Several roads in central Delhi are expected to remainshut briefly on Thursday for the full dress rehearsal of the Republic Dayparade, raising the possibility of traffic congestion.
The rehearsal was started from 9.50 am at Vijay Chowk and will proceed towards the Red Fort via Rajpath, C-Hexagon, Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, and Netaji Subhash Marg, taking the route the actual parade will take place on January 26, according to the Delhi Police.
Traffic on Rajpath — from Vijay Chowk to India Gate— has been restricted till the rehearsal is over on Thursday, and from 6 pm onSaturday till the parade concludes on Sunday, police said in an advisory.
Metro services will be available for commuters onThursday but a few gates at Udyog Bhawan and Central Secretariat stations willbe closed. "Exit and entries will remain functional at the twostations," a senior DMRC official said.
The official further said that on Sunday, the entryand exit will remain closed at Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhawan from 5 amtill 12 noon and Lok Kalyan Marg and Patel Chowk from 8.45 am to 12 noon.
The Delhi Police advisory added that no cross trafficwill be allowed on Rajpath from 11 pm on Wednesday at Rafi Marg, Janpath, ManSingh Road till the rehearsal gets over. C-Hexagon-India Gate will be closedfor traffic from 09.15 am on Thursday till the rehearsal parade crosses TilakMarg, it stated.
From 10 am on Wednesday, the traffic on Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, and Subhash Marg has been restricted in both directions. Cross-traffic will only be allowed depending upon the movement of the rehearsal parade, the advisory said.
For Republic Day too, no traffic will be allowed onRajpath from Vijay Chowk to India Gate from 6 pm on Saturday till the paradegets over on Sunday.
"No cross-traffic on Rajpath from 11 pm on Saturday at Rafi Marg, Janpath, Man Singh Road till the parade gets over. C-Hexagon-India Gate will be closed for traffic from 2 am on Sunday till the Parade crosses Tilak Marg," it said.
From 5 am on Sunday, the traffic on Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Subhash Marg will not be allowed in both directions. Cross-traffic will only be allowed depending upon the movement of the parade.
