Road closures due to water-related works bring Madhya Marg traffic to a halt  

The twin closures forced a large volume of traffic to divert onto Madhya Marg, resulting in severe congestion during peak hours. Vehicles moved at a snail’s pace, with commuters reporting that it took more than an hour to cross a distance of barely three kilometres. Long queues of cars, buses, two-wheelers and commercial vehicles were seen stretching across multiple intersections.

Nitin Aggarwal, a private-sector employee heading towards Panchkula, said the situation quickly turned chaotic. “I usually cross this stretch in 15–20 minutes, but today I was stuck for nearly an hour. There was hardly any movement near Housing Board Light Point, and drivers kept honking in frustration,” he said.

Those travelling towards Manimajra faced similar difficulties, particularly due to the closure near the railway underbridge.

Pooja Bhajni, a resident of Manimajra, said the lack of clear on-ground guidance added to commuters’ woes. “The road was closed, but there were no proper diversion signs initially. I kept getting stuck in traffic loops and reached home very late,” she said.

Commercial drivers also complained of losses due to the prolonged jam. A cab driver heading towards Panchkula said passengers grew impatient as travel time doubled.

Traffic police personnel were later deployed at key junctions to regulate the flow manually, but congestion persisted for a considerable time.