Snarls, restrictions irk commuters

Gurgaon: Traffic restrictions imposed by the police ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande visiting Gurgaon on Monday slowed down life in the city. Strict enforcement of traffic rules and diversions irked commuters as their daily schedules were disrupted.

Between 3 pm and 5 pm, the restrictions imposed on the MG Road and Gurgaon-Faridabad Road led to snarls on these two roads. On the Gurgaon–Faridabad Road, there were snarls near the National Institute of Solar Energy campus, where the VIPs were attending a function.

Sonia Sharma, who was travelling to Faridabad for an afternoon meeting, said that she was cancelling the trip because of the delay caused by long snarls on the Gurgaon-Faridabad road before the diversion was implemented at 3 pm. “There are too many security personnel and checking everywhere, leading to snarls,” she said.

As it was expected that the PM’s entourage would drive down to Gurgaon, there was heavy police presence from Delhi Expressway to Faridabad road and on the MG Road. A police constable was deployed at every 100 metres on the route.

On Monday, a number of IT firms gave their employees the option to work from home, fearing snarls because of the restrictions in place.

The yellow line of the Delhi Metro was shut for the public for a brief period as Modi and Hollande boarded the Metro at Guru Dronacharya station while returning to Delhi.

Deepak Kumar, who works in Sector 31, said that he was apprehensive whether the Metro would be operating. “I saw online that PM is travelling in the Metro but I hope the line is open for the public,” he said

Later in the evening, there were snarls at Iffco chowk, Shanker Chowk, Udyog Vihar, Sector 31 cut and Jharsa cut as commuters tried to rush back to their homes after traffic restrictions were lifted.

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