Kalindi Kunj sees heavy snarls as kanwar yatra curbs kick in
Tailbacks stretched all the way to Shaheen Bagh during peak rush hour, with many officegoers reporting delays of over 30 minutes.
Rajeev Sharma, a private firm employee who commutes from Sarita Vihar to Noida Sector 63, said the journey took him double the usual time.
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"I was stuck near Kalindi Kunj for 30 minutes. Closing lanes during peak hours without proper diversion plans is just poor planning," he said.
Another commuter, Nitin Kumar, said the authorities must find a balance.
"Religious processions are important, but what about the needs of daily commuters? For a week, we'll all suffer," he said.
Delhi traffic police officials said the restrictions, which will remain in place till Mahashivratri on July 23, are aimed at ensuring safe passage of pilgrims headed towards Delhi, Gurgaon and Faridabad. Pilgrims returning from Haridwar typically travel from Mayur Vihar to Kalindi Kunj via Shani Temple and the bird sanctuary.
"We have deployed additional personnel to regulate traffic movement. Commuters are advised to use the DND Flyway or the metro instead for commuting during the period to avoid snarls," a traffic officer in Noida told TOI.
Kalindi Kunj is one of the busiest routes linking southeast Delhi and Noida. With two lanes towards Noida barricaded, traffic has been squeezed onto the remaining two lanes in the opposite direction, leading to bottlenecks at the Kalindi Kunj intersection and Okhla Bird Sanctuary stretch.
DCP (traffic), Noida, Lakhan Singh Yadav said that traffic police personnel have been stationed at all key junctions along the kanwar route. "The number of pilgrims using this stretch is expected to rise from Wednesday. Nearly 1,000 kanwar pilgrims pass through Okhla Bird Sanctuary daily," the DCP said.
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