A stretch of just 2km can take more than 15 minutes even in the afternoon while peak-hour delays can stretch to 30 minutes. New Delhi: Ongoing construction of Delhi Metro’s new Golden Line is turning the Chirag Dilli stretch into a daily traffic bottleneck, with narrowed carriageways forcing commuters to spend long minutes crawling towards the junction and beyond.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation ( DMRC ) is constructing an 8.3km-long Lajpat Nagar to Saket G Block corridor, passing through key stretches of south Delhi. Because of the construction, two-wheelers and some cars are also squeezing into whatever space is left along the roadside and footpath, particularly towards Saket, with less road space available.
One has to wait for at least four-five cycles to cross,” said Niren Soni, a Panchsheel Park resident. The most affected are the ones who stay in the nearby localities,” said Karan Aggarwal, a resident of East of Kailash. The crawl starts well before Chirag Dilli. Approaching the junction from Josip Broz Tito Marg, traffic slows, lanes narrow and vehicles inch forward before stopping again at the next signal. The disruption is now spilling beyond the junction and into nearby roads, with residents reporting pile-ups, longer signal waits and school buses caught in the congestion. “Metro work has left only one lane drivable from Krishi Vihar up to Chirag Dilli flyover. This leads to a pile-up till Moolchand and the traffic signal duration is too short. “The school buses are stuck and all. The children bear the brunt. There is no other alternative. And clearing Chirag Dilli does not necessarily mean clearing the traffic. Congestion continues for a few kilometres beyond the junction, while two-wheelers often take to the edges of the road and footpath to get ahead. Further along, work on Mehrauli-Badarpur Road is adding to the pressure. MB Road, one of south Delhi’s key north-south arteries, carries traffic from Saket and Mehrauli through Khanpur, Sangam Vihar, Tughlakabad, Pul Prahladpur and Badarpur before connecting to Mathura Road towards Faridabad.
Measures are actively being taken to facilitate smoother vehicle movement on the roads approaching Chirag Dilli intersection and an additional lane is being developed along the stretch, according to DMRC. However, the presence of several trees and two FOBs are obstructing the road-widening work, it said.
It takes nearly 15 minutes to travel a stretch that should usually take 4-5 minutes. Anuj Dayal, principal executive director, DMRC, said while one lane is currently partially occupied due to ongoing DMRC works, an additional lane is being developed along the Chirag Dilli stretch to restore traffic capacity and ease the bottleneck. However, at the two FOBs, whose landing points are on the footpath, we are unable to do so due to design and space constraints,” said Dayal. He added that necessary permission for the transplantation of the affected trees is being sought from the forest department so that the widening works can be fully executed and the congestion resolved.
You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Delhi | Silver Rate in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi | Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Petrol Price in Delhi | Diesel Price in Delhi | CNG Price in Delhi | LPG Price in Delhi Stay updated with the latest Delhi news.
“Due to the ongoing metro work, internal lanes of Pramod Mahajan Marg and J Block, Saket, are jammed too,” said Rakesh Dabas, a resident. Manoj, a J Block Saket RWA resident and secretary of Federation of RWAs Saket, said traffic violations compound the problem. Till the work continues, and with the festive season coming, it can really become a mess,” he said. Sources in traffic police said the ongoing metro construction means little can be done to restore the original road width for now. However, they said traffic personnel are deployed additionally wherever required, particularly during peak hours, to manage the movement and ease bottlenecks. Dayal also said DMRC is maintaining a close watch on congestion and traffic movement in Saket. However, this specific issue is beyond DMRC’s purview,” he said.
The impact can also be seen on internal roads. “People also drive on the wrong side of the road. “However, the primary hindrance to completing the road-widening works is the presence of several trees and two FOBs. We are widening the road by creating additional space alongside. “Road maintenance activities have been taken up across MB Road and traffic marshals have been deputed at all vulnerable locations. Regarding wrong-side movement of vehicles also, we communicate regularly with traffic police. Download the TOI App.