Diwali traffic snarls choke Delhi, Noida, Gurugram and Ghaziabad; Delhi Police cancels leaves, issues advisories — tips, causes and short-term fixes inside.
Delhi and its suburbs experienced severe traffic congestion on the eve of Diwali as markets, puja venues and arterial roads filled with shoppers and vehicles, prompting a wide online debate about festival planning and civic response. Viral pictures and videos showed long tailbacks on Outer Ring Road, Ring Road, Mathura Road, Aurobindo Marg and the DND Flyway, while commuters described hours-long delays, missed appointments and overloaded helplines. In response the Delhi Police cancelled leaves for traffic personnel, rolled out traffic diversions and issued regular advisories to oversee crowd control and vehicle movement.
The social-media reaction quickly turned to comparison: many users contrasted the coverage of Delhi’s Diwali jams with the criticism usually aimed at Bengaluru’s perennial gridlock, arguing that media attention and civic elite focus shape which city traffic stories trend. Commenters discussed fairness in civic reporting and called for consistent scrutiny of urban mobility across all metros. Beyond debate, residents voiced practical concerns about emergency access, last-mile connectivity and the strain on market precincts where parking and pedestrian management faltered.
Experts and commenters suggested short-term and long-term remedies: follow official traffic advisories, prefer metro or park-and-ride services, avoid peak market hours and allow extra travel time during festivities. For future seasons they urged staggered market timings, better festival traffic forecasting, investment in intelligent traffic systems and strengthened last-mile public transport. Keywords and search phrases likely to capture reader intent include “Delhi Diwali traffic update 2025,” “DND Flyway jam Diwali,” “Delhi Police cancel leaves traffic,” “how to avoid Diwali traffic in Delhi,” and short-tail terms like “Delhi traffic” and “Diwali traffic.” This article combines eyewitness reports, social-media reaction and official statements to explain causes, immediate impacts and practical advice for commuters and city managers.
