Delhi traffic came to a crawl across central parts of the capital on Monday after an INDIA bloc march to the Supreme Court led to the closure or restriction of several roads, with Barakhamba Road becoming effectively inaccessible to vehicles as crowds occupied the carriageway.
Barricades were placed near Statesman House on Barakhamba Road, while the junction connecting Connaught Place and Barakhamba Road filled with protesters. The gathering spread across the road, leaving little space for vehicles and bringing traffic movement in the area to a near standstill.
Supporters were seen carrying party flags, sitting on the road and climbing on top of buses as the crowd expanded. Slogans were raised along the stretch, while the congestion extended beyond the immediate protest site into surrounding parts of central Delhi.
The stretch between Connaught Place and Mandi House was heavily congested, with all six connecting roads also reporting traffic pressure. Sikandra Road and Bhagwan Das Road were among the affected routes, while Tilak Marg faced congestion as motorists attempted to move through or around the disrupted area.
The traffic impact also reached KG Marg, where additional vehicles appeared to have entered adjoining routes to bypass Barakhamba Road. The Delhi Traffic Police issued an alert stating that traffic was affected on Copernicus Marg, Tilak Marg and C-Hexagon near India Gate.
The police advised commuters to use Kasturba Gandhi Marg and Mathura Road as alternative routes. The advisory was issued as the march and the resulting road restrictions affected movement across a wider section of central Delhi rather than only the road directly occupied by protesters.
The disruption prompted commuters to warn others about the affected stretches on social media. One commuter said Barakhamba Road was occupied and traffic towards Connaught Place was moving only slowly, while advising motorists to avoid the area. Another post referred to the scale of the crowd and the disruption in central Delhi, calling for public safety and smoother traffic management.
Some commuters also criticised the handling of the situation, alleging that traffic management had failed and that people were being made to suffer for hours. These reactions reflected the wider impact of the march on people travelling through the central business and institutional district.
The march’s route towards the Supreme Court, combined with the crowd presence on Barakhamba Road and traffic diversions on nearby roads, created a network-wide disruption across several key connections. The Delhi Traffic Police’s alternative-route advisory remained the principal guidance available to motorists navigating the affected parts of central Delhi.
