Exit gates of four major metro stations in the city were closed due to heavy footfall in Central Delhi on Tuesday.
The police and metro officials said the gates were closed as a crowd control measure.
“As per instructions from the police, exits at four metro stations — Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhawan, Mandi House and Pragati Maidan — were blocked with immediate effect around afternoon due to a swelling crowd. The gates were opened around 7.28 p.m.,” said a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) official.
Pre-decided
Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Madhur Verma said, “Last year, Delhi was gridlocked for several hours on January 1. The pattern from last year was studied and it was already decided that exit points of these metro stations will be closed for a few hours to control the crowd,” he said referring to a meeting between local police, traffic police and metro police before the New Year’s Eve.
The officer said the traffic remained largely manageable through the day in New Delhi. “The local police assisted the traffic officers. Lakhs of people came to India Gate for New Year celebration and the number had reached about one lakh at a time around 3 p.m.,” he said.
Unable to enter the metro stations closest to India Gate or National Zoological Park, both of which saw a high footfall, passengers were forced to walk to several other stations.
“We had come to India Gate in the afternoon and since 5 p.m. we have been trying to head home. For two hours, we have been unable to find a cab. We have been walking since then and are now headed to ITO metro station, where hopefully we will be able to board the train,” Suraj, a government employee headed towards GTB Nagar.
For Seema Rawat, the day-out with her friends and five children turned out to be a trying one after the group failed to find any public transport for over two hours.
“We have been looking for transport to go to Kashmere Gate since 4.30 p.m. Initially we walked to the Pragati Maidan station but there is a huge crowd outside the station. Then we went to the ITO metro station. Even the buses are not stopping,” said Ms. Rawat.
Twitter updates
The Traffic Police was also updating the information on Twitter asking people to avoid certain routes near Connaught Place due to heavy pedestrian movement.
They also tweeted about the closing of entry at National Zoological Park at 4 p.m. to control the crowd.
