Republic Day 2025: Heavy traffic was witnessed in central Delhi today (January 23) due to the full dress rehearsal for the Republic Day parade, causing inconvenience to commuters. The major affected areas were near India Gate and ITO.
A commuter said that the traffic was heavy on Ring Road near the ITO loop and IP Extension.
"I was going to ITO when I found that Ring Road was packed with vehicles. The traffic on Vikas Marg was also very heavy. We had to take a U-turn near the IP Extension metro station," he said.
Vehicles move at crawling pace in Central Delhi
Vehicles were also seen moving at a crawling pace near Shivaji Stadium metro station, close to Connaught Place in central Delhi. Sneha Rai, a resident of Noida, mentioned that due to security checks at the Delhi-Noida border, there was heavy traffic in that section.
"Apart from the Delhi-Noida border, traffic was also heavy at Ashram Chowk and on Ring Road. The roads were closed near C-Hexagon at India Gate, leading to diversions for vehicles, which resulted in long queues," she said.
Full dress rehearsal underway in Delhi
The Parade rehearsal started at 10:30 am on Thursday, from Vijay Chowk and will proceed to Red Fort. There would be elaborate traffic arrangements and restrictions in place for the smooth conduct of the parade along the route. The parade will take place on the following route- Vijay Chowk Kartavyapath-'C'-Hexagon R/A Statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose -Tilak Marg Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg Netaji Subhash Marg - Red Fort.
According to police, given the upcoming Republic Day parade, traffic restrictions will be also to take place from Jan 22-23. Kartavyapath will be closed to traffic from Vijay Chowk to India Gate from 6 pm on Jan 22 till the parade is over, with no cross traffic allowed at Rafi Marg, Janpath, and Man Singh Road from 11 pm.
To ensure the safe completion of the parade, elaborate Law & Order and Traffic arrangements have been made. Therefore, all types of commercial vehicles (light/medium/heavy) will not be allowed to enter Delhi from 10 pm on January 22 to 1:30 pm on January 23.
Additionally, the 'C'-Hexagon-India Gate will be closed from 9:15 am on Jan 23, and Tilak Marg, BSZ Marg, and Subhash Marg will have restricted traffic from 1030 hrs. Commuters are advised to plan their journey and avoid the parade route from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm. Metro Rail Service shall remain available for commuters at all Metro Stations during the Full Dress Rehearsal Ceremony on January 23.
The Delhi City Bus Services to be curtailed at several locations, including Park Street/UdyanMarg, Aram Bagh Road, R/A Kamla Market, Pragati Maidan, Mori Gate, Delhi Sachivalaya, Hanuman Mandir, ISBT Kashmiri Gate, ISBT Sarai Kale Khan, and Tis Hazari Court.
Additionally, inter-state buses will be diverted, with buses from Ghaziabad bound for Shivaji Stadium terminating at Bhairon Road, and those coming from NH-24 terminating at ISBT Anand Vihar. Buses from Ghaziabad will be diverted at Mohan Nagar towards Bhopra Chungi for Wazirabad Bridge, while inter-state buses from Dhaula Kuan's side will terminate at Dhaula Kuan.
Traffic diversions at multiple spots in Delhi
The traffic diversions will be implemented at various borders, including Tikri, Jharoda, Dhansa, Daraula, Jhatikra, Nanakhedi/Badusaria, and Surakhpur. Additionally, diversions will be in place in Bahadurgarh, Haryana, at T-Point Sec-9, Bhadurgarh Bypass, and KMP Expressway, as well as in Gurugram, Haryana, at Lohat Village, Dharampur Chowk, and Babupur Chowk, redirecting traffic to alternative routes.
The flying of sub-conventional aerial platforms like para-gliders, para-motors, hang gliders, UAVS, UASs, microlight aircraft, remotely piloted aircraft, hot air balloons, small-size powered aircraft, quadcopters or para-jumping from aircraft etc. are prohibited over the jurisdiction of National Capital Territory of Delhi till February 15.