Ghaziabad: The first working day of the week turned into a Monday of misery for commuters after the Meerut-Ghaziabad stretch of Delhi-Meerut Expressway was shut to allow kanwar pilgrims a free passage, with diversions triggering kilometre-long queues on NH-9 and choking several internal roads.For many officegoers headed for Delhi, journeys that normally take minutes stretched into hours as traffic spilled on to routes that were never designed to absorb the expressway’s load. The impact was felt across the Ghaziabad-western UP corridor, with commuters caught between barricades, diversions and already choked routes. According to a police estimate, around 2,500 kanwar pilgrims took DME on Monday.The worst-hit points included Dasna, Lal Kuan and Khoda, where access to DME was blocked and traffic was diverted towards NH-9 and Eastern Peripheral Expressway. From 9am to 11.30am — the rush hour when traffic volume is the highest — queues stretched for over 5km near Dasna. Traffic snarls were also reported on GT Road, Raj Nagar Extension elevated road, Raj Nagar Extension main road, and Shahberi road.The closure affected traffic in both directions, turning the diversion points into fresh choke points for commuters who would normally bypass them on the expressway. Vehicles travelling towards Meerut from Ghaziabad were diverted from Dasna towards Hapur via NH-9. Commuters then had to cover 28km to Hapur before travelling another 34km to Meerut. The DME stretch from Meerut to Dasna is around 32km, while Dasna to UP Gate is another 18km.Delhi-bound traffic faced its own bottleneck. After police blocked DME entries at Dasna, vehicles were pushed towards EPE, adding to congestion on NH-9. During peak hours, tailbacks also formed near UP Gate, forcing commuters from Indirapuram, Vaishali and Vasundhara to use NH-9 or travel via Kaushambi towards Delhi.Rajeev Gupta, who works in Delhi, said he left Wave City at 9am and reached his office after 1 hour 20 minutes, against his usual 30-40-minute commute. “At this point, it would have been better to allow work from home so that we weren’t harassed on the road,” he added.Sahibabad resident Shubham Singh abandoned his plan to go to office after his senior allowed him to work from home. “I respect the kanwar yatra, but devotion should not come at the cost of troubling the public. The expressway was built with taxpayers’ money to help people reach offices and other destinations faster. Yet, they are now being prevented from using it,” he added.ADCP (traffic) Varun Kumar Singh said over 900 traffic personnel were deployed across Ghaziabad, including 200 on NH-9 along with local police. “During Monday’s peak hours, there were some traffic issues, but they were handled well. We blocked all DME entries and deployed personnel to inform and help commuters about diversions,” he said.The disruption came as commuters were already adjusting to restrictions on the Delhi-Meerut corridor, which has remained the most affected route for the past one week. On Aug 3, police advanced a one-way diversion plan originally scheduled for Aug 5, citing the rising number of pilgrims and disruption after an ambulance collided with a tractor-trolley carrying kanwariyas.Under the arrangement, the Meerut-Ghaziabad carriageway is reserved for kanwariyas, while regular traffic uses the opposite lanes. The system will remain in force till Aug 12. Schools along the route have also been closed.Singh said commuters had already been advised to avoid the expressway unless absolutely necessary and use alternative routes. “We have also appealed to people not to drive after consuming liquor or any intoxicants. Strict action will be taken against anyone found doing so,” he added.
