Traffic Jams Hit Central Delhi During Independence Day Full-Dress Rehearsal
Commuters across central Delhi, particularly around Red Fort, Shanti Van Chowk, and Rajghat, encountered heavy traffic jams on Thursday morning as restrictions and road diversions imposed for the Independence Day full-dress rehearsal coincided with peak-hour travel.
Key arterial roads and highways experienced severe congestion. The Delhi-Dehradun highway saw a significant buildup of vehicles following a restriction on heavy vehicle movement enforced between 10 p.m. on Wednesday and 11 a.m. on Thursday. Traffic continued to move slowly even after the restrictions were lifted as the accumulated backlog cleared.
Major bottlenecks emerged around central Delhi, affecting commuters traveling toward railway stations, schools, and offices. Traffic police reported that a primary pressure point was the stretch around Shanti Van Chowk and Rajghat, where motorists traveling from Salimgarh Bypass towards ITO entered restricted routes despite advance advisories.
Another major chokepoint formed beneath the IP Flyover and around the Hanuman Mandir stretch. While vehicles were being diverted toward Mori Gate, some motorists attempted to use Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Marg to reach Old Delhi Railway Station, causing further delays.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Central Range, Nishant Gupta, said that commuters did not follow the announced diversions and became stuck on restricted routes, prompting deployed traffic personnel to manually guide them onto alternative routes.
The traffic curbs were part of extensive preparations for the 80th Independence Day celebrations. The full-dress rehearsal at Red Fort included student assemblies and helicopters showering tricolours to test security, traffic management, and personnel movement ahead of the main ceremony on August 15.
Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Devesh Chandra Srivastava stated that the entire police force remains on high alert, adding that areas for improvement identified during Thursday's rehearsal would be used to further strengthen security arrangements.
