Central Secretariat, Khan Market, 3 other metro stations closed for over an hour to ease rush of passengers

Entry and exit gates at five Delhi Metro stations were closed for over an hour on Wednesday evening to ease rush of passengers on New Year's Day.

The DMRC also tweeted to alert commuters, even as streets outside these stations remained crowded.

"As advised by police authorities, entry and exit at five stations -- Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhawan, Mandi House, Pragati Maidan and Khan Market -- have been closed temporarily from 6:05 pm onwards till further instructions. This is necessitated in view of crowd management which is witnessed around these areas," a senior DMRC official said after the gates were closed.

Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhawan, Mandi House and Khan Market stations in Lutyens' Delhi and Pragati Maidan station near Delhi Zoo get huge crowd on festive occasions.

"Interchange is available at Central Secretariat and Mandi House," Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) tweeted.

Over an hour later, the entry and exit gates at all the five stations were opened.

"Normal services have resumed at these stations," the official said.

Anticipating a huge crowd on the New Year's eve, the Delhi Metro on Tuesday had restricted exit from the busy Rajiv Chowk metro station after 9 pm.