Obama cavalcade throws traffic in city out of gear
Traffic was thrown out of gear as the cavalcade of US President Barack Obama with an unprecedented security cover made its way to different places in the heart of the city on Monday.
Both the carriageways of all the roads near Hotel ITC Maurya, where President Obama is staying along with his wife Michelle, and arterial roads around the hotel were blocked on Monday morning when Mr Obama left to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. Traffic was restricted between 9 am and 12 noon on the roads leading to the memorial as Mr Obama’s convoy of around 40 cars was escorted by at least 20 vehicles of the Delhi police’s security wing.
As Mr Obama moved to Lutyens Delhi in the afternoon, restrictions on the movement of general traffic were applied on different stretches around Rashtrapati Bhavan and Hyderabad House with some of the roads completely closed for general traffic when the US president’s cavalcade moved on it.
“Major traffic snarls were reported from different areas around ITO, one of the busiest stretches in the city, and areas around Rashtrapati Bhavan, India Gate, Mathura Road, inner Ring Road and different arteries in Lutyens Delhi. The traffic was diverted on the roads around these places to allow smooth movement of Mr Obama,” a senior Delhi traffic official said.
However, to avoid getting stuck in the traffic snarls, many people preferred taking Delhi Metro to reach their destinations. The Metro witnessed a huge rush of commuters on Monday with reports suggesting that the platforms at various Metro station in New Delhi and adjoining districts were hugely overcrowded. No special arrangements were however made by DMRC.
The situation during the rush hour at ITO on Monday morning was pretty worse with traffic being blocked when the convoy of US President Barack Obama passed through on its way to Rajghat, the first stop of the US President on Monday. The huge volume of vehicles caused ripple effects as a result of which it took quite some time for the movement to smoothen up even after the blockade was lifted.
At the India Gate stretch too, the traffic was blocked from Shahjahan Road to Ashok Road as Mr Obama’s convoy reached Hyderabad House. Also when US First Lady Michelle Obama went visiting the National Crafts Museum near Pragati Maidan, the traffic was affected badly on Mathura Road and Ring Road. With Mr Obama reaching ITC Maurya, where he is staying, after addressing the press at Hyderabad House, a large number of arterial roads in Lutyens Delhi got affected as some of the major roads were closed for traffic and the volume of vehicles spilled over to other roads.
Post new comment