Traffic restrictions, parking curbs in parts of Delhi on New Year's Eve

New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) No private or public vehicles will be allowed to ply in Connaught Place from 7 pm on December 31 as a large number of people are expected to throng the area to celebrate New Year, Delhi Police said in an advisory on Tuesday.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has also announced that the exit gates of Rajiv Chowk metro station, located in Connaught Place, will be closed after 9 pm as part of its crowd management measures.

Anticipating heavy footfall in Connaught Place and nearby localities, Delhi Police has made special arrangements for crowd control and to regulate pedestrian and vehicular movement. Traffic restrictions will remain in force from 7 pm on December 31 till the conclusion of New Year celebrations and will apply to all vehicles unless specifically permitted, the advisory said.

No vehicle will be allowed to proceed towards Connaught Place beyond designated points, including roundabouts near Mandi House, Bengali Market, Patel Chowk, Gole Market, GPO and Kasturba Gandhi Road-Ferozeshah Road crossing, Jai Singh Road-Bangla Sahib Lane, Windsor Place roundabout and other intersections.

Vehicular movement will not be permitted in the Inner, Middle or Outer Circles of Connaught Place, except for vehicles carrying valid entry passes, it said.

With heavy footfall expected near India Gate as well, traffic may be restricted or diverted at locations such as O-Point, W-Point, MLNP and Sunheri Masjid roundabouts, Rajpath-Rafi Marg, Mathura Road-Purana Qila Road, Sher Shah Road and Zakir Hussain Marg.

The traffic police suggested alternate routes for north-south and east-west movement, including Ring Road, Mathura Road, Rani Jhansi Marg, Panchkuian Road, Mandir Marg and Mother Teresa Crescent.

Special parking arrangements have been made in and around Connaught Place, with designated parking facilities at Kali Bari Marg, Pt Pant Marg, Bhai Veer Singh Marg, Rakab Ganj Road, Copernicus Marg, Babar Road, Tansen Marg, Windsor Place, Jantar Mantar Road and Raisina Road. Parking will be available on a first-come, first-served basis and unauthorised parking will attract towing and prosecution, they warned.

Traffic restrictions will also be in place in south Delhi in view of the New Year celebrations at popular malls in Saket, including Select Citywalk, DLF Avenue and MGF Metropolitan Mall.

According to Delhi Traffic Police, traffic diversions will be enforced from 2 pm onwards on December 31 and January 1 on Press Enclave Road and internal roads of Saket and Pushp Vihar. Traffic will be diverted also at Sheikh Sarai red light on Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, Asian Market red light on Mehrauli-Badarpur Road and PTS Malviya Nagar light on Sri Aurobindo Marg.

All median cuts from Sheikh Sarai to Hauz Rani will remain closed, while heavy vehicles and DTC and cluster buses will not be allowed to ply on Press Enclave Road. DTC and cluster buses will not be permitted to move towards Pushp Vihar from MB Road as well, police said.

Commuters have been advised to avoid the affected roads, plan journeys in advance and use alternate routes, including Khanpur T-point, MB Road, Lado Sarai, Chirag Delhi and TB Hospital junctions, depending on their direction of travel.

In a separate advisory, the Delhi Traffic Police said traffic movement on Rani Jhansi Road and adjoining stretches in the Paharganj area is likely to be affected on December 31 and January 1 due to heavy footfall at Shri Mata Jhandewalan Mandir during the New Year celebrations.

Motorists have been advised to avoid Rani Jhansi Road during peak hours and use alternate routes such as DBG Road, New Rohtak Road and other adjoining roads, police said.

They have urged people to use public transport as parking near Connaught Place and India Gate will be extremely limited. Commuters have also been requested to follow traffic advisories and directions issued by traffic personnel deployed at intersections. PTI SSJ SSJ RUK RUK