Traffic towards Noida hit for 4 hours on Monday amid bulldozers in Shaheen Bagh

For almost four hours on Monday starting 11 am, traffic was affected on Road Number 13A, which connects Delhi with Noida, as hundreds of residents of Shaheen Bagh in south Delhi spilled onto the road to stop the bulldozers of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) that was trying to conduct an anti-encroachment drive there.

As residents occupied one carriageway (Delhi to Noida) of Road 13A in protest, traffic came to a complete standstill from 12-12.30pm and vehicles were made to take a U-turn and go towards the DND Flyway via Mathura Road to reach Noida.

For over 100 days between December 2019 and March 2020, the same carriageway had been the site of a large-scale sit-in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

A senior traffic police officer said traffic was impacted for about four to five hours at Shaheen Bagh, on the Delhi-to-Noida side of the road, and commuters were suggested to take alternative routes.

“Only one carriageway was affected but adequate traffic police personnel were deployed to ensure commuters did not face a problem. Alternative routes were suggested through Mathura Road,” a senior officer said.

The chaos on Road 13A also triggered snarls in nearby Kalindi Kunj, Jaitpur, Sarita Vihar and on Mathura Road.

Mahak Jain, a commuter headed towards Noida, said she was stuck near Sarita Vihar for half an hour.

“We were headed to a family function but it seems that we will have to return home. Who knows how long this protest will continue?” she said.

The traffic movement became better around 3pm, about two hours after bulldozers left the area without conducting the drive.