New Delhi: Heavy rain and a rush of kanwariyas passing through the city brought traffic to a near standstill across the national capital on Tuesday, leaving many commuters stranded for hours.
Several major roads were waterlogged following the morning downpour, and pilgrims walking on foot choked several arterial routes.
Potholes emerged on several freshly asphalted stretches after the rain,
further slowing the traffic.
Heavy congestion was reported from ITO to Old Rohtak Road, Delhi-Jaipur Highway (NH-8), Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Mehrauli-Gurugram Road, Peeragarhi to ISBT, Madhuban Chowk, Delhi-Ghaziabad stretch, and National Highway-9.
Several roads in south Delhi, including those leading to AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, and the Ashram area, remained clogged till late afternoon and during the evening hours.
The Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, a major route in south Delhi, was among the worst affected, witnessing bumper-to-bumper traffic well into the afternoon. Commuters were stuck for over an hour
on a 5-km stretch.
A large number of kanwariyas were seen walking along the edges of already
waterlogged roads.
Traffic came to a standstill from Nangloi towards Najafgarh and near Anand Vihar, where several kanwar camps had been along roadsides. Vehicles were diverted in several parts of the city to make way for the pilgrims, but the lack of real-time updates and traffic police on the ground left motorists
confused and helpless.
A commuter, who was travelling from Delhi to Gurgaon around 8 am, said he was stuck near the airport for nearly two hours. “Horrible traffic. Covered just 18 km in two hours. Roads were waterlogged and traffic was not moving,” he said.
Another commuter on X wrote, “Spent two hours covering just 30 km on the Gurugram-Delhi route. Footpaths are gone, and the cities are overcrowded. No traffic coordination.”
Several users blamed the Delhi Traffic Police for not deploying sufficient uniforms at the vulnerable spots.
Heavy waterlogging on Mehrauli-Badarpur Road left commuters stranded, with no police presence to guide them, said a commuter. Delhi Traffic Police issued alerts as key routes to Ghaziabad and Noida were also hit by Kanwar rush.