Heavy traffic jams were reported in the Capital on Thursday as the security and traffic agencies cordoned off a large portion of a number of roads in view of the movement of Chinese President Xi Jinping within the city. Mr Xi, who is on a three-day to India, visited Rashtrapati Bhavan, Rajghat and Hyderabad House during the day.
Traffic snarls, that started in the morning as large parts of New Delhi were made out-of-bounds for ordinary commuters, continued till late in the evening. Due to this, people faced a lot of difficulty during both morning and evening rush hours.
The Delhi Traffic Police had on Wednesday issued an advisory to commuters to avoid Sardar Patel Marg, Dhaula Kuan and Ashoka Road as these were closed for intermittent periods through the day for President Xi’s movement on Thursday.
With the Traffic Police cordoning off the roads around ITO and India Gate for Mr. Xi’s visit to Rajghat and Hyderabad House respectively, traffic movement came to a virtual standstill in their surrounding areas. At many places motorists were delayed by up to two hours in reaching their work places or other destinations.
Motorists also had to face snarls in places like Dhaula Kuan, Daryaganj and Delhi Gate due to the traffic restrictions. The traffic situation was worst at the busy ITO intersection where motorists got stuck in traffic jams for hours together.
“On a normal day I reach my office in Connaught Place from Nirman Vihar in 30 minutes, but today it took me almost two hours. I was stuck in a massive jam at ITO,” said Nitesh, a commuter.
Another commuter who was stuck in jam near High Court said: “For coming to my office at Parliament Street I took the Nizamuddin Bridge route from my house in Ghaziabad. When I came near the High Court, I found a massive jam at India Gate and decided to take an alternative route via Zakir Husain Marg, Khan Market and Tees January Marg to reach my office. But I got delayed by an hour in the process.”
Security has also been beefed up in the Capital ahead of the Chinese President’s visit. Around four companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF), with around 450 armed personnel, have been deployed outside the Chinese embassy at the Chanakyapuri diplomatic enclave.
Two RAF companies along with the Delhi Police personnel have also been deployed at the Hotel Taj Palace, where the Chinese President and his wife are staying, the Delhi Police said.
“Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place while the Chinese President is in the city. We are also keeping a close watch on the movement of Tibetans. Heavy force has been deployed at Majnu ka Tila resettlement colony where a majority of Tibetans live,” said a police officer.
