Bharat Jodo Yatra to resume in Delhi

Several parts of north, central and northeast Delhi may witness long traffic snarls on Tuesday morning as former Congress president Rahul Gandhi embarks on the next leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kashmere Gate. Starting from Marghat Wale Baba and Hanuman Mandir near Nigambodh Ghat on Ring Road at 10am, the Yatra will take the old railway bridge and pass through Shastri Park, Seelampur, Jaffrabad, Maujpur and Gokalpur in northeast Delhi before entering Loni in Uttar Pradesh in the afternoon.
The traffic police has urged motorists to avoid the route of the Yatra and use public transport. The closure of the Ashram flyover is already affecting traffic movement on several arterial roads connecting south Delhi with east Delhi and Noida. The traffic on prominent south and central Delhi roads was badly affected on December 24 when the Yatra entered the city from the Badarpur border in the morning and culminated at the Red Fort in the evening.
According to the traffic advisory, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Marg, Netaji Subhash Marg, Ring Road, the road from Hanuman Mandir to Old Iron Bridge, Geeta Colony Pushta Road, Ansari Road, Yudhishthir Setu to Seelampur T-point on GT Road, Jaffrabad main road, and from Shahdara flyover to Loni Gol Chakkar on Wazirabad Road and Loni Road will be affected as large numbers of pedestrians and vehicles are expected to join the Yatra at various points.
The traffic police said there would be a “graded and dynamic diversion” and advised people going towards ISBT, railway stations and airports to plan their travel with sufficient time. In the meantime, Delhi Congress president Anil Chaudhary said enough security arrangements should be made during the Yatra. The party earlier alleged security breaches on December 24, which had been denied by the agencies concerned. A functionary said a flag handing-over ceremony had been planned at the Loni border. Delhi Congress vice-president Abhishek Dutt said, “It is great to see how Rahul Gandhi is getting support from civil society. Rahulji is getting everyone’s support because he was talking about issues of common people like price rise and unemployment, which other parties ignore.” The Yatrastarted from Kanyakumari on September 7.