Delhi commuters face tough time due to shutdown
May 31st, 2012 - 11:47 am ICT by IANS
New Delhi, May 31 (IANS) The nationwide shutdown against the fuel price hike hit traffic in several parts of the city Thursday with commuters facing a tough time getting to work with few autorickshaws and roads being blocked in some places.
“Autos are not plying. After struggling for an hour, I managed to find one which demanded an exorbitant fare,” said Richa Srivastav, a commuter in central Delhi’s Mandir Marg.
“I had to finally walk to the nearest metro station which was almost two kilometres away,” she added.
With several autorickshaw unions joining the bandh, nearly 55,000 autos and 15,000 taxis are expected to stay off the road. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders threatened to block 100 intersections in the capital as part of the shutdown.
BJP workers blocked roads in east Delhi as part of the nationwide shutdown. There were reports of some roads being blocked in north Delhi as well. The Delhi Traffic Police was also sending text messages to people as part of its ‘alerts’.
“BJP workers have blocked the road under Akshardham flyover. Kindly avoid this road,” the traffic department said on its Facebook page.
While many Delhiites suffered due to the shutdown called by the Left parties, many chose to depend on the Delhi Metro.
“A friend alerted me early morning about the bandh. Thankfully I chose to travel by the Metro to reach office,” Avnish Arora, a marketing executive, told IANS.
Nearly 300 trader associations in the city will also keep markets shut to support the shutdown.
- Harrowing time for Delhi as shutdown hits traffic (Lead) - May 31, 2012
- Left leaders detained, shutdown hits Delhi (Second Lead) - May 31, 2012
- Shutdown hits Delhi, autos add to woes (Third Lead) - May 31, 2012
- BJP leaders court arrest as protest against fuel price hike intensifies - Jul 05, 2010
- Opposition parties stage protests across the country against UPA Govt.'s policies - Jul 05, 2010
- Autorickshaw users expect smooth ride after court order - Nov 12, 2011
- Shutdown hits normal life in Andhra Pradesh - Sep 20, 2012
- Shutdown hits trains and road traffic in Bihar - Sep 20, 2012
- Shutdown hits life in Karnataka - Sep 20, 2012
- Shutdown cripples Andhra Pradesh - May 31, 2012
- Shutdown near-total in Mumbai, most of Maharashtra (Second lead) - May 31, 2012
- Mixed response to anti-government protest (Afternoon Lead) - Sep 20, 2012
- Auto strike cripples Delhi; unions refuse to budge - May 20, 2011
- 'Bharat Bandh' passes off peacefully in Rajasthan (Lead) - Sep 20, 2012
- Markets shut, trains stopped in Agra - May 31, 2012
Tags: bandh, central delhi, commuters, delhi metro, east delhi, fuel price hike, intersections, kilometres, left parties, mandir, marketing, metro station, New Delhi, north delhi, sending text messages, taxis, traffic department, traffic police, unions