Delhi’s roads are almost at a standstill as the festive rush pushes traffic into hours-long traffic jams. Google Maps reportedly showed “red mode” across much of the city and surrounding areas, leaving commuters frustrated. Delhi is no stranger to heavy traffic, but during Diwali, traffic jams spread not only across the city but also to nearby cities like Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurugram and Faridabad.
Key sections remain bumper to bumper
Major roads continued to be heavily congested on Thursday, including Outer Ring Road, South Delhi Ring Road, Mathura Road between Pragati Maidan and Badarpur border, Aurobindo Marg, Barapullah Elevated Road, DND Flyway and Delhi-Meerut Expressway leading to Ghaziabad. The scenes reflected the chaos of the previous day.
Commuters are venting their frustration on social media
Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has been flooded with posts from frustrated commuters. One user wrote: “I have never seen traffic like this in Delhi! I was stuck in the same place for more than 2 hours and nothing is moving. I called 112 3-4 times but the call kept dropping and no one picked up. What a mess! As the festival season is upon us, this is poor planning by the authorities.”
Others turned to humor and shared memes such as “People in traffic jam during Delhi festivals”. Some users questioned the procedure of the authorities in this situation:
“How can there be traffic jams in all parts of Delhi during Diwali. It seems to be a conspiracy to disturb the people of Delhi/NCR. What is the police and traffic police doing about it? Absolutely senseless situation.”
Police are deploying personnel to control traffic
Delhi Police said maximum deployment was made across the city to handle the surge. Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ajay Chaudhary told PTI, “Personnel on motorcycles have been deployed and exits have been cancelled. We are fully prepared to handle the rush and ensure smoother movement in the coming days.”
