Severe traffic snarls gripped several parts of Delhi, with the Delhi-Gurugram border coming to a near standstill, as Section 144 was imposed near the Red Fort area of the city ahead of anti-CAA protests on Thursday, 19 December. Gurugram Traffic Police tweeted about the congestion at the NH48 Delhi border, which they said was because of barricading done by Delhi Police.
Meanwhile, all metro stations, excluding Jamia Millia Islamia and Jasola Vihar Shaheen Bagh, were reopened by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Thursday, PTI reported.
"All entry & exit gates of Chandni Chowk, Barakhamba, Mandi House, Pragati Maidan, Lal Quila, Jama Masjid, Delhi Gate, ITO, Janpath, Khan Market, Vasant Vihar and Munirka are open," the DMRC tweeted.
The busy Rajiv Chowk metro station, Vishwavidyalaya, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhawan and Lok Kalyan Marg stations were also opened for public.
Earlier, adding to the traffic congestion, entry and exit gates of as many as 19 metro stations in Delhi-NCR were shut by the police due to the anti-CAA protests.
- Jamia Millia Islamia
- Jasola Vihar Shaheen Bagh
- Munirka
- Lal Quila
- Jama Masjid
- Chandni Chowk
- Vishwavidyalaya
- Patel Chowk
- Lok Kalyan Marg
- Udyog Bhawan
- ITO
- Pragati Maidan
- Khan Market
- Central Secretariat
- Barakhamba
- Vasant Vihar
- Mandi House
- Janpath
- Rajiv Chowk
Earlier, in an advisory, Delhi Traffic Police had stated: “Road No 13A between Mathura Road and Kalindi Kunj is closed for traffic movement.”
This comes ahead of two planned protests in the national capital – one from Red Fort to Shaheed Park at around 11 am, and the other from Mandi House to Parliament Street at around 12 pm.
Delhi police had earlier stated that it refused permission to both these marches.
Over 19 IndiGo Flights Cancelled, Several Others Delayed
19 IndiGo flights were cancelled and several others were delayed as crew members were stuck in a traffic jam at NH-8 due to anti-CAA protests on Thursday, a Delhi airport official said, according to PTI.
Air India said eight flights were delayed by 20-100 minutes at the Delhi Airport, ANI reported.
Three airlines – Vistara, Air India and IndiGo – announced that their passengers, who are stuck in traffic due to anti-CAA protests at various parts of Delhi, will be adjusted in subsequent flights.
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Netizens Furious Over Traffic Conditions in Delhi
As the traffic across Delhi-NCR worsened on Thursday morning, angry netizens took to Twitter in outrage. Here’s how they reacted:
(This is a developing story)
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