Roads blocked, cabs barred, metro closed: Curbs for VVIP movements leave Delhi AI Summit delegates stranded

Several people who attended the summit said they were forced to walk for kilometres to find a cab, as the entry of cars outside Bharat Mandapam was barred and entry to the nearest metro station was closed

While global tech titans and world leaders have gathered for India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi to discuss the future of artificial intelligence and seamless connectivity, the reality for delegates outside the venue has been one of total paralysis.

Several people, including delegates, who attended the summit on Wednesday were left stranded. They were forced to walk for kilometres after the event to find a cab as the entry of vehicles on the roads outside Bharat Mandapam was barred for VVIP movement and entry to the nearest metro station was closed.

Many took to social media to criticise traffic gridlock and logistical problems.

Caleb Friesen, a Canadian national who has lived in India for the past eight years, in a post on X said he had a great time at the India AI Impact Summit on Wednesday, but all the positives were overshadowed by one negative experience towards the end.

When Friesen left Bharat Mandapam around 7:40 pm, he realised there were no cabs or shuttles. Instead, he was told to walk.

"No cabs, no pre-arranged shuttle. 'Road is closed, go for a walk,'" he wrote.

He said that this mismanagement would have negatively impacted India’s image in front of international visitors, not to mention the way it would inconvenience the differently-abled people.

"Imagine how international visitors must have felt. Not to mention differently-abled folks,"

In a video posted by him, one of the attendees who was forced to walk back sarcastically said, "This is an additional moment provided by India AI Summit for us to network more."

Another speaker said they were walking as cab services were barred. "We all are walking because the roads are all closed. We can't get an Ola, Uber, Rapido... People ask why talent is leaving India. These are all white-collar people paying 30 per cent tax walking 1 km to an active road to get a vehicle."

Many others who attended the summit had similar experience.

Sahil Rajput said he was forced to walk 5 km after attending the summit, just so that he can take a cab.

“Govt has blocked all the gates and road and asking people to walk just because some VIP is coming. People are walking since 6 pm and at all check points police is saying this is blocked,” he wrote on X, calling it a management failure.

Another attendee, Vanshika Garg said she had to walk nearly 3 km to reach a metro station as the closest one to the summit venue was closed.

"Day 3 signing off from the India AI Chaos Summit. Supreme court metro wasn’t even accessible. No auto, no cab either because of heavy traffic jam. Had to walk 2–3 km on Delhi streets just to reach another metro station," she wrote on X.

AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj took to X criticise the Delhi traffic police for poor arrangements.

"Delegates in AI summit are cluelessly walking on roads. They can’t find cars, cabs. Most of them are new in Delhi and there is no one to guide them? Can u imagine the kind of embarrassment traffic police is bringing for India. This is when Delhi Traffic is directly under Central Govt & Transport dept is under Rekha Gupta Govt."

In an earlier post, he had said the Central government needed some basic intelligence to manage traffic near the AI summit venue.

"What are we showcasing to the International Audience who are visiting this AI Summit? Central Govt needs some basic Intelligence to manage traffic near AI summit. Basic Intelligence is more important than Artificial Intelligence."

VVIP movements hit traffic

Traffic across Delhi has remained severely disrupted for the past two days due to summit-related arrangements. On Wednesday, the situation worsened as several heads of state arrived in the capital. Major thoroughfares, including Mathura Road and Sardar Patel Marg, faced intermittent closures of up to 40 minutes for VVIP movements.