Ghaziabad: Commuters using Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME) to head to the capital are faced with uncertainty for the next two days, with police deciding to open or shut the Meerut-UP Gate stretch depending on the movement of dak kanwars. The Delhi section of the expressway will, however, remain open.Police announced on Sunday evening that the Meerut-UP Gate stretch would be opened when the pilgrim footfall is low but shut immediately when crowds build up. The arrangement, which will remain in force till Aug 11, is expected to push traffic onto narrower internal roads whenever the expressway is closed. Routes towards Chilla border and Noida Expressway are also likely to come under pressure.The restriction came into force at 8am on Sunday, when police reserved the carriageway from Kashi toll plaza near Meerut to UP Gate exclusively for dak kanwars. DCP (traffic) Trigun Bisen said, “The Meerut-Ghaziabad side of DME is now dedicated to dak kanwars.”Police had initially planned to close the stretch from Aug 7 under the traffic diversion plan issued on July 24. But after monitoring the movement of dak kanwars — pilgrims who collect Ganga water from Haridwar and return in relays, running or travelling in vehicles to reach their destinations within a fixed time — cops kept the expressway open for two more days as their numbers remained low.The situation changed on Sunday after Meerut police informed counterparts in Ghaziabad that the number of dak kanwars had increased. The stretch was shut in the morning, but additional DCP (traffic) Varun Singh said its operation would now remain dynamic. He said the route was opened in the evening as the number of pilgrims was low, but vehicle movement would be restricted as soon as the crowd increased.The disruption, whenever traffic curbs are enforced, is likely to be felt most by officegoers travelling towards Delhi on Monday and Tuesday. Delhi-bound traffic from Ghaziabad will be diverted towards Link Road in Vaishali and Anand Vihar border, both of which have far less carrying capacity than the expressway. Traffic from Noida headed towards the capital, which often uses DME, is also expected to add pressure on Noida Expressway and at the Chilla border.Singh said commuters travelling towards Delhi or Ghaziabad would be diverted via NH-9 when restrictions are imposed. Those heading to Delhi from Dasna will have to take Eastern Peripheral Expressway. “People travelling from Delhi who need to go to Meerut are being redirected at Dasna onto NH-9. Only kanwariyas and dak kanwariyas are allowed to proceed further on DME,” Singh added.The three designated kanwar routes in Ghaziabad are Pipeline Road from Loni Border to Niwari for pedestrians, DME from UP Gate to Kashi toll plaza for dak kanwars, and NH-34 via Meerut Chowraha and GT Road towards Seemapuri.Traffic cops have identified 12 major intersections where pilgrim and regular traffic converge. Traffic will be halted periodically to let groups of pilgrims pass, with 12 personnel, including four traffic officers, deployed at each pressure point.
