Harried commuters suffer long traffic jams for hours

A religious procession through parts of central and New Delhi on Monday led to heavy traffic snarls on several routes in those areas.

The problem was compounded in the evening hours with people returning to their homes from offices.

Autorickshaw drivers were generally unwilling to ferry people to many parts of central and New Delhi.

Commuters said they had to pay much higher than usual to those who were willing to ferry them even to the nearest Metro station.

Many of those travelling by public transport on roads chose to leave the vehicles and walk through jammed roads.

Those driving their vehicles were stuck in the traffic for long.

The Delhi traffic police had on Sunday advised commuters to take alternate routes in central and New Delhi due to a planned procession on the anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur on Monday.

The procession was scheduled to begin from Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Chandni Chowk at 9.30 am and terminate at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in New Delhi.

The procession included decorated horses, elephants, bands and schoolchildren.

Facebook updates

The traffic police’s Facebook page saw posts on the traffic status at regular intervals through the day.

They were marked by comments from frustrated commuters stuck in long jams. Commuter Amish Ameya complained about being stuck in Baba Kharak Singh Marg in Central Delhi for over an hour around 7 pm.

Traffic police said the worst-affected areas were Chandni Chowk, Chawri Bazar, Paharganj, Connaught Place, Kali Bari Marg and Gole Dak Khana.

Apart from these, traffic was slow in Dwarka Mor and Ashram flyover as well due to reasons other than the procession.

One commuter said he had to walk more than two kilometres from North Avenue to Central Secretariat to catch the Metro to Jhandewalan.

“Auto drivers refused to carry me saying all the roads leading to Jhandewalan were witnessing very slow movement of vehicles,” he said.

Drivers said distances which generally took them less than 10 minutes, took over an hour on Monday in the Connaught Place area.

Many people who travel by cars opted for the Metro on Monday. The Metro trains, meanwhile, were overcrowded.