Protest against TV channel brings Delhi-Noida traffic to halt

The arterial road connecting the national capital to the satellite town of Noida was completely choked Friday, bringing traffic to a halt and causing commuters to undertake long detours.

Delhi Traffic Police said the detours were caused as people protested against some television channels with offices in Noida. The protestors were expressing their ire over broadcasts of some Hindi news channels, claiming that what was broadcast as news was untrue.

"It was terrible to sit in the car for almost three hours. I had to cancel a meeting. The protest was against some television news channels and the demonstrators were even distributing pamphlets about the issue," Dalvinder Kaur, a public relations professional, told IANS.

More than 1,000 demonstrators gathered on the roads, bringing Delhi-Noida traffic to a virtual standstill.

"The Mayur Vihar Extension flyover is closed to traffic, and police have simply turned the traffic any way they please, without any clue. I spent over an hour and 20 minutes on the road," Raghav Mantri, an IT professional travelling to Noida, told IANS.