Traffic across Delhi came to a standstill for another day on Wednesday as a slew of road closures were enforced across the city when 22 heads of state arrived – not just at Bharat Mandapam for the AI Summit, but also at sight-seeing locations across south and central Delhi – leaving the general public stranded on the roads for hours on end.
Traffic officials said the situation was anticipated. “The situation was comparatively better on Monday and Tuesday because only five heads of state had arrived, but with the remaining 17 arriving on Wednesday, we had a far more complicated task at hand,” a senior traffic officer said on condition of anonymity.
The officer added that as of 6pm, they had to carve out at least 50 routes for VIP movements, leading to road closures for security – some extending beyond an hour – and widespread chaos.
“The 17 arrived at different times in the morning and afternoon, so they were all escorted from the airport to their hotels,” the officer said, adding that schedules shared Tuesday night included visits to AIIMS, Humanyun’s Tomb, India Gate and even an Aadhaar office in New Delhi.
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Among the VIPs movements was French President Emmanuel Macron and Union minister JP Nadda arriving at AIIMS to inaugurate the Indo-French Campus on AI in Global Health.
Commuters HT spoke to said this was the “worst” day for traffic management in the city.
Due to excessive VIP movements across central and south Delhi, commuters were stuck in congestion that lasted up to two hours; some even complained of not making it to the airport on time and feared missing flights.
Filmmaker Vinod Kapri told HT he left his Noida residence at 2pm to board a 5pm flight and reached minutes before takeoff.
“It’s bizarre how normal people have to suffer because of such events. I left well in advance and reached the AIIMS flyover in 35 minutes but got stuck thereafter and crossed five kilometres in over two hours. I was only able to board my flight because it was delayed,” Kapri said.
Ravi Singh, a 35-year-old east Delhi resident with a train to Patna, said he was stuck near ITO for an hour and feared missing it. “I called railway customer care and requested them to delay the train by 15 minutes but I don’t know if they will,” he said. HT could not reach him later to ascertain if he did.
Kapil Kathuria, a Rajouri Garden resident travelling to Gurugram for work, said Google Maps showed two hours to reach his office near Ambience Mall – he reached three hours later. “The actual travel time is less than an hour. It’s not fair to the general public,” he said.
On Wednesday, the impacted routes included C-Hexagon, Oberoi Flyover, Mathura Road, Lodhi Road flyover, Raisina Road, Connaught Place, Minto Road, Paharganj, Sardar Patel Marg, AIIMS flyover, Rao Tularam Marg, and Nizamuddin, with cascading impact across the city.
The Supreme Court Metro station was also shut for around 12 minutes. The Delhi metro posted on X at 3:02 pm that the station was shut down until further notice and posted again at 3:14 again that the station has reopened. “The station was briefly shut down on the basis of advice from security agencies,” a metro official said.
Heavy congestion should be expected on Thursday as well, they said, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to inaugurate the summit in the presence of various dignitaries.
Meanwhile, late on Wednesday, participants coming out of Bharat Mandapam reported that there were no cabs, buses or shuttle services available.
People alleged that they had to walk “several kilometres” to reach active roads due to the expansive closure of roads around the venue. Videos on social media showed dozens of people walking. “Just managed to get a cab after walking from Bharat Mandapam to Lodhi Garden. A total 2.5km walk. All because of VIP movement,” Stuti Misra posted on X.
A police officer aware of the developments at Bharat Mandapam said that Mathura Road was shut for about 40mins when the heads of states left the venue. “No vehicles were allowed for about 40 mins when they left the venue. The roads were opened around 10pm thereafter. But if a significant road in Lutyens Delhi is shut for 40 minutes, the impact is likely to cause chaos” he said.