Farmers Movement Archive

Delhi: Diversions catch commuters unawares, many return home

NEW DELHI/GHAZIABAD: Commuters had a harrowing time on Monday due to the Delhi-Ghaziabad border being gridlocked. The situation worsened after 8am and at their peak, the traffic jams stretched to 4km near the border. The Mohan Nagar junction, Kaushambi areas, Maharajpur and the internal roads in Vaishali were choked till 3pm. There were similar situations in many parts of Delhi, with police wary about recurrence of fiascos of the Republic Day type on the day the Union budget was presented in Parliament. A Ghaziabad police officer claimed the cops immediately took up the task of managing the traffic when commuters began posting information on social media about the traffic jams. “Delhi Police closed the border to prevent the protesting farmers marching to Parliament since the Union budget was being announced on Monday,” the officer said. Ramanand Kushwaha, SP (Traffic), Ghaziabad, told TOI that traffic was diverted to four alternative routes: Noida, GT Road, Bhopura and Surya Nagar. “We had no information about the Anand Vihar border being closed and so it took us over three hours to divert the vehicles to open routes,” said Kushwaha. “Delhi Police opened one lane (Ghaziabad to Delhi) at 2pm and the other (Delhi to Ghaziabad) around 3.30pm. We have enquired whether the Delhi cops plan to close the border on Tuesday too. We will know by late night.” Delhi traffic police made the first diversions at Akshardham Setu towards Akshardham, NH-9, from the Max Hospital cut on NH-24 towards Hassanpur depot, from Ghazipur roundabout towards Anand Vihar and from paper market towards Mayur Vihar Phase-3. Other diversions were from Kondli Bridge towards Ghazipur roundabout. Police placed spikes at Tikri border to deter tractors and other vehicles, wary of the call for a march to Parliament by the protesting farmers. Till evening, motorists, particularly on Vikas Marg, Geeta Colony and eastern Delhi faced a tough drive. Due to the barricades at numerous spots in the city, central and south Delhi too faced a hard time. “The cars weren’t moving on Nizamuddin Bridge,” said Swarnendu. “I could neither go forward nor back. I saw four ambulances stuck in the jam.” Many people preferred to return home, while those that persevered took hours to reach their workplaces. Anshul Verma, resident of Crossing Republik, left his house around 9am for his office in Connaught Place, but reached there at 12.30pm. “I had a very important meeting at 11am but had to cancel it after I got stuck on the road,” bristled Verma. “I also tried to go back to my house, but couldn’t find a way to take a U-turn due to the heavy traffic.” Ashutosh Mishra had an appointment with a doctor in AIIMS at 10am and left his home well in time at 8am. “Without notice, the Delhi cops closed the border and I missed my appointment with my doctor,” Mishra complained. From Delhi, Pankaj Sharma left for his shop in Indirapuram at 9am and reached around 1pm. “Usually, it takes 45 minutes to reach my shop,” said the tired Sharma. The central government has extended the deployment of Rapid Action Force in Ghaziabad till February 4 in view of the farmers’ protest. The protesters, meanwhile, continue to stay put at the Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri borders amid heavy security deployment.

The Times of India

2021-02-02

Ghaziabad