VIP movement gridlocks DND Flyway, Chilla border in Noida

NOIDA: Traffic flow was disrupted on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, DND Flyway, and Chilla border on Wednesday for over an hour owing to VIP movement to the international trade show at India Expo Mart in Greater Noida, senior traffic police officers said.

- HT Correspondent

The snarls began around 10:45 a.m. and lasted until after noon, as traffic police halted movement at Chilla Border to allow the convoy of Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari to pass through.

The minister was scheduled to inaugurate the four-day trade show, said traffic police. Later, traffic was again halted at the DND Flyway border for Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to pass through. Around 2:15 p.m., traffic flow was again affected as these VIPs made their return journeys to Delhi via DND Flyway.

The frequent snarls and blockades left commuters frustrated, who took to social media platform X to vent their ire. One user tagged the Noida traffic police, and said, "There is massive traffic congestion at DND and the road from Chilla to Mahamaya Flyover. Vehicles are crawling, and we cannot do anything except wait."

Traffic police tried to play it cool on Wednesday and said they issued a public advisory on Tuesday alerting residents and commuters about the blockades to facilitate VIP movement.

"We issued a traffic advisory about the VIP movement. For the safe passage of the Union Minister and J&K Lieutenant Governor, traffic was halted for 15 to 20 minutes at DND Flyway, Chilla border and roads leading to the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway. We also made diversions and alerted commuters about the same. Additional forces were deployed to manage congestion in the city," Lakhan Singh Yadav, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic.

But commuters were not mollified.