Diwali and Dhanteras shopping rush brought traffic across several parts of Delhi-NCR to a crawl on Friday, with bumper-to-bumper movement, long queues and commuters inching through kilometres of congested roads. From major flyovers and arterial roads to busy intersections and commercial hubs, commuters reported traffic congestion across the city.
The city's markets and commercial hubs were particularly choked. The rush for festive purchases gradually picked up through the day; roads leading to shopping centres, jewellery stores and busy markets witnessed heavy congestion. Traffic was so dense that vehicles remained stuck for extended periods.
The journeys which would ordinarily take a few minutes were stretching into hours, with vehicles barely moving amid the rush. Several commuters took to X to flag long delays, chaotic road conditions and not enough traffic management.
Visuals from several parts of Delhi, Noida and Gurugram showed heavy traffic congestion during the evening. Traffic snarls were witnessed near Khichripur, ITO, Saket and Ghazipur Highway, while the stretch from Laxmi Nagar towards Yamuna Flyover also saw slow-moving traffic as people headed out for Dhanteras shopping.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
GRAP-III Invoked, SC Terms Vehicular Emissions Major Contributor To Air Pollution
Earlier today, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR as the city's air quality deteriorated further. A thick layer of smog hung over the national capital on Friday as the air quality deteriorated sharply and edged closer to the 'severe' category, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 391.
The Supreme Court expressed serious concern over the recurring air pollution crisis in Delhi-NCR, and termed vehicular emissions a major contributor to the deteriorating air quality. "Look at the roads in Delhi. Look at the roads connecting Delhi with the NCR region, the Ghaziabad side, Greater Noida side, Gurgaon side and Faridabad side. Take a look at any road and the kind of vehicles moving on them. That is the major problem," the bench said. "Despite all these measures, why is pollution recurring? Is it only because of the movement of vehicles, irrespective of the quality of fuel being used, whether petrol or diesel," the CJI asked.
No comments:
Post a Comment