For motorists coming from Noida, it was day two of harrowing time

New Delhi: Commuters travelling from Noida and Ghaziabad towards the national capital faced a harrowing time for a second straight day Tuesday as the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME) and several parts of central and south Delhi were choked due to the restrictions for New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon's visit.
With no traffic advisory or warning on social media, several people were left waiting for several minutes, scrambling for alternative routes, forced to take detours, make U-turns, or even park their vehicles on the spot and walk over long distances. Many experienced delays of up to 40-45 minutes.
A few took to social media to vent their ire. "Huge traffic jam on NH-3 from Ghaziabad to Delhi. It has become a regular affair now either in the morning or in the evening during peak hours, the road gets blocked and for a journey of 30 min, 2 hours get wasted," a commuter posted on X. Another wrote: "Massive traffic jam in Delhi Meerut Expressway apparently because of some VVIP movement."
This was the second such disruption in less than three weeks. Earlier, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen's visit to Rajghat had brought traffic to a halt in the area.
Tagging TOI, one wrote, "Is there any VIP movement again? NH 24 is closed, there is a huge traffic jam at ITO. Can we get some prior intimation beforehand? It's becoming a daily affair now, due to huge traffic jams we end up facing troubles."
Another asked, "Traffic at Ring Road, Swarn Jayanti Park, opposite Sarai Kale Khan Railway Station has been blocked by Traffic Police for the last one hour without any advisory. Why? Creating inconvenience to commuters."
Stuck in jams, several exasperated people came out of their cars, hoping the bottleneck would end.
"I was coming from Sector 62, took DME and saw traffic up to Outer Ring Road. I initially thought it was the usual peak hour congestion, which caused me a 40-minute delay. Later, I was disappointed to see the road blocked by a police car and rope, and people stuck owing to VIP movement," a commuter told TOI.
Similar was the condition on other stretches, including near Akshardham and IIT where the New Zealand PM was scheduled to visit, Mathura Road and Mayur Vihar 1. The barricading led to chaos as commuters were caught off guard and tried desperately to find a way out.
A senior traffic official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said advisories cannot be issued due to safety and logistical reasons.
"Traffic police abide by the instructions they get, which is to cause minimum inconvenience to people and manage traffic flow. Any visit of a foreign delegate is also due to national interest, and hence, it must be respected. We follow the standard protocol, allowing light vehicles to pass until 10 minutes before the VIP movement and halting just for two-three minutes," he said.