Obstacle Course In National Chaos Region

Barricades & Blockades: Delhi-Meerut E-Way Latest To Be Hit; Ggn May Be Next

Diversions, barricades and blockades have thrown traffic between Delhi and the NCR cities, particularly Sonipat, Noida and Ghaziabad, out of gear. Building up over the past week at various border points, disruptions due to the farmer agitation hit traffic for the first time on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway on Thursday when protesters at UP Gate blocked the Ghaziabad-Delhi lanes, forcing police to divert traffic. It led to daylong traffic snarls.

Later in the evening, one lane was reopened briefly and then closed again. The NoidaDelhi route via Chilla also remains off bounds, increasing journey time for daily commuters between the two cities not just via the Mayur Vihar route but also DND because of additional traffic pressure at the Flyway.

In the capital, most traffic disruptions are in east and outer Delhi, where the main protest points – Singhu, Tikri, Gazipur and Chilla – are located. On Thursday, Delhi Traffic Police took to Twitter and posted the names of roads that are shut and routes that can be taken. In Gurgaon, whose borders with Delhi have not seen any gathering of protesters so far, police are planning to set up diversions for Delhi-bound vehicles at eight places as farmers try to reach the capital and khaps in south Haryana plan to join them.

Commuters TOI spoke to said they had been regularly getting late for work and spending long hours on the road. The blockades have forced many to return home. Pradeep Kumar, who lives in Ghaziabad’s Vijay Nagar, said on Thursday he decided to head back home after spending an hour on the road. “It was of no use trying to take a longer route to reach my office at Ashram. Half of the day would have been wasted,” he said.