R-Day full dress rehearsal causes traffic jams in Delhi

The Republic Day parade's full dress rehearsal led to severe traffic snarls on the city's major arterial roads Friday, an official said.

The rehearsal, which began at 9.50 a.m. from Vijay Chowk, passed through Rajpath, India Gate, Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Netaji Subhash Marg, before concluding at the Red Fort at 12.30 p.m.

Roads like Rafi Marg, Man Singh Road, Tughlak Road, Janpath were blocked till 2.00 p.m. due to the movement of people who had come to watch the rehearsal at Rajpath.

Police had arranged park and ride facility for them to avoid traffic hassles before and after the conclusion of the parade.

"The full dress rehearsal also led to a major traffic blockage in areas like Connaught Place, Dhaula Kuan, ITO, Tilak Marg, and also Wazirabad in north Delhi," a traffic officer said.

He added that the traffic chaos started around 1.00 p.m., soon after the rehearsal concluded.

"It took me nearly 45 minutes to reach ITO from Tilak Marg. There was a major traffic jam in the area due to the full dress rehearsal," commuter Kunal Singh said.

Through a traffic advisory issued Thursday, the Delhi Police had advised commuters to avoid the areas falling on the route of the full dress rehearsal between 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.