Delhiites grapple with traffic jams, crowded buses

NEW DELHI - Key roads in the national capital saw long traffic snarls and overcrowding of buses Monday as authorities enforced dedicated lanes for Commonwealth Games-related vehicles and forced over 1,500 Blueline public transport buses off the roads.

“I am stuck in traffic for the last one hour. I am late for office and my children are late for schools too as I had to drop them since their bus did not come,” said Sujata Jain, who was caught in traffic on the Ring Road.

Traffic snarls were also reported in places like Sarai Kale khan, the DND flyover from Noida, Mathura Road and Ashram intersection, the Delhi Traffic Police said.

Over 1,500 Blueline buses plying on 132 routes were pushed off roads from Sunday till oct 16 to ease traffic congestion on Delhi roads. The routes taken off pass through central Delhi and near the Games venues.

This withdrawal of Blueline buses caused a shortage of buses in the public transport system, and daily commuters were in a fix as Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses were jam-packed. To addto the commuters’s woes, the frequency of the DTC buses was also low.

“I am waiting at the bus stop for the last one hour…the traffic is crawling, the bus frequency has gone down, there are no Bluelines. Reaching the Metro station looks difficult with autorickshaws charging more and the the traffic jams,” said Aafreen Shah in Preet Vihar in east Delhi.

Though schools in the city will be closed from Oct 1 till the Games end Oct 14, steudents and commuters will find it tough dealing with traffic jams and fewer public transport buses until then.

“Even after leaving home an hour earlier than usual for school, I still reached late. Most of my friends were stuck in traffic…and even some of the teachers were late,” said Siddharth Mishra, a school student.

The exclusive CWG lanes were operational from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday onwards on certain stretches of Delhi roads ahead of the Oct 3-14 Games.

“These exclusive lanes will be from the Games Village, NH 24, Ring Road up to the Barapullah flyover, 4th Avenue, Lodhi Road, Safdarjung Road, Kamal Ataturk Marg and Panchsheel Marg,” said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of traffic police.

“These Games lanes will be maintained up to Oct 16,” he added.