Heavy vehicle entry ban in Capital derails traffic on Delhi-Gurgaon eway

Commuters travelling between Delhi and Gurugram on Monday morning experienced heavy congestion on the expressway, with the Delhi police sealing the border on Sunday night to prevent entry of heavy vehicles into the Capital ahead of Independence Day.

According to officers of the Gurugram police, Delhi police sealed the border and started diverting heavy vehicles from 11pm on Sunday towards alternative routes to reach their destinations. Most vehicles were re-routed and directed to turn back from below the Rajokri flyover or the Shankar Chowk flyover.

“Delhi police sealed the border around 11pm on Sunday night and we were alerted about the situation soon after. We have taken additional measures and are in the process of informing truck drivers about the ban on entry into the Capital through Bawal and Kherki Daula toll. They are being directed to take alternative routes to reach their destination, bypassing Delhi,” Hira Singh, assistant commissioner of police, highways, said.

As the drivers were apprised of the situation, their vehicles remained lined along the expressway, resulting in congestion. The situation worsened further as the volume of traffic increased during rush hour on Monday morning.

The 16-km stretch from Dhaula Kuan to Sirhaul toll was the worst affected and there were reports of minor congestion on the stretch near the Kherki toll as well.

“I left Delhi Cantonment around 7.30am, just in time to avoid the rush hour traffic, to teach Sector 47 in Gurugram. However, despite leaving early, I was stuck at the border for nearly 45 minutes. I finally reached my destination at 9.50am,” Sangeeta Sinha, a resident of Delhi Cantonment, said.

With heavy traffic bringing the movement of vehicles on the expressway to a crawl, officers of the Delhi traffic police alerted commuters via social media about the congestion and advised them to avoid the route.

“Traffic Alert: Traffic is heavy at Rajokri Border. Kindly avoid the stretch.” Delhi traffic police tweeted at 9.18am.

Commuters travelling from Rajiv Chowk to Shankar Chowk experienced usual traffic along the stretch but they too, were caught in the congestion at the toll.

“During peak hours, I plan my travel knowing that it would take me at least 15 minutes to clear the Kherki toll. Despite a sizeable presence of traffic police personnel, the trucks took up the majority of space on the left carriageway at the toll. Due to the constrained space, non-commercial vehicles heading towards Delhi had to squeeze their way out of the congestion, and it took me nearly 30 minutes to cross the toll,” Eshan Toshniwal, a resident of Sector 50, said.

The city police did not give any hope of a some respite for commuters on Tuesday, saying that the congestion in the border areas is expected to persist till Wednesday afternoon when the I-Day events in the national capital are done and dusted.

“There will be some congestion on the expressway during peak hours till the events lined up on Independence Day are over,” Singh said.

Quote of Delhi traffic police to be added.