New Delhi: Markets overflowed, streets were full of shoppers, and commuters were stuck in traffic for hours. From Lajpat Nagar to Chandni Chowk, a half an hour ride took an hour or more as the city stepped out for Diwali shopping. Among the markets that saw the heaviest traffic were Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazaar, Karol Bagh, Lajpat Nagar, Kamla Nagar, Rajouri Garden and Connaught Place, and areas near malls such as Select City Walk. The ripple effect is being felt on arterial stretches too, like the stretch from Ring Road and Outer Ring Road to Netaji Subhash Marg, Inner and Outer Circle in Connaught Place, Mehrauli–Badarpur Road, near India Gate, Mathura Road, and the Ashram–IIT Delhi corridor. Illegally parked cars, market spillovers, and encroachments on busy lanes have turned main roads into mazes. Kiran Kaur, a resident of Sainik Farms, said her evening commute was nothing short of an endurance test. “What should’ve been a one-hour drive has turned into a two-hour crawl,” she said about her trip from Gurdwara Bangla Sahib to Sainik Farms. “I left at 7pm and reached home at 9, well past the evening rush hour, yet the traffic barely moved.” “Cars were parked everywhere, even along the main roads in Lutyens’ Delhi,” she said. Even in Lutyens’ Delhi, traffic snarls left many commuters exasperated. Several residents shared their frustration on social media. “Complete traffic jam on Tughlak Road and Safdarjung Road,” one Delhiite wrote. “So much traffic to reach Kashmere Gate bus stop. Stuck for two hours. What if someone misses a bus or train? Who’s responsible?” another person asked.Traffic police acknowledged that vehicle volume on several stretches had doubled compared to other days. “We have cops deployed at key junctions, and towing vans are working to remove illegally parked vehicles,” said an officer. “But there’s also a need for more traffic sense among people.”
