G20 Summit: Delhi Police holds full dress rehearsals; traffic restrictions in place
New Delhi: Delhi Police on Saturday held full dress rehearsals for the G20 Summit, escorting carcades from different parts of the national capital towards the New Delhi district, officials said. The police advised people to follow real-time traffic updates on the 'G-20 Virtual Help Desk' for route suggestions for commuting from/to the airport, railway stations, or bus terminals. The timings for the rehearsal were 8.30 am to 12 pm, 4.30 pm to 6 pm, and the third will be held between 7 pm to 11 pm.
The visuals of the first two rehearsals show that the traffic was affected briefly when the carcades were moving. “Advisories have been issued as traffic will be restricted for some time during the full carcade rehearsals today and tomorrow. Our effort is to not let traffic movement get affected much," said Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) SS Yadav. Similar to the advisory for the first two rehearsals in the day, commuters have been advised to use metro services during the third rehearsal as the traffic is likely to be affected. Vehicle movement will be restricted at Sardar Patel Marg-Panchsheel Marg, Sardar Patel Marg–Kautilya Marg, Gol Methi roundabout, Mansingh Road roundabout, C-Hexagon, Mathura Road, Zakir Hussain Marg-Subramaniam Bharti Marg, Bhairon Marg-Ring Road, Satya Marg/Shantipath round about, Janpath–Kartavyapath, Barakhamba Road red light, Tolstoy Marg, and Vivekanand Marg etc, they said.
The police will hold three rehearsals on Sunday as well -- from 8 am to 9 am, 9.30 am to 10.30 am and 12.30 pm to 4 pm, the advisory stated. On Sunday, there will be regulations on the movement of traffic at Mahatma Gandhi Marg, IP Flyover, Rajghat Chowk, Shanti Van Chowk, Saleem Garh Bypas, Bhairon Road, Ring Road, Mathura Road, Shershah Road, C-Hexagon, roundabouts at Mansingh Road, Gol Methi, Teen Murti, Yashwant Place, Brig Hoshiyar Singh Marg, and Tolstoy Marg.
The traffic police warned that commuters might experience more than normal traffic on these roads and junctions and advised people to plan their journeys in advance so that they could avoid these roads during the specified time slots, police said. Responding to a query on X asking if entry into Delhi from the Delhi-Meerut expressway was allowed around 1 pm on Sunday, the police said, “Delhi Traffic Police has introduced its G-20 Virtual Help Desk for the real-time traffic updates during G20 Summit and suggesting routes for commuting from/to Airport, Railway Stations, ISBTs etc. The same can be accessed by clicking on the link https://traffic.delhipolice.gov.in/dtpg20info.”
On Sunday, commuters could take Ring Road, Ashram Chowk, Sarai Kale Khan, Delhi-Meerut Expressway, Noida Link Road, Pusta Road, Yudhistir Setu, ISBT Kashmiri Gate, Ring Road and Majnu Ka Tila for the north-south corridor, police said. Passengers would be allowed to use their private vehicles, auto-rickshaws, and taxis for travelling to New Delhi and Old Delhi railway stations or the airport, the police advisory said. City bus services would remain unaffected in most parts of the national capital. However, there might be a diversion on certain road stretches in New Delhi district depending upon the real-time traffic situation, it added.