Downpour, traffic restrictions choke Delhi

NEW DELHI: Heavy downpour through the night and restrictions on account of Yoga Day preparations caused massive traffic jams across the city. Connaught Place and its adjoining roads were the centre point of the traffic snarls.

Motorists who ventured into Connaught Place’s outer circle found themselves in bumper-tobumper traffic, leaving little space even for pedestrians to cross the road.

The traffic jams on CP’s outer circle spilled over to Barakhamba Road, KG Marg and Panchkuian Road. The traffic intersections were choked, forcing many motorists to even drive on the wrong side to beat the jams.

The traffic police said they had sent out advisories informing Delhiites that the inner, middle circles and the radial roads within outer circles would be closed through Tuesday and until Wednesday afternoon. But most commuters were unaware of these restrictions.

“On CP’s outer circle, vehicles did not leave even a few inches between them to allow pedestrians to cross the road,” said Shiv Kant, a visitor to CP.

Jams not related to waterlogging were witnessed at the busy ITO intersection. The traffic police, however, attributed it to the heavy traffic instead of any other particular reason.

“A distance of less than half kilometre from Indraprastha Marg to Tilak Bridge took me over 30 minutes by bus. Finding traffic jams even on the road ahead, I decided to hop off the bus and walk to my destination in Mandi House,” said Rishi Singh, a businessman.

WATERLOGGING

Meanwhile, waterlogging affected the city for the second time in two days.

Waterlogged roads, combined with broken down vehicles, resulted in slow movement of vehicles on several stretches across the city.

Many motorists were stuck in traffic jams for over an hour, while the ones trying to book cabs had a hard time as the prices surged by almost two times.

There were reports tree felling in Uday park, Hauz Khas , Vasant Kunj, Panchsheel park and DDA flats in Madan Giri.