Delhi traffic curbs remained in force for a second consecutive day on Sunday as the Cockroach Janta Party renewed its call for protests demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, disrupting movement across central Delhi and prompting police to advise commuters to avoid non-essential travel.
According to a Delhi Traffic Police advisory, diversions were enforced from 6 am, with movement expected to be affected around Jantar Mantar, Connaught Place, Mandi House, Patel Chowk and several other intersections in Lutyens’ Delhi. The traffic police said restrictions could be regulated or relaxed depending on real-time assessments of the situation.
The affected stretches include the Ashoka Road-Jantar Mantar Road roundabout, the Tolstoy Marg-Janpath crossing, the Jai Singh Road-Sansad Marg crossing, the Rail Bhawan roundabout, Patel Chowk, Gol Dak Khana and multiple roads around Connaught Place. Traffic movement was also expected to be affected at Mandi House, the Minto Road-Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg junction, the Lodhi Road flyover, the Neela Gumbad roundabout, the Samrat Hotel roundabout and the Sardar Patel Marg-Panchsheel Marg crossing.
The advisory also identified the underpasses beneath the Bhikaji Cama Place and Moti Bagh flyovers as locations where traffic movement could be affected. Commuters travelling through New Delhi and central Delhi were asked to allow additional time, particularly if they were heading to railway stations, inter-state bus terminals or the airport.
The restrictions followed a security clampdown after the Cockroach Janta Party and student organisations, including the Students’ Federation of India, announced that protests would continue until their demands were met. At a press conference at HKS Surjeet Bhawan on Saturday, CJP leader Ajinkya Shinde said marches to Jantar Mantar would be held daily until Kumar was removed as chief election commissioner.
Shinde also alleged that protesters, including Abhijeet Dipke, had been subjected to inhumane treatment by the Delhi Police during detention. The allegation was reported by the Times of India; the supplied report does not include an independent response from the police on that specific claim.
Police said on Sunday that CJP leaders Dipke, Ranka and Das had been placed under preventive arrest and would be produced before the Executive Magistrate at Delhi Cantt Police Station. SFI general secretary Srijan Bhattacharyya said students would hold peaceful demonstrations and that locations where police barricades stopped them would become their protest sites.
For commuters, the immediate impact is the likelihood of longer and less predictable journeys through Delhi’s administrative and commercial core. The traffic police urged residents to monitor updates on its official website and social media platforms while planning trips. The restrictions will be reviewed and adjusted according to the situation on the ground.
