The Capital saw heavy traffic snarls on Tuesday with residents thronging to markets to finish their last-minute Diwali shopping.
Motorists faced a tough time as all the major stretches saw traffic moving at a slow pace.
According to Delhi Traffic Police Control Room, heavy traffic was reported from all over the city. “We have been receiving incessant calls since morning. The snarls are mainly due to the festive season. Heavy traffic was reported on the Mahipalpur-Gurgaon stretch” said a Delhi Traffic police official. “There was heavy traffic from Anand Vihar ISBT towards Dilshad Garden, from Rajghat towards the Kashmere Gate ISBT, Outer Ring Road, Minto Road, Dhaula Kuan and Uttam Nagar,” said the official.
Commuters complained of slow vehicular movement towards Akshardham on the Sarai Kale Khan flyover and from Akshardham to East Vinod Nagar on National Highway-24. Major congestions were also reported from areas surrounding major market areas like Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, South Extension, Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh and Sadar Bazar which led to further delay along the Ring Road, Outer Ring Road, Vikas Marg, National Highway-24 and ITO.
“I missed my flight as I could not reach the airport in time,” said a commuter Sukanya Gupta. “Traffic was at complete standstill near Mahipalpur,” she said.
Vehicle breakdown
Traffic police also said that there was obstruction in traffic in the carriageway from Peera Garhi to Madhuban Chowk due to breakdown of a large goods vehicle at Peera Garhi flyover and at Nehru Place towards IIT due to breakdown of a bus on Chirag Delhi flyover.
“We are trying our best to regulate the traffic. Thousands of our officers have been deployed to regulate the situation as far as possible. We are constantly putting up updates on social media and trying to redress grievances as much as possible” said Garima Bhatnagar, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic).