Delhi: 19 Metro Stations Shut, Commuters Suffer

Commuting in the city on Friday turned into a nightmare for many as arterial roads and metro stations were closed due to security reasons. In the wake of the violent protests in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi Police did not want to take any risk and it shut down major roads connecting Noida and Ghaziabad.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) barred entry-exit at 19 stations, including Rajiv Chowk, to restrict the movement of those protesting against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. Seven metro stations were shut through the day due to the protests at Jama Masjid and India Gate.

Chandni Chowk was the latest station to be closed even as commuters faced inconvenience during the peak evening hours. At about 6 pm, the DMRC tweeted “Entry & exit gates of Closed. Trains will not be halting at this station.”

Earlier, the DMRC had tweeted about the closure of Kashmere Gate Station. But later, gate no. 3 and gate no. 4 were opened. Interchange facility was available at Rajiv Chowk, where entry and exit gates were closed.

“Entry & exit gates of Mandi House and Janpath are closed. . Interchange facility is available at Mandi House,” the DMRC had said in a tweet. Entry and exit gates of Pragati Maidan, Khan Market, Johri Enclave, Shiv Vihar, Central Secretariat and Dilshad Garden stations were also closed.

“Of the 285 stations, Chawri Bazar, Lal Quila, Jama Masjid & Delhi Gate on Violet line, Jaffrabad & Maujpur-Babarpur on Pink line and Jamia Millia Islamia on Magenta line are closed as per instructions of security agencies. Rest of the metro network is operating as per schedule,” the Delhi Metro tweeted.

During the protests, the cops had to close the Netaji Subhash Marg and partially shut the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg to prevent protesters from advancing towards the Jantar Mantar. The closure went on till late evening when the violence broke out. Vehicles were, however, diverted through the Rajghat-Ambedkar stadium stretch from the BSZ Marg.

The Okhla Marg starting from Sukhdev Vihar, too, was closed in view of the Jamia protests. The traffic near the India Gate was affected for a while during the protest attended by Priyanka Gandhi.

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