Heavy traffic returned to haunt the city on the first weekday post the fortnight-long odd-even vehicular restrictions, which had reduced congestion considerably, as severe snarls were witnessed today at major arterial roads across the national capital.
During the peak hours in the morning, bumper-to-bumper traffic was seen in New Delhi region, especially around the India Gate C-Hexagon, and South Delhi areas which include Chirag Delhi, Vasant Kunj, Chhatarpur, Greater Kailash and the BRT corridor, said a traffic official.
Major roads in North, West and East Delhi were also chock-a-block giving a harrowing time to commuters, as both odd and even numbered private cars returned to the streets.
Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Muktesh Chander said, "Heavy traffic in New Delhi region was caused by the blocking of a particular stretch on Rajpath for full-dress rehearsal for upcoming Republic Day celebrations."
"In other cases, adequate personnel were deployed to ensure smooth traffic flow as and when we received information about severe congestion," he added.
Traffic snarls considerably slowed down vehicular movement
in Dhaula Huan, S P Marg, Dwarka, South Extension, Laxmi Nagar and roads around the Akshardham temple.
In the wake of the road-rationing measures from January 1 - 15, when private cars bearing odd and even numbered registration plates plied on alternate days, the national capital saw drastic cuts in traffic volume.
The city government projected this to be the biggest outcome of the vehicular restrictions which they termed a massive success and had also claimed that pollution levels had come down by around 25 per cent.
Today's air quality oscillated between 'moderate' to 'very poor' with the average quantity of fine respirable pollutants PM 2.5 and PM 10 recorded at 152 and 238 micrograms per cubic metre respectively.
By the time the situation in New Delhi and South Delhi eased, traffic was thrown out of gear at other areas which include the Dwarka underpass, Khanpur, Panchsheel, Mehrauli-Badarpur road, Sangam Vihar and NH-8, the traffic official said.
Among other areas which saw severe congestion are
Britannia Chowk in North-West Delhi, Uttam Nagar in West Delhi and South Delhi areas like Dhaula Kuan and the stretch till R K Puram.
A senior IMD official said that "westerly" winds blew during the day. "When easterly winds blow, pollution level goes up as they are usually loaded with pollutants."
"PM 10 level will be in the very poor category while PM 2.5 will continue to be in the very poor category. Smog may come up due to fall in temperature and subsequent formation of fog due to moisture in the air," the official said.
Real time PM 2.5 readings of Delhi Pollution Control Committee's Punjabi Bagh and Mandir Marg stations were 238 and 187 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3) at around 5 PM.
Anand Vihar, as usual, was highly polluted with PM 2.5 recorded at 192 (ug/m3) and PM 10 at 429. The corresponding safe limits are 60 and 100 respectively.
On January 16, the first day after the odd-even scheme ended, severe traffic congestion was witnessed at central Delhi's Patel Nagar and Shadipur, and south Delhi areas like Dhaula Kuan, the stretch near IIT-Delhi and the entire route from Badarpur border to Ashram Chowk.
According to official data, as many as 10,021 people were challaned for violating the scheme, which stayed in force from 8 AM to 8 PM on weekdays during the first fortnight of the year.
SDMs challaned as many as 5,582 motorists, while around 2,870 people were fined by the Delhi Traffic police for violating the scheme. The government had stipulated Rs 2,000 penalty under relevant sections of Motor Vehicle Act for each violation.
