‘Driving through a maze’: For Delhi residents, why navigating city streets at night is a nuisance

The green bars of Gate No. 12 separate the stretch from Chaudhary Hukum Chand Marg. “CLO-SED 11 PM TO 5 AM… 24 HRS. EXIT & ENTRY AUROBINDO MARG NEAR YES BANK,” the white paint on it reads. The other end of the stretch is similarly blocked — and unmanned — a few inches of metal barring commuters’ access to Hauz Khas Village Road.

“My delivery time is running out, I will have to compensate for the delay,” Sonu shakes his head.

When most of Delhi sleeps, a network of barricades quietly emerges across the city’s affluent localities. Intended to combat thefts and car burglaries, these gates and barricades, set up by the Delhi Police in collaboration with Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWAs), have now become a nuisance for commuters and residents alike.

Several of these barricades are unmanned, forcing Delhiites to navigate road after road to reach their destination. Even those manned by police personnel or security guards are just as bad — personnel at the barricade simply point you to another route. The issue even reached the Delhi High Court in February 2022, which took suo motu note of the presence of unmanned barricades on roads. It had asked the Delhi Police to place on record the protocol they follow in setting up barricades.

Cchaudhary Hukum Chand Marg, Delhi

In January 2023, the Delhi Police referred to a standing order issued on March 31, 2022, in the court which stated that “barricades put up by Delhi Police or RWAs shall always be manned and under no circumstance, it shall remain unmanned”.

Police also filed a status report on January 6, 2023, which stated that barricades have been put up at 773 locations by the force — of these, 714 are manned by their staff and barricades at 59 locations or colonies are being manned by staff of the respective RWAs.

The Indian Express contacted Special CP Ravinder Singh Yadav (Law & Order Zone 1); Special CP Madhup Tiwari (Law & Order Zone 2); Special CP Ajay Chaudhary (Traffic Zone 2); Joint CP (Southern Range) Sanjay Jain; DCP Ankit Chauhan (South); DCP Ravi Kumar Singh (Southeast); and DCP Surendra Chaudhary (Southwest) for comment but received no response.

The Indian Express spent three nights visiting 20 locations — only five had security personnel who stand guard and don’t let anyone through.

Green Park, Safdarjung
Southwest Delhi District police

In both these neighbourhoods, yellow barricades and green gates cordon off the streets between 11 pm and 5 am. Barricades at key routes like Nauroji Nagar Marg, Chaudhary Jhandu Singh Road and Chaudhary Hukum Chand Marg were unmanned and cut direct access to Africa Avenue and Sri Aurobindo Marg.

Block C, Greenpark, Delhi

Pointing to an unmanned barricade at Chaudhary Hukum Chand Marg near Gurdwara Sikh Sangat, an auto driver in Green Park says, “To cross it, you have to take a 5-km detour to an open road near Rajinder Da Dhaba.” The detour goes all around Safdarjung Hospital. “It’s wasting people’s time, money, and fuel,” he adds.

Arvind, an MNC professional who recently moved to Safdarjung Enclave, recalls his frustration after a late work shift: “I drove for nearly an hour and was greeted by unmanned barricades one turn after another like a maze. Google Maps was of no help. I had to keep stopping and asking people for the way inside.”

Lajpat Nagar
Southeast Delhi District police

The situation is no different in this locality, too. Unmanned barricades erected by police and RWAs cut off broad roads like Veer Savarkar Marg from Lala Lajpat Rai Marg. A motorcyclist, attempting to slip through narrow gaps between unmanned barriers near a Naturals ice cream outlet, gives up after a few frustrating tries.

Not far from there, in front of the C Block gate in Lajpat Nagar I, a delivery man, Prakash, struggles with the unattended barriers under the Defence Colony Flyover. “The customer is calling again and again. It’s really frustrating,” he says.

Another delivery person, overhearing him, says, “follow me to get out.” As he leaves, Prakash grumbles, “Poori Delhi he band kar dete hain raat mein (The whole of Delhi is shut at night).” Upscale areas like Maharani Bagh and New Friends Colony too are no exceptions, where most of the RWA gates remain shut without guards at night hours.

Chittaranjan Park, Greater Kailash
South Delhi District police

In these upscale localities, though security personnel are stationed at most barricades, it is similarly chaotic. For many locals, they have become a nightly inconvenience, resulting in long detours, increased travel time, and, in many cases, unnecessary stress.

“Every night, it’s the same story,” says a young woman, who lives in CR Park. She says she has to take a 3-km detour just to cross a street, that is normally a one-minute drive in the daytime, while returning from work.

C R Park, Delhi

“At night, the arterial streets on both sides of the CR Park Main Road are closed, without any security personnel, except for one… I have to go through the Ring Road circling through Nehru Enclave,” she points out.

Her friend argues, “An ambulance could get stuck at a barricade. Imagine if a woman is in labour or there’s some medical emergency, those few minutes could mean the difference between life and death. And there’s also no clear signage about which roads are blocked… It’s chaotic.”

Cab driver Prakash concurs with the women. “After 11 pm, half of GK and CR Park is blocked by barricades. Some passengers walk to the car, others just cancel the ride.” New drivers, he adds, or those unfamiliar with the area can “waste hours trying to find a way in and out at night”.

A security guard in the area, Dilip, however, disagrees. “Thieves strike late at night and take out the batteries, tyres, or even break into parked cars,” he says, arguing that the barricades are necessary to deter crime.

A policeman at a barricade in GK II echoes this sentiment, noting that “most residents are familiar with the closures and can navigate around them”.
In Block D at CR Park, a few men wait for their friend in a car near the police post. The road leading inside is blocked. There’s no policeman. Soon, their friend, Ramesh, joins them as he squeezes past through the gap at the side of the yellow barricades.

“The problem isn’t the barricades themselves, but how they’re managed,” the resident says. “If they were willing to open them for people who live here, things would be easier. But many times, there’s no one at these barricades. Even if there are, they just point you to take another road.”

In GK I, barriers installed just days ago have cut off access from Lala Lajpat Rai Marg at Hansraj Gupta Marg, barely 1 km from the GK I Police Station. “In fact, only the Greater Kailash Road and N Block have open roads, the rest are all shut now,” explains security guard Surender Gauri.

He adds that the barriers were put in place after a series of car thefts recently. “Two days ago, a patient came in a private car, and begged to be let through. I felt really bad, but what can we do? Instructions are only to let the residents out… can’t compromise on the security of the area,” he argues.

At the end of M Block Road in GK II, the familiar yellow barricades are chained shut and a few vehicles coming from Alaknanda Road are forced to reroute. A security personnel, meanwhile, remains seated in his booth, unmoving.