Traffic set to be restricted across central Delhi
NEWDELHI: Areas around Krishna Menon Marg, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg and Rajghat would be closed in phases for traffic movement on Friday as the police expect lakhs of mourners to reach central Delhi to pay homage to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Delhi Traffic Police said Vajpayee’s residence at 6A-krishna Menon Marg, where his body was taken from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Thursday, is also likely to be visited by several VIPS on Friday morning. The traffic police had on Thursday evening restricted traffic outside Vajpayee’s residence after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind, vice-president Venkaiah Naidu, several CMS and senior political leaders reached the house of the BJP stalwart.
Vajpayee’s body will be kept at his residence till Friday morning, from where it will be taken to the BJP headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyaymargaround1pm.the funeral is scheduled to take place at 4 pm at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal.
The traffic police said from 8am on Friday traffic movement would be restricted at Krishna Menon Marg, Sunehri Bagh Road, Tughlaq Road, Akbar Road, Tees January Marg, Janpath (from Hotel Claridges to Windsor Place), Mansingh Road, C-hexagon from Shahjahan Road to Tilak Marg, Rajpath (from Mansingh Road to C-hexagon), Ashoka Road (from Windsor Place to C-hexagon), Kasturba Gandhi Marg (from Feroz Shah Road to C-hexagon), and Copernicus Marg (from Mandi House to C-hexagon).
Other areas where traffic will be affected because of the funeral procession are Shahjahan Road, Zakir Hussain Marg, Tilak Marg (from C-hexagon to Tilak Bridge), Bhagwan Dass Road, Sikandra Road and Mathura Road.
“Unless people want to go to pay homage to Vajpayeeji, it would be advisable to avoid central Delhi on Friday,” said a senior traffic official.
The advisory issued by traffic police suggested alternative routes such as Minto Road-bhavbhuti Marg-ajmeri Gate-shradhanand Marg-lahori Gate Chowk-naya Bazar-peeli Kothi-sp Mukherjee Marg to commute between north Delhi and Connaught Place.
“Traffic would not be permitted on the lower Ring Road from ISBT Kashmere Gate towards Shantivan and from IP Flyover towards Rajghat from 8 am,” the traffic advisory read.