Traffic Police Advisory: One side of Ashoka Road in New Delhi will be closed for vehicular movement from today till September 10. Delhi Traffic Police has issued an advisory advising people to avoid this route.
Traffic Police Advisory: One side of the Ashoka Road in New Delhi will remain closed for vehicular movement from today till September 10. Delhi Traffic Police has issued an advisory advising people to avoid this route. The advisory states that due to sewer line repair work by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), one side of Ashoka Road from Jaswant Singh Chowk to Windsor Place Chowk will remain closed for vehicular movement between August 12 and September 10.
The advisory said that vehicular movement will continue on the other side of Ashoka Road from Windsor Place to Jaswant Singh Square. People travelling from C-Hexagon India Gate towards Windsor Place are advised to use Kasturba Gandhi Marg. These traffic restrictions are likely to cause extensive traffic jams on one of the most important roads in this part of the capital.
According to NDMC officials, about 1 km stretch of Ashoka Road between Jaswant Singh Marg roundabout and Windsor Place roundabout will remain closed for traffic from August 12 to September 10. “Commuters travelling from C Hexagon of India Gate towards Windsor Place are advised to use Kasturba Gandhi Marg and reach Windsor Place via Feroze Shah Road traffic signal,” an official said.
People aware of the matter said that the road caved in twice on Ashoka Road on July 7 and July 10 after damage to sewer lines. Nearly half the carriageway of the stretch near 14 Ashoka Road is barricaded due to the earlier cave-in, while the Windsor Place roundabout already causes traffic jams during peak hours.
A traffic police official said that adequate number of traffic personnel will be deployed at diversion points during peak office hours to ensure smooth flow of traffic. Commuters travelling from C Hexagon towards Windsor Place should use KG Marg and Feroz Shah Road to reach their destinations, the official said.
The NDMC official said many of the NDMC sewer lines were laid before Independence and needed to be replaced. “The old sewer line settled and started leaking, leading to soil erosion and damage to a portion of the road. The damaged portion of the pipeline will have to be replaced for permanent relief,” the official said, requesting anonymity. “We are carrying out the upgradation work in phases. Old brick barrel lines from Q Point to Sunehri Pul drain via Bharti Nagar and Archbishop Makarios Marg are also to be renovated. Repairs on Ashoka Road may take several days,” the official said.
A second NDMC official said there are many places in Lutyens’ Delhi where sewer lines are 80-90 years old. Sewer lines in Mathura Road, Lodhi Road and other areas have already been replaced and a project is underway for areas like CP, KG Marg, Satya Marg, Kautilya Marg, Shanti Path and C-Hexagon, the official said. Some of these lines are brick-barrel and others have been built using concrete through a technology that has become obsolete.
