NEW DELHI: Festive shopping and holiday travel brought traffic to a crawl across several parts of Delhi Thursday, with congestion reported on key arterial roads and around major markets, while commuters also grappled with a sharp surge in cab fares.Dhaula Kuan witnessed heavy traffic around 3pm, an unusually busy period for the stretch.Commuters travelling between Delhi and Noida reported journey times stretching close to two hours. Slow-moving traffic was also reported on Vikas Marg, Sardar Patel Marg, Ring Road and Outer Ring Road.The festive rush was particularly visible around popular shopping destinations, including Chandni Chowk, South Extension and Lajpat Nagar, where roads remained clogged as shoppers headed out for last-minute Diwali purchases.Barapullah Flyover emerged as another major bottleneck, with commuters reporting travel times of up to 55 minutes.The congestion drew criticism on social media, with several users complaining about delays and questioning traffic management at key junctions.“The Delhi traffic is as BAD as its air #AQI. Thirty minutes of waiting time at signals,” one commuter posted.Another wrote, “Diwali! Expected traffic madness, yet not a policeman to be seen anyplace near Khan Market or adjoining roads!”A third post highlighted the larger cost of the gridlock, saying, “So many jams in one frame. Seriously, Delhi needs professional traffic management personnel. Colossal waste of fuel and time – national wastage. Hope someone is listening.”Along with long queues on the roads, commuters were also hit by higher cab fares. Several users reported paying substantially more than usual for daily journeys amid increased demand during the festive season.Ishika, who usually pays Rs 450 for her trip to Noida, said she had to shell out Rs 700 Thursday. A cab driver attributed the surge to the Diwali rush as well as restrictions on non-BS-VI vehicles entering Delhi.Brajesh, another commuter, said, “It’s costing me Rs 1,000 every day just to commute. Pathetic.”The steep fares were also being flagged online. One commuter shared that a roughly 25 km journey from Noida Sector 15 to Shalimar Garden in Ghaziabad was attracting a fare estimate of Rs 1,600 to Rs 2,500, calling it an “outrageous loot”.Another commuter, who travelled to work by cab the previous day, described a combination of smog, endless traffic jams and soaring fares.The driver had to take a longer route via Faridabad to reach Gurgaon from Noida, the commuter said, adding that cab rides were costing almost double compared with travelling in a private vehicle.
