Central and south Delhi areas reeled under severe traffic chaos today with police putting in place several restrictions in view of the India-Africa summit.
Some areas in and around the Lutyens’ zone including Chanakyapuri, Tilak Marg, Tughlaq Road and Lodhi Road witnessed bumper-to-bumper traffic during the day, a traffic police official said.
In an advisory issued earlier, Delhi Police had asked commuters to avoid all Lutyens’ Zone bound routes linked to Mother Teresa Road, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Minto Road, Minto Road, Asaf Ali Road, JLN Marg, the Ring Road stretch between Rajghat and Nizamuddin Bridge, Lodhi Road, Kemal Ataturk Marg and Kautilya Marg.
Traffic was thrown out of gear in most of these roads during peak hours.
Areas including Connaught Place, India Gate C-Hexagon, Talkatora Road, areas around Rashtrapati Bhavan and Barakhamba Road witnessed long tail-ends on-and-off during the day. The ITO junction, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, the Mathura Road stretch near Pragati Maidan and Kashmere Gate-Daryaganj stretch were among other areas that witnessed heavy traffic.
The traffic helpline of Delhi Police was bombarded with phone calls as people kept asking about diversions in view of the traffic arrangement strategised for the high-security event, the official said.
The Ring Road stretch between Sarai Kale Khan and Shantivan was blocked for general public today between 8am and 10am and between 4pm and 8pm. Commuters who took that route were diverted to the Nizamuddin bridge-Akshardham-Pushta Road-Geeta Colony flyover-Kashmere Gate route, due to which several east Delhi areas ended up getting clogged, said an official.
Long tailbacks were witnessed in south Delhi areas as major links to New Delhi – like the Sardar Patel Marg, Aurobindo Marg and Lala Lajpat Rai Marg were made out of bounds for the public at intervals during the day, keeping in view VVIP movements.
In south Delhi, major roads like RTR marg and the Ring Road stretch between Lajpat Nagar and Dhaula Kuan, and the Ashram Chowk also witnessed severe congestion.