Jam at night…
– Photo: Amar Ujala
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Those who welcomed the new year with celebration in Connaught Place were in for a disappointment. On the one hand, on the eve of New Year, Connaught Place was illuminated with colorful lights, there was a lot of excitement to welcome the new year, but the roads leading to Connaught Place were closed before time. The drivers reaching here from here had to face a lot of difficulties. Traffic was diverted to other routes by personnel posted at police pickets, adding to the pressure on alternate routes and leading to heavy jams. People were stuck in the jam for an hour or so.
People coming here alleged that the police did not allow people coming on foot to Connaught Place during the night to cross the picket. Those who wanted to roam around Connaught Place on New Year were not allowed to enter. They were being asked for passes issued by pub-bar, hotel and restaurant operators. Those who did not have papers, the police were advising them to go home. The streets of Connaught Place wore a deserted look even before the celebrations began.
The Delhi Traffic Police had issued a traffic advisory on New Year’s Eve. According to the traffic police, all roads leading to Connaught Place were to be closed at 8 pm on December 31. These routes were Ranjit Singh Fly Over, Mandi House, Bengali Market, Minto Road, Chelmsford Road, Aake Ashram, Patel Chowk, Gol Dakkhana, Jai Singh Road-Bangla Sahib Lane, Windsor Place etc. Here on Saturday, the traffic and the local police blocked the road ahead of time by putting up pickets.
Police barricaded all these small and big routes to come to Connaught Place and closed it at 7 pm itself, due to which people had to face a lot of problems. Due to the closure of these routes, the motorists went to the alternate route but due to the large number of vehicles, there was a long jam. Vehicles were seen crawling, especially at the roundabouts around Connaught Place. The traffic policemen had to struggle a lot to keep the traffic system on these roads smooth. During this, many people were seen wandering here and there with their families.
India Gate could not be seen
On the last day of the year, many people went out to visit India Gate with family and friends, but they could not even see India Gate. Actually those who were present at India Gate were also removed from India Gate at around 5.30 pm. No one was being allowed to enter India Gate after all the lawns around India Gate were cleared. Here too there were tight security arrangements like Connaught Place.
However, the police officials said about the removal of people from India Gate that a heavy crane is working near India Gate. There should be no accident of any kind, so as a precautionary measure, keeping in view the safety of the people, they were removed from India Gate.
