffic snarls around PRAGATI Maidan and on Mathura Road? Are you guys working today or on holiday? Nice way to begin the New Year, right? You stay at home, while citizens are stuck in traffic!”

“Absolute shame in the way the folks @dtptraffic and @DelhiPolice have abrogated their policing role in the capital today. Traffic snarls with not a cop in sight. Shame. Copy:@rajnathsingh,” he added.

“What mismanagement, the entire Delhi is crawling because of this. The India Gate hexagon is packed. It took me more than two hours to reach Lajpat Nagar from ITO,” lamented Rajni Gupta, another victim.

‘It took more than one-and-a-half hours to reach ITO from CGO complex,” said Parvesh, while Ankit said, “The Central Secretariat area surrounded as it is by top offices of India was fully packed for around two hours There was no space to go.”

Since the traffic started slowing down from Monday afternoon, the traffic police was panned on Twitter for gross mismanagement.

People flooded social media with photos and comments, questioning how the police could have given permission for New Year celebrations on a week day.

By evening, areas such as Barapullah, ITO and Delhi-Noida-Delhi flyway also were full to capacity. An ambulance was seen stuck in a traffic jam near Mandi House circle. The route from Ashram to Sarai Kale Khan was jam packed.

To make hay in the sunshine, many radio cabs and autorickshaws increased their fare due to the heavy traffic.