Protesters stay put at Mandi House, leave Delhi gridlocked
Diversions cause snarls extending up to Vikas Marg in East Delhi and India Gate C-hexagon
Our aim was to ensure that C-hexagon was not choked as that has a ripple effect on connecting roads. But... impact could be felt even on Vikas Marg. NARENDRA SINGH BUNDELA, joint commissioner, Delhi traffic police
NEWDELHI: The protest by the specially abled persons at the Mandi House roundabout continued for the second day as protesters spent the night on the road with the police barricading off the key traffic junction. The diversions on Thursday caused traffic snarls, extending up to as far as Vikas Marg in East Delhi, and India Gate C-hexagon.
The Delhi Traffic Police diverted traffic on certain road stretches —Vikas Marg, ITO, Mandi House, India Gate C-hexagon— since Thursday morning but that was not enough as traffic volume swelled on several roads in central Delhi by noon.
Narendra Singh Bundela, joint commissioner of traffic police, said while efforts were being made to ease jams, the situation may not ease even on Friday if the agitators do not budge.
On Wednesday, when the protest began at Mandi House roundabout, it led to jams that extended till India Gate C-hexagon, and all connecting roads. The traffic police was able to bring the situation under control by 8pm, but that relief lasted only till the next morning. With protesters staying put at the roundabout, snarls started getting worse by Thursday morning.
The traffic police diverted vehicles towards Zakir Hussain Marg, Shahjahan Road and the High Court road to prevent traffic buildup at the C-hexagon.
“Our aim was to ensure that the C-hexagon was not choked as that causes a ripple effect on all roads connecting the circle. But despite our efforts, the pressure of peak time traffic was such that the impact could be felt even on
Vikas Marg,” said Bundela.
The tailbacks stretched as far as Akshardham and Laxmi Nagar even as the police diverted vehicles to Ring Road.
The police also stopped vehicular movement on Sikandra Road and Bhagwan Das Road near Mandi House for most part of Thursday. Richa Singh, who was driving from Vikas Marg to Connaught Place, said the journey which usually took 15 minutes ended up taking an hour. “Any alternative route I would take was also found to be choked,” Singh said.
Unlike complaints by motorists on Wednesday that they couldn’t find traffic police personnel on affected roads, on Thursday they grumbled about too many traffic officers diverting vehicles at several places, leaving them inconvenienced.
While the jams eased out in the afternoon hours, they returned to trouble the motorists during the evening peak traffic hours. Police said festival shoppers further compounded the problem as there was an increased number of vehicles on the roads on Thursday. Stuck in jams for long periods, a lot of people travelling in autos, cabs and buses chose to step out and walk up to the nearest Metro stations.