Massive traffic jams have been observed in and around central Delhi on New Year's day
The heart of Delhi has become an impenetrable maze of traffic as more than 2.5 lakh revellers descended en mass on India Gate, the war memorial that's part of the ceremonial axis that stretches from Raisina Hill, on the first evening of the New Year. The police said the figure was seven times of what was expected.
As traffic started slowing down since afternoon, the Traffic police was panned on Twitter for mismanagement.
People flooded social media with photos and comments, questioning how the police could have given permission for celebrations on a week day.
The Delhi Police responded:
The police had said earlier issued an advisory, saying traffic will remain very heavy near India Gate due to gathering of more than 1 lakh pedestrians and heavy volume of motorists.
But residents were not pleased.
By evening, even adjoining areas like Barapullah, ITO and Delhi-Noida-Delhi flyway witnessed massive jams. An ambulance was seen stuck in traffic jam near Delhi's Mandi House circle.
The huge pile-up of vehicles worsened the air quality. Pollution tracking centres in the jam-hit areas showed a further rise in pollutants in the evening.The levels of lethal particulate matter in the national capital have been hovering around the danger mark since morning.