Clear roads for G-20 delegates, traffic blues for Delhiites?

With less than a month left for the G-20 summit, the Capital is being spruced up to welcome foreign delegates for the two-day event. However, residents of Delhi will have to brace themselves for traffic disruptions as Delhi Police is making arrangements to provide smooth passage for the dignitaries. No official advisory has yet been issued on whether offices and schools will remain closed for the summit on September 9 and 10.

VVIP movement is expected from Delhi airport via Dhaula Kuan and Sardar Patel Marg towards hotels in Lutyens’ Delhi, and later from hotels to the meeting’s venue, Bharat Mandapam at Pragati Maidan. The police plan to manage traffic on these routes by deploying additional personnel.

“We are working on creating an efficient traffic network so Delhiites don’t have to face inconvenience. We will try to reduce regular traffic movement at all points on the VVIP stretch,” a police officer said. He added that the routes the VVIPs will take have been mapped and traffic surveillance will help in monitoring their movement.

Bottlenecks are expected at Niti Marg, Kautilya Marg, Sardar Patel Marg, Janpath, Akbar Road, Ashoka Road, and areas in the vicinity of the airport and New Delhi district, a traffic police officer said.

Contingency plan

According to DCP (PRO) Suman Nalwa, multiple agencies are working with the police and a contingency plan is in place for each event during the summit. She added that duty points have been marked for each police officer.

Apart from ensuring smooth flow of traffic, agencies are making plans to deal with unseasonal rainfall as the recently inaugurated Pragati Maidan Tunnel, which will be used by the delegates, is prone to flooding.

Public Works Department (PWD) officials said increasing the number of CCTV cameras for better monitoring and checking the functioning of pumps used to drain water are among the measures being taken as part of its rain contingency plan for the G-20 summit. During the recent rains, several areas near the meeting’s venue, such as Bhairon Marg, Rajghat and ITO, were inundated.

“We have increased the number of CCTV cameras installed on various roads for round-the-clock monitoring. Apart from this, the underground pumps that were submerged during the floods have been reinstalled at a height,” a PWD official said.