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‘Huge let down’: Attendees forced to walk 6 km as VIP movement paralyses India AI Impact Summit
Several attendees shared their ordeal about road closures for VIP movement around Bharat Mandapam that left them without access to cabs or metro services.
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 will conclude on Friday (February 20)
After the controversy surrounding Galgotias University, the ongoing India AI Impact Summit in Delhi saw another blow as attendees slammed the management after struggling to find transport while exiting the venue on Wednesday.
Several attendees shared their ordeal about road closures for VIP movement around Bharat Mandapam that left them without access to cabs or metro services. Caleb Friesen, a Canadian tech influencer who has been living in India for the past eight years, said that although he enjoyed the India AI Impact Summit, the end of the day was a ‘huge let-down’ marred by logistical chaos.
“No cabs, no pre-arranged shuttle. ‘Road is closed, go for a walk’,” he wrote on X.
He added that such gaps in planning could affect India’s reputation among international visitors and pose additional challenges for differently-abled attendees.
See the post here:
Had such a great day at the India AI Impact Summit.
But the way it ended (7:40PM) was a huge let-down.
No cabs, no pre-arranged shuttle. “Road is closed, go for a walk.”
Imagine how international visitors from must have felt.
Not to mention differently-abled folks. pic.twitter.com/tcHjnQOxwK
— Caleb (@caleb_friesen) February 18, 2026
The post amassed a wave of reactions, with a social media user commenting, “Been there, had to walk a few miles back to the hotel too. Hope it gets sorted for next year.” Another user wrote, “True, first they closed gate no. 10 which was closer to exit – I have to go all around and get exit from gate no 1 and then there i heard that they shut down Metro too.”
“That’s been the story of the entire AI summit. No media coverage of India’s AI potential because the entire focus has shifted to the complete mismanagement of the event. Sorry, but we aren’t even close to being ready for the Olympics,” a third user reacted.
Another video doing the rounds showed motorcyclists crossing a road divider to escape the traffic congestion. The post was shared on X by a developer named Piyush, who said he witnessed the chaos after walking 6 km from the venue in search of transport.
“You get out of the AI summit, walk 6km to reach a place from where you can get a transport to go home, because there’s some VIP movement,” he wrote on X.
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“While on the way, you watch people walking for kilometers clueless (we were one of them), you watch people break the cement divider to go on the other side of the road, because they are stuck in the traffic for God knows how many hours…” Piyush added.
You get out of the AI summit, walk 6km to reach a place from where you can get a transport to go home, because there’s some VIP movement.
While on the way, you watch people walking for kilometers clueless (we were one of them), you watch people break the cement divider to go on… pic.twitter.com/mpIGVrnwTu
— Piyush (Moltiverse arc) 🦀 (@piyushJha__) February 18, 2026
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 will conclude on Friday (February 20).
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