Republic Day parade dress rehearsal affects traffic in central Delhi, commuters stuck in jam for hours

The Delhi Police had on Monday issued an advisory about road closures in central Delhi for the full dress rehearsal.

Republic Day parade dress rehearsal affected vehicle movement near India Gate in central Delhi with commuters being stuck in traffic jams on Tuesday.

Traffic was affected on C-Hexagon, Ashoka Road and Rafi Marg near Krishi Bhawan. Traffic police personnel were deployed on these routes to manage the movement of vehicles. The traffic was also affected on Outer Ring Road and near the Pragati Maidan tunnel, Sarai Kale Khan, ITO, news agency PTI reported.

Motorists had a harrowing time getting to their destinations and many reached late. A woman who was coming from south Delhi to Connaught Place said she got stuck in heavy traffic near Kartavya Path.

"It takes me around 20 minutes to reach Connaught Place but today it took me around 35 to 40 minutes," she told PTI. Some commuters said there were long queues at entry and exit gates of the Central Secretariat metro station as many tried to ditch the traffic.

Reuters journalist Aditya Kalra (@adityakalra) wrote on X, "Two hours on Delhi roads this morning to reach central Delhi office in Connaught Place. Back to home. Don’t venture out. The traffic is in mess due to Republic Day dress rehearsal and Google Maps and advisories not helping."

Other X users also took to sharing their experiences after being stuck in traffic jams for hours.

Delhi traffic Everything on Ring Road and neighbouring areas in a mess because of Republic Day parade dress rehearsal. Roads around Pragati Maidan etc are closed. Rehearsing on a Sunday would have been a good idea. @dtptraffic please do something.

— eeta (@eeta) January 23, 2024

Read more: Republic Day 2024 Parade: Timing, tickets, chief guest and where to watch

The Delhi Police had on Monday issued an advisory about road closures in central Delhi for the full dress rehearsal. The rehearsal started at 10.30 am from Vijay Chowk and passed via Kartavya Path, C-Hexagon, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose statue roundabout, Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Netaji Subhas Marg before culminating at the Red Fort.

To facilitate the smooth passage of the Republic Day parade, traffic movement on Kartavya Path, from Vijay Chowk to India Gate, was stopped at 6 pm on Monday. The stretch reopened after the dress rehearsal was completed on Tuesday.

According to the advisory, flying of sub-conventional aerial platforms such as paragliders, paramotors, hang gliders, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned aircraft systems, microlight aircraft, remotely piloted aircraft, hot air balloons, small-size powered aircraft, quadcopters or para jumping from aircraft are prohibited over the National Capital Territory of Delhi till February 15.

The Delhi Police advisory requested motorists to observe traffic rules and follow directions of police personnel deployed at intersections.

Read more: Republic Day 2023: History, significance and parade details