Delhi gripped by severe traffic congestion ahead of Raksha Bandhan festival

Delhi's transportation network struggled under heavy demand on Friday as residents travelled ahead of the Raksha Bandhan festival weekend, creating widespread traffic disruptions across multiple key stretches. The Delhi-Meerut Expressway experienced the most severe congestion, with extended queues of vehicles crawling along the corridor. Traffic management personnel were deployed to oversee vehicular movement and attempt to ease the bottleneck, though congestion persisted for several hours through the day.

Congestion was equally acute on other major routes. The MB Road corridor near Chhatarpur witnessed lengthy queues of vehicles backed up over considerable distances, while the Lado Sarai Old MB Road traffic signal became another frequent congestion point. Commuters using these stretches raised concerns about traffic discipline, with reports of buses allegedly violating traffic signals and obstructing pedestrians at designated zebra crossings.

Kalindi Kunj emerged as another significant traffic hotspot, with particularly severe congestion reported on the stretch towards central Delhi. The intensity of congestion prompted commuters to describe the conditions as unusually severe, even compared to the area's typically chronic traffic problems. Delhi's metro rail system, meanwhile, recorded heavy passenger loads as commuters sought alternatives to road travel during the peak festival period.