Farmers Movement Archive

Delhi: Travel itch? Try these roads less taken

NEW DELHI: Christmas and New Year’s getaways are hampered this year with the borders of Delhi closed by the ongoing farmers’ protests. Delhiites who usually drive to places like Jaipur, Agra, Corbett Tiger Reserve and the hill towns of Uttarakhand around this time are having second thoughts about such trips due to the uncertainty caused by the protest. Kanika Vasan did go to Shimla for her honeymoon recently, but the blocked Singhu border killed their excitement. “Taking another route, it took us over two hours more to reach Shimla. We had to skip our planned breaks on the way for lunch and tea and reached our hotel when it was pitch dark. It was overall a terrible first trip for us together,” said Vasan. A traffic police officer admitted that the Punjab and Haryana highways were blocked, there are the best of provisions at alternative routes that have been made by the Delhi Traffic Police. “People travelling to Shimla, Chandigarh or in that direction can take a detour to Singhu toll tax road or towards Palla,” said a traffic officer. People going to Jaipur can hope for a smooth journey. College student Rishabh Chanana was in two minds about a trip to his cousin’s house in December before taking the plunge. “Luckily NH8 was clear for traffic though there was heavy police deployment at the border. However, we cut short our trip and returned within two days for fear of getting stuck coming back,” said Chanana. For businessman Raghav, 27, the trip to Chandigarh for his brother’s wedding was planned well in advance and they had no option but to leave Delhi. “We were not aware about the diversions, and had to take another direction at the Singhu border,” he said. “There was heavy traffic and it took us an additional three hours to reach Chandigarh. It was a nightmare and we did not want to go through the hassle again, so I will leave my car in Chandigarh and return home in a train. I will retrieve my car when the roads are normal.” Police had expected to see heavy traffic as is usual every year on the highways during the Christmas and New Year periods. “Even though we have created alternative routes for travellers, we aren’t seeing the kind of traffic we expected. The traffic is spreading to the arterial roads, but we have been able to efficiently handle that upsurge. We have regularly been updating our Twitter handle and have been issuing road advisories for the benefit of commuters,” said the traffic officer. Meanwhile, for those who are in a fix and undecided about whether or not they should plan a drive as 2021 approaches, places like Agra and Jaipur are approachable and don’t provide too many traffic problems. On the other hand, a few hours of delay can be encountered when one drives to Uttarakhand towns, Shimla and Chandigarh due to the closure of the borders at Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur.

The Times of India

2020-12-24

Delhi