Delhi traffic out of gear again, festivals add to pre-G20 curbs

A religious procession around Connaught Place on Wednesday aggravated the traffic mess in and around New Delhi, adding to the stringent curbs in place ahead of the G20 Summit and leaving commuters stuck in stop-start jams, even as another lot of road closures crippled commutes for a second straight day.

Thursday is expected to be as bad, if not worse, with Janmashtami festivities and the final day of a Chehlum procession expected to compound troubles for motorists, who must also keep curbs imposed due to the Summit in mind.

Most parts of New Delhi and central Delhi have, for the past few days, been subjected to strict checks ahead of the G20 Summit, which will be held at Pragati Maidan over the weekend. Rehearsals to accommodate carcades (as the police calls them -- a portmanteau of car and cavalcade) on stretches leading to and from the venue, as well as restrictions on roads heading to and from New Delhi have made traffic unpredictable for commuters.

Restrictions effected due to a procession of Chehlum 7,000-8,000 people around Connaught Place on Wednesday between 7am and 7pm added to these curbs, and impacted commuters on Outer Circle, Tolstoy Marg, Sansad Marg, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Barakhambha Road, Rail Bhawan roundabout and India Gate, and Tughlaq Road.

Chehlum, an occasion marked by Shia Muslims, is observed 40 days after Muharram and commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, prophet Muhammad's grandson.

Further, carcade rehearsals, which the traffic police announced at 12.30am on Wednesday, caught commuters off-guard between 5.30am and 10.30am. Several roads were cut off and motorists halted for checks in various parts of the city.