The most affected areas were Ghazipur and Akshardham on the other side of Yamuna, and the ITO junction and Minto road at the heart of the national Capital. The traffic jam lasted till late evening at all approach roads towards ITO.
Additional traffic police had to be stationed immediately to bring the situation under control.
More than 1,500 people from various parts of Uttar Pradesh assembled at Ghazipur border in east Delhi and proceeded towards Jantar Mantar, leading to kilometres-long traffic tails till as long as NH 24 in Meerut.
The rally then reached Akshardham bridge and turned right towards Indraprastha estate Road. Later they reached ITO and then took the Minto Road to reach protest venue at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
The supporters came in over dozens of buses, SUVs and hatchback cars. “Not only did they move at a snail’s pace, they even stopped at some important junctions raising slogans. It created a bumper-to-bumper traffic,” a commuter exasperated. He further said the situation worsened when the rally reached the ITO junction in the afternoon hours. “ITO turned into a chock-a-block zone and remained so for more than an hour. The effects were witnessed on Indraprastha Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Deen Dayal Upadhaya Marg, Sikandra Road, Mathura Road near Pragati Maidan and Tilak Marg,” said a traffic official stationed at ITO.
When the rally turned towards Mandi House, the traffic ripples were felt around India Gate at the heart of the city. The traffic continued even after the protest demonstration was over.
The protest, which started with the rally, was staged against the Narendra Modi-led central government on various issues. It was held by the regrouped Janata Parivar, consisting of six political parties of the erstwhile Janata Parivar.