UP: Snarls at Dadri toll as many head home

GREATER NOIDA: Traffic snarls were witnessed at the Luharli toll plaza on NH-91 on Friday as several commuters headed towards their home districts such as Bulandshahr and Hapur as well as Delhi and Noida from other parts of UP in anticipation of the police curbs ahead of the weekend lockdown.
Commuters said they did not mind facing long queues of vehicles at the border .
Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Bulandshahr, who works at a private company in Greater Noida, said he wanted to return home before evening, so that curbs don’t restrict him. “The weekend lockdown starts around 10 pm and I want to ensure I am not late,” he said.
According to toll officials, the volume of incoming traffic from districts like Bulandshahr, Hapur and Sikandrabad was higher than normal in the afternoon, while that from Delhi and Noida towards UP districts was more in the evening. Traffic flow at the plaza remained high till as late as 6pm.
Luharli toll manager Amarendra Jha said, “Since heavy traffic volume was witnessed on all the 10 lanes of the toll plaza, we have asked the security guards to remain vigilant throughout and exercise restraint,” he said.
Volume of traffic also went up at the Kalindi Kunj and Chilla borders on Friday evening though DND remained smooth. Vehicles could be seen merging at the Kalindi Kunj red light since commuters from Noida to Delhi have a free ride via the new Yamuna bridge. Traffic inspector Ravindra Vashishtha said during the weekend lockdown, local police take over to manage traffic flow at borders.