Delhi’s roads have come to a near standstill as the festive rush pushes traffic into hours-long jams. Google Maps reportedly showed “red mode” across much of the city and adjoining areas, leaving commuters frustrated. Delhi is no stranger to heavy traffic, but during Diwali, congestion spreads not only across the city but also to nearby cities such as Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurugram and Faridabad.
Key stretches remain bumper-to-bumper
On Thursday, major roads continued to be heavily congested, including Outer Ring Road, Ring Road in south Delhi, Mathura Road between Pragati Maidan and Badarpur border, Aurobindo Marg, Barapullah elevated road, DND Flyway, and Delhi-Meerut Expressway leading to Ghaziabad. The scenes mirrored the previous day’s chaos.
Commuters voice frustration on social media
Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, was flooded with posts from frustrated commuters. One user wrote, “I’ve never seen traffic like this in Delhi! Been stuck in the same spot for over 2 hours nothing’s moving. Called 112 three-four times, but the call kept dropping and no one called back. What a mess! With the festival season ahead, this is pathetic planning by the authorities.”
Others turned to humour, sharing memes such as, “People in traffic jam during festivals in Delhi.” Some users questioned the authorities’ handling of the situation:
“How can there be traffic jams in all parts of Delhi during Diwali. This seems to be a conspiracy to trouble residents of Delhi/NCR. What are the police and traffic police doing about it? Utterly nonsense situation.”
Police deploy personnel to manage traffic
Delhi Police said maximum deployment has been made across the city to manage the surge. Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ajay Chaudhary told PTI, “Personnel on motorcycles have been deployed and leaves have been cancelled. We are fully prepared to manage the rush and ensure smoother movement in the coming days.”
