Traffic chaos returns in Delhi, R Day rehearsal adds to woes

Heavy traffic returned to haunt the city on the first weekday post the fortnight-long odd-even vehicular restrictions, which had reduced congestion considerably, as severe snarls were witnessed today at major arterial roads across the national capital. During the peak hours in the morning, bumper-to-bumper traffic was seen in New Delhi region, especially around the India Gate C-Hexagon, and South Delhi areas which include Chirag Delhi, Vasant Kunj, Chhatarpur, Greater Kailash and the BRT corridor, said a traffic official. Major roads in North, West and East Delhi were also chock-a-block giving a harrowing time to commuters, as both odd and even numbered private cars returned to the streets.

Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Muktesh Chander said, "Heavy traffic in New Delhi region was caused by the blocking of a particular stretch on Rajpath for full-dress rehearsal for upcoming Republic Day celebrations." "In other cases, adequate personnel were deployed to ensure smooth traffic flow as and when we received information about severe congestion," he added. Traffic snarls considerably slowed down vehicular movement in Dhaula Huan, S P Marg, Dwarka, South Extension, Laxmi Nagar and roads around the Akshardham temple. In the wake of the road-rationing measures from January 1 - 15, when private cars bearing odd and even numbered registration plates plied on alternate days, the national capital saw drastic cuts in traffic volume.

The city government projected this to be the biggest outcome of the vehicular restrictions which they termed a massive success and had also claimed that pollution levels had come down by around 25 percent. Today's air quality oscillated between 'moderate' to 'very poor' with the average quantity of fine respirable pollutants PM 2.5 and PM 10 recorded at 152 and 238 micrograms per cubic metre respectively. By the time the situation in New Delhi and South Delhi eased, traffic was thrown out of gear at other areas which include the Dwarka underpass, Khanpur, Panchsheel, Mehrauli-Badarpur road, Sangam Vihar and NH-8, the traffic official said.