The national capital of our country , Delhi , can seem functionally-chaotic to any new visitor.
One glance at this metropolitan and you’ll soak in all the exasperation, ‘modern India’ is buzzing with. Of course! There is so much more than this — the relentless vibe, the culture shock , the eclectic street food, the melange of highs & lows, the air you breathe *coughs* and the TRAFFIC snarls!!
It can take nerves of steel to face this frenzied pace at which it whirls through daily life.
Driving on the roads is like playing a video game. Middle of the day or late at night, no timelines are exempt. And you can get stuck anywhere — flyovers, signal free stretches, toll booths; even inner colony roads.
While the government and political bodies are battling to ease the congestion, I am listing down the most frustrating choke points across Delhi.
The 5 Deadliest Traffic Bottlenecks are:
- ITO Crossing: Isn’t this regular? Gasping with remorse crossing this busy junction which brings in vehicular traffic from Central Delhi to East Delhi, and vice versa. The government offices and leading media houses at the periphery are seeing more rush recently. All thanks to the Skywalk’s ongoing construction work!
2. Rao Tula Ram road: How do you feel , welcoming the rush from IIT, Dwarka, Gurgaon & Vasant Vihar? This being the worst hit due to an ill-conceived two-lane, narrow flyover design that has taken years to fix. If this wasn’t enough, the mess due to the narrow flyover adds to the pain!
3. DND to AIIMS : Your smooth drives on the DND starts crumbling as soon as you get down from the flyover and head towards AIIMS , coz hello (mammoth)traffic from Sarai Kale Khan!! This is an accident-prone stretch with lack of pedestrian facilities, totally.
4. Ashram to Badarpur: This is a classic example of badly handled traffic. The mess along the radius and its ricochet effect in and out of this signal gets alarming. Constant road repairs and unauthorised roadside parking will never let you pass through this stretch.
5. ISBT-Kashmiri Gate: The entry and exit points of buses getting in and out of this terminus, coupled with heavy pedestrian movement leads to utter mayhem. This practically leaves no way for secondary transport!
Did you know? 22kmph is the average journey speed in New Delhi during peak hours. Even this dropped to 8 kmph on Sri Aurobindo Marg and 9 kmph on Mehrauli-Badarpur road in 2017.
Whether it’s our historic -Old Delhi or the hipster New Delhi — everyone bears the brunt of traffic. And we won’t deny the fact that NO ONE in the world can ever swear as much as Dilliwale ( MORE when it’s road-rage).
Kyunki Dilli hain Dilwalo ki , let not the spirits dim! Next time when the traffic grips you tight, try these 10 productive things to calm your nerves in a jiffy.
Thand Rakho Delhi & let us DriveU :)
5 Deadliest Traffic bottlenecks in Delhi was originally published in DriveU Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
