Noida: Traffic diversion at Kalindi Kunj for Kanwar Yatra

The Gautam Budh Nagar traffic police have restricted traffic movement on two of the four lanes on the Delhi-Noida side from Okhla Barrage to Okhla Bird Sanctuary to facilitate Kanwar pilgrims, officials said on Tuesday, adding that commuters are now using two other lanes, which have created bottleneck and traffic snarls at Kalindi Kunj.

The Kanwar pilgrims come from Ghaziabad and western UP to Noida via Delhi’s Mayur Vihar. Afterwards, the pilgrims take the Okhla Bird Sanctuary route and exit at Kalindi Kunj and cover around 4 kilometres in Noida. Kanwar Yatris, coming from Haridwar, Delhi, and Faridabad, also takes this route for commuting.

Suniti, DCP (traffic) Gautam Budh Nagar, said, “The traffic police reserved two lanes from Okhla Barrage to Okhla Sanctuary for the safe passage of Kanwar pilgrims. They annually take this route from Haridwar to their homes in Delhi, Faridabad and other places.”

“Additional traffic police personnel have also been deployed to facilitate pilgrims, and there is traffic congestion during peak hours at Kalindi Kunj. We will explore how the traffic situation can be eased at the spot,” added DCP Suniti.

Meanwhile, a camp for Kanwar pilgrims was also made behind the traffic police control room in Sector 14-A, which provides food, water, and shelter to the pilgrims 24x7.

A Kanwar, Ram Pal, 32, a resident of Palwal Village in Haryana, halted at this Noida Kanwar camp on Tuesday.

He said he reached Haridwar on July 6 to get the holy water, and now he is returning. “The distance from my home to Haridwar is around 360 km away. I cover 30-35 km a day. I have been part of the Kanwar Yatra for the past 14 years. It hurts to walk hundreds of kilometres, but the faith in God and the facilities we get along the way make it possible.”

On Tuesday, several commuters got stuck in a traffic jam at Kalindi Kunj.

Vijay Singh, a resident of Sector 41, who travels on this route daily, said that he was stuck in traffic on Tuesday afternoon. “The traffic police have made a mess on the Delhi-Noida Okhla barrage by blocking the two lanes. They created a bottleneck on the bridge, and thousands of commuters suffer because of the poor management of traffic police,” he said.