Jat stir fear slows down city traffic

New Delhi: With the Delhi police putting up barricades across the city, motorists faced traffic snarls on several routes, especially on borders, through Monday morning till late evening.

On Sunday, the Jats had called off their agitation that was scheduled for Monday. However, taking preventive measures, the Delhi police placed barricades on borders and many internal roads in the city to check the entry of vehicles.

A senior police official said that the prohibitory order imposed under Section 144 of CrPC is likely to continue till next orders. Only bona fide residents, office workers, and emergency vehicles will be allowed access in New Delhi area.

Traffic jams were also reported on the borders and people took to social media to share their woes. However, the traffic police kept alerting commuters via Twitter to avoid jam prone roads. “Traffic will remain heavy in New Delhi and the adjoining area due to security picket. Please plan your journey accordingly,” the handle tweeted this morning.

Massive jams were reported in all the roads in Lutyens’ Delhi owing to security checks by police. There were jams reported on roads leading to the Parliament and adjoining radials like Barakhamba, Janpath, Sansad Marg, Ashok Road, Kali Bari Marg, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Lutyens’ Zone, and Akbar Road.

Traffic police officials, however, said that the situation was a little chaotic in the morning but eased out later.

“After getting several calls about traffic jams on certain internal roads in the city, the barricades were removed for smooth flow of traffic. No major traffic jam was reported in the city,” said Garima Bhatnagar, joint CP (traffic).

“There were traffic jams observed on the borders and commuters travelling from Noida and Gurugram to Delhi faced issues. But later, we eased the barricading in the capital and there was checking only at the borders,” she added.