Roads deserted, no crowd in Metro: Delhi empties out as G20 curbs kick in

Officers said patrolling has been intensified in border areas and crucial locations, and markswomen and other armed forces have been deployed across the city, especially in the New Delhi district.

Security checking at Delhi Noida Border. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

Along with more than half the force involved in Summit-related duty, the Delhi Police’s K9 squad and their handlers will be deployed at strategic locations — the airport, hotels, and routes taken by the dignitaries — on bomb-detection duty.

The Delhi Police is also being assisted by the Armed Forces in performing security duties and all important venues will have venue commanders in the form of Special CPs to oversee the security apparatus while DCPs will serve as camp commanders at the hotels where dignitaries will be staying. The NSG and ITBP will also be deployed for duty at the summit.

Connaught Place closed during G20 Summit in Delhi. (Express photo by Prem Nath Pandey)

Boat patrolling is also being carried out by police in the Yamuna Khadar area and picket checking around crucial points has been increased. Officers said the city has been put on high alert in view of intelligence inputs regarding law and order issues. Police will also be using chains and bolt cutters as part of measures to control protests or agitations during the Summit.

The Metro, meanwhile, hardly saw any crowd. Commuters had ample space to sit and almost no one was standing. Even heavy traffic interchange stations such as Hauz Khas, Botanical Garden, Noida Sector 52, and Rajiv Chowk were nearly empty of passengers. Rajiv Chowk, well known for its bustle and crowds, was eerily calm. Even New Delhi station seemed more subdued than usual.

Empty stretch of roads near the venue of the G20 summit in New Delhi after restrictions came into effect on Sept 8. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)

At the airport, Terminal 1 on a usual day is a cacophony of car honking, standstill traffic and long serpentine lines of people waiting to get in.

However, on Friday, taxis leisurely cruised in and dropped off their passengers. Flyers hardly took 10 minutes to get their documents checked to enter the gates. One man who had come to drop off his family said, “We didn’t really face an issue coming to the airport. The roads were empty and it was quite a smooth sail.”

Terminal 2, too, was equally empty. Two of the four gates remained unoccupied by flyers, save for trolleys lined up before them uniformly. Suresh, a member of the cleaning crew of the airport, said, “I saw a lot of people on Thursday but not many people have come today.”

Citizens were advised to take the Metro to the airport to avoid security restrictions on traffic. However many present at the terminals chose to take taxis instead. A passenger flying to Kochi said, “There wasn’t much traffic. We reached the airport pretty quick.”