Delhi roads turn into rivers, throw traffic out of gear

The Delhi Traffic Police on Thursday issued an advisory on the restrictions and regulation of vehicular movement in place owing to rising water level of the Yamuna river as harried commuters struggled to reach their destinations.

Closure of roads due to the overflowing Yamuna also hit traffic in several parts of the city, especially east Delhi, where passengers were stuck for hours.

According to the advisory, the traffic movement has been impaired on Mahatma Gandhi Marg between IP flyover and Chandgi Ram Akhara, Mahatma Gandhi Marg between Kalighat Mandir and Delhi Secretariat, and Outer Ring Road between Wazirabad Bridge and Chandgi Ram Akhara.

The commuters are advised to avoid the roads and plan their journey accordingly, it said.

Non-destined commercial vehicles will not be allowed to enter Delhi and diverted to Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressway. The commercial vehicles will also be diverted from Mukarba Chowk. No commercial vehicles will be allowed between Mukarba Chowk and Wazirabad Bridge, the advisory stated.

The commercial vehicles will also be diverted from Sarai Kale Khan. No such vehicles will be allowed between Sarai Kale Khan and IP flyover. They will be diverted from Ghazipur border as well as from Akshardham towards DND. No such vehicles will be allowed between Akshardham and Sarai Kale Khan, it added.

The visuals across the city showed massive traffic snarls.

Siddhart Srivastav, an advocate by profession, said he managed to cover around four to five kilometres in three hours.

"I left my home in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh around 8.30 am and was going to Tis Hazari court. It took me three hours to enter Delhi through GT Road where traffic remained chock-a-block. Now, I am looking for a U-turn to go back home," he said.

Delhiites also took to Twitter to write about the traffic woes.

One of them stated that it took him over an hour to reach UP gate MCD toll from Khoda.

The traffic was heavy at Maujpur Babarpur near Azadpur (where a commuter claimed that he was stuck there for almost two hours), near GTB hospital, Dilshad Garden, Vivek vihar, and Anand Vihar.

The visuals on social media also showed huge traffic on the National Highway-24 and Sarai Kale Khan where vehicles were crawling. Water from the overflowing Yamuna river reached ITO, a key route to commute from east Delhi to central Delhi and Connaught Place.

There was also heavy traffic congestion at Vikas Marg.

In a tweet, the Delhi Police said, "Due to the rising water levels of Yamuna river, the traffic coming from Shahdara on GT road towards ISBT, Kashmere Gate has been diverted from Seelampur T-point via Keshav Chowk - Karkardooma Court - Road No. 57- NH-24.

"Movement of traffic is restricted in both the carriageways from ISBT towards Majnu Ka Tila and vice-versa due to rise in Yamuna river water. Kindly avoid theses stretches," it said in another tweet.

According to police, traffic movement has been affected on Outer Ring Road (Rohini to ISBT) -- the movement is allowed only towards GTK Road, GTK Road to ISBT (from Sonepat side) -- traffic movement is closed and diverted to the other side, GTK Road to Azadpur under Mukarba Chowk flyover -- traffic is diverted towards Rohini.

Similarly, the movement of traffic will be affected near Singhu Border -- traffic is being diverted to Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway, at Mukarba Chowk where traffic is being diverted to Peeragarhi Chowk and Narela side, at Bhalswa -- traffic is being diverted to Peeragarhi and Narela side and the passenger buses from Haryana and Punjab will terminate at Singhu border, police said.

"Due to rise in water level of Yamuna river, traffic on Pusta road from Shamshaan Ghat, Geeta Colony to Old Iron bridge, Gandhi Nagar has been diverted towards Raja Ram Kohli Marg or Master Plan road to reach Swami Dayanand Marg and then to GT, Road Shahdara," it said.

It also tweeted that the traffic will remain heavy at Kalindi Kunj Red Light and Road No. 13A, Jasola Vihar due to restriction in movement of traffic by Uttar Pradesh Police in the carriageway from Kalindi Kunj towards Noida in view of Kanwar Yatra.

Gaurav Kumar, who works at a private firm in Noida Sector-3, said the entire Dilshad Garden area was choked by mile-long jams.

"I generally reach my office in over 30 minutes. Today it took me two hours to reach Noida from Dilshad Colony after taking several alternative routes," he said.

The traffic at Jasola area was also heavy.

The Yamuna water level touched 208.53 metres at 10 am on Thursday, breaking a 45-year-old record.

Several key areas in Delhi, including the secretariat housing the chief minister's office, were flooded on Thursday.