Delhi Police cancels leaves of traffic personnel to manage pre-festive congestion

New Delhi, Oct 16 (PTI) As traffic in several parts of the city comes to a crawl amid the pre-Diwali rush, the Delhi Police on Thursday cancelled leaves of all traffic personnel to handle the situation.

As the festive season grips the city, major intersections remain gridlocked, with key market areas and routes witnessing bumper-to-bumper jams.

"Maximum deployment has been made across the city. Personnel on motorcycles have been deployed and leaves have been cancelled. We are fully prepared to manage the rush and ensure smoother movement in the coming days," Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ajay Chaudhary told PTI.

This week, social media was flooded with posts from frustrated commuters stuck in jams in the city.

"Mangolpuri S Block Chowk, massive traffic jam for the last 1.5 hours. No traffic or Delhi Police personnel here," one user wrote.

Another post said, "Army chief’s convoy is stuck in Dhaula Kuan jam. This place is a traffic sinkhole. Something must be done urgently." “New Delhi is gridlocked for the second consecutive day. Where is the traffic management even in these VIP zones?” a user commented.

Commuters reported that otherwise smooth stretches were congested throughout the day. Many shared pictures of vehicles crawling or standing still near Connaught Place, Rajpath, ITO, and key roads leading to Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh, and Khan Market.

Markets across Delhi, including Chandni Chowk, Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar and Karol Bagh, saw surging crowds that spilled onto the nearby roads. Traffic gridlocks stretched for kilometres, and travel times doubled as vehicles crawled through narrow lanes.

On Thursday, at Pragati Maidan, long queues were witnessed along Mathura Road towards east Delhi. Northwest Delhi too witnessed congestion, with heavy jams reported at Outer Ring Road, Netaji Subhash Place, and Madhuban Chowk in Pitampura.

On the Delhi-Gurugram corridor, a half-an-hour halt was reported on the NH-48 flyover, while traffic near Jamia Millia Islamia also moved slowly.

Jams were reported across central, south, east, northwest, outer and outer-north Delhi, with users sharing pictures of packed roads. Major routes such as KG Marg, Vande Mataram Marg, Shahjahan Road, Sardar Patel Marg, Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Setu, and Vikas Marg saw persistent congestion.

Commuters also complained of jams on Lala Hardev Sahai Marg, GT Karnal Road, Raj Niwas Marg, Roshanara Road near Ghanta Ghar Chowk, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Baba Kharak Singh Road, and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Road.

“Every major road is jammed today. It took me 90 minutes to reach ITO from Dhaula Kuan,” a commuter said on X.

Another wrote, “It already feels like Diwali; cars, not lights, are flooding Delhi.” PTI SGV BM BM ARB KVK KVK