Politics1 min read

Delhi's anti-pollution curbs: Monster jam at Sirhaul border; commuters stuck for hrs

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The extensive vehicle-checking drive on Sunday brought traffic on the Delhi-bound carriageway to a near standstill, while Gurgaon-bound lanes remained relatively unaffected. The congestion was compounded by rally traffic heading toward Ramlila Maidan alongside scheduled power line repairs on NH-48 near Khandasa village. ACP Satyapal Yadav confirmed that the barricades were established to enforce incoming environmental regulations, even though drivers had been alerted beforehand.

Key points

  • Heightened border enforcement ahead of Delhi's November 1 environmental restrictions seve…: Heightened border enforcement ahead of Delhi's November 1 environmental restrictions severely disrupted interstate travel.
  • Multiple transit factors, including political rally convoys and scheduled electrical tran…: Multiple transit factors, including political rally convoys and scheduled electrical transmission repairs, compounded the expressway delays.
  • Traffic headed in the opposite direction toward Gurgaon remained comparatively smooth des…: Traffic headed in the opposite direction toward Gurgaon remained comparatively smooth despite the Delhi-bound paralysis.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

GURGAON: Sunday turned into a nightmare for thousands of commuters travelling from Gurgaon to Delhi as a massive traffic jam at the Sirhaul border brought the Delhi-bound carriageway of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway to a virtual standstill.

Vehicles remained stuck for hours, with long queues stretching from IFFCO Chowk to the border and motorists struggling to cover even a few hundred metres.

The unprecedented congestion saw buses packed with passengers, cars, two-wheelers and commercial vehicles caught in a massive gridlock. Several buses carrying women passengers remained stranded for hours, while even bikers found little room to manoeuvre through the bumper-to-bumper traffic.

The chaos unfolded amid heightened police deployment and vehicle-checking arrangements at the Delhi border ahead of the implementation of the national capital's new vehicle restrictions from November 1 to curb air pollution.

Multiple barricades were installed on the Gurgaon side, with police teams checking vehicle documents, registration details and emission compliance before allowing vehicles to proceed.

The situation also coincided with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'Chalo Delhi' rally at Ramlila Maidan, where the INDIA bloc was demanding the removal of…

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