New Delhi, Jan 24 (IANS) A day after the full dress-rehearsal of the Republic Day Parade caused massive jams in the national capital, Delhi Police Tuesday said that Delhiites suffered because they neither planned their trips nor paid attention to advisories.

According to a message posted by Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Satyendra Garg on the Delhi Traffic Police’s Facebook page, the police did the best they could to avoid jams.

“DO PEOPLE READ THE ADVISORIES WE GIVE OR DO THEY JUST SIT IN THE VEHICLE, START DRIVING AND GET STUCK? My impression is people do not plan their journeys at all, get stuck and then blame the rehearsals and the police,” said Garg.

“Why should it be so? I cannot get it changed,” added Garg referring to the dress rehearsal.

The top official further said that the police could only help Delhiites if they were willing to listen to them.

“We delayed the diversions till the last moment. People knew the dislocation due to the parade is only from 9 a.m. to noon. I am sure many of those who got stuck despite our advisory could have avoided journeys during those hours,” said Garg.

Thousands of commuters in the capital were left stranded Monday due to traffic restrictions during peak hours for the full dress rehearsal while many Delhiites stood waiting for buses that ply via India Gate.

While Delhi Traffic Police had issued an advisory in the newspapers on the restricted routes, diversions were choc-a-bloc and led to chaos and confusion at major junctions that were clogged with vehicles.

The Republic Day Parade Jan 26 winds its way down an eight-km route from Vijay Chowk at the foot of the Raisina Hill where the Central Secretariat’s North and South Blocks tower, to the seventeenth century Red Fort, winding its way along Rajpath, India Gate and Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Netaji Subhash Marg.