Traffic signal goes haywire, triggers 6-hour jam on NH-24

NEW DELHI: The traffic signal at the NH 24-Noida Link Road crossing near Mayur Vihar developed a glitch, resulting in a six-hour-long traffic jam on Saturday. The signal that usually remains green through the day was functioning in a cycle of 30 seconds. This led to tail-backs stretching up to UP Gate by afternoon. While motorists vented their ire at the traffic police for their inability to handle the situation, the latter took to social media, saying their staff were on the job to deal with it.

Commuters had started complaining about snarls on the stretch since Saturday noon when the signal, which normally turns green for vehicles heading towards Akshardham flyover from the Ghazipur side, started turning red at a 30-second interval. During weekends, the road sees about 1.5 lakh vehicles, including trucks, and the signal glitch caused a huge bottleneck on this key east Delhi stretch.

With vehicles stopping at the intersection every 30 seconds, there were six-km-long tail backs, stretching up to UP Gate. Construction work on the Delhi-Meerut highway too has reduced the road space considerably and it compounded the problem on Saturday. What was more shocking was the response of the traffic police. Despite repeated appeals by commuters, it took more than two hours for the cops to rectify the signal timing.

Frustrated commuters took to Twitter to vent their displeasure on the police. "I had a meeting at 2pm and I booked a cab accordingly. However, it took me more than 40 minutes to cross the stretch. I had missed the meeting because of this jam," said Anant Kumar, an HR professional at a private firm.

Adding to the traffic woes was the movement of kanwariyas. "I started for Munirka around 1pm and reached there by 3pm. There is no information as to what is happening on this road and thousands of commuters were stuck in the border areas," said Akash Sethi, a resident of Indirapuram.

The situation was finally brought under control at 4pm.