New Delhi: Traffic gave commuters a particularly rough time around ITO and central Delhi Monday, with those travelling from Noida and Ghaziabad towards the city bearing the brunt.Ishika, who travelled from Noida to her office in central Delhi, said she left at 11 am instead of her usual 10 am, expecting the peak-hour rush to have eased. But her travel time was still showing over an hour. Her usual route via Vikas Marg was heavily congested, forcing her to take a detour through Laxmi Nagar and Rajghat. She also encountered a protest near ITO.Commuters took to social media to flag the snarls. One post said traffic was “worst” near Akshardham Road and Yamuna Bridge, while another complained of severe congestion from Akshardham to Ashram and questioned the lack of traffic personnel to clear the roads. Another commuter sought immediate clearance of traffic around Laxmi Nagar, Towers and ITO Chowk, saying the jam had already added nearly an hour to the journey.The congestion was not limited to central Delhi. For Nandita Banerji (35), a journalist who travels daily from Mayur Vihar to Tughlaqabad Institutional Area, Monday’s commute stretched to 2.5 hours.“My usual commute takes about an hour, but over the past few months, metro construction has increased it to around 1.5 hours each way. Construction of the Golden Line along Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, now extending towards Saket, has created a major bottleneck from Chirag Delhi onwards,” she said.She had to reroute through Sarita Vihar after colleagues told her that the alternative route via Govindpuri was also clogged. Some colleagues even had to walk 1.5 km from Alaknanda to reach their office. Sarita Vihar underpass was also heavily congested, stretching her commute by another hour.“This has become untenable, and I cannot sustain such long commutes daily,” Banerji said.A traffic official said a vehicle had broken down near Yamuna Bridge, adding to congestion towards ITO. Traffic was also reportedly affected by work near Pragati Maidan tunnel, which diverted more vehicles towards ITO, added sources.Sources said construction and repair work at several locations further added to the congestion.
