Massive traffic chaos due to diversions for pipeline repairs near Ashram Chowk

TRaffic has been thrown and twisted into topsy-turvydom in parts of due east new delhi, southeastward Delhi on Tuesday – and is expected to remain severely affected this week – due to emergency repair work on a damaged Delhi Jal Board (DJB) pipeline near Ashram Chowk.While an advisory was issued by the Delhi Traffic police on Monday night, on-ground arrangements on Tuesday reflect poor coordination, and a continued lack of police presence to manage traffic.Hour-long snarls dominated a major part of the city, as commuters helplessly complained on social media – only to be met with tepid responses by the traffic police, and with little to no help to ease the multiple bottlenecks that people encountered.According to the Delhi traffic police advisory, due to the repair work, the Ring Road stretch between Maharani Bagh and Ashram will remain closed for the next three to four days.According to the advisory, traffic will remain impacted on the Ring Road stretch from Sarai Kale Khan towards Ashram Chowk; the Ring Road stretch from DND Flyway towards Ashram Chowk; and traffic merging from CV Raman Marg onto Ring Road – essentially impacting all commuters travelling towards Ashram Chowk, Faridabad, Noida, and adjoining areas. Tuesday morning and afternoon reiterated the lack of preparedness of the Delhi Traffic police to tackle peak hour and non-peak hour traffic due to civic repairs, and a general unwillingness of different departments to coordinate and assess the impact of something as simple and important as a pipeline repair.Also Read:Delhi traffic alert: Ashram Chowk-Ring Road stretch shut for 4 days, massive jams near DNDIn the advisory, the police had said that the DJB pipeline, with 1,200 mm diameter, was damaged and is now being repaired.A commuter told HT that a two-km stretch – from Eastern Avenue turning into Maharani Bagh till Mata Mandir in New Friends Colony – took over two hours to cover. “An ambulance was stuck, people got out of their cars and just decided to walk. There was barely any police presence, and even the few police personnel who were there had no idea what to do,” said a 34-year-old commuter.A senior police officer said “We have used Okhla Mandi Road and Barapullah as diversions. However, since the traffic has been affected during peak hours, we have deployed more traffic personnel around Ashram and DND to help commuters. Mathura Road is also open. For today, traffic will be cleared by 3pm to 4pm.”There was, however, little clarity as to why extra deployment wasn’t already done.