Rain, R-Day rehearsals jam city

NEW DELHI: Heavy rainfall combined with security rehearsals for the Republic Day parade triggered severe traffic congestion across the national capital and its borders on Friday, leaving commuters, students and ambulances stranded in gridlocks lasting several hours.

- Jignasa Sinha, Aaditya Khatwani and Gargi Shukla

Significant traffic jams were reported around Connaught Place, ITO, Kamla Market, Patel Nagar, Dhaula Kuan, Outer Ring Road, Sarai Kale Khan, Sarita Vihar, Burari, and the Delhi-Gurgaon and Mayur Vihar-Noida routes.

Senior police officers said significant number of personnel were deployed for Republic Day arrangements, with barricading erected in central and New Delhi for rehearsals. Staff were immediately rushed to manage traffic flow after the rain caused disruptions. Delhi Traffic Police also issued an advisory on Friday for traffic restrictions around Connaught Place, Janpath, Rafi Marg, Man Singh Road, Kartavya Path due to Republic Day parade rehearsals. Traffic will be affected near India Gate, Firoz Shah Road, Mathura Road and nearby areas as traffic will be diverted there, it said.

Many parents reported that despite living in proximity to schools, commute times doubled.

“The school is less than five kilometres from where I stay and normally it’s just a 15-minute drive, but today it took about an hour for my kids to reach home,” said Bhaskar Shukla, whose two children study at the Dwarka-based Spring Meadows Public School.