GHAZIABAD: Thousands of commuters were stuck for hours on the roads of east Delhi and Ghaziabad as well as NH-24 on Monday evening as police restricted traffic movement on the highway and through the state borders, unable to stop the march of more than 30,000 farmers participating in the Kisan Kranti Yatra . The farmers are travelling in around 2,000 tractor trolleys.Tuesday is expected to be worse for road travel. With the farmers promising to march to Delhi, police will seal UP Gate on NH-24 — which means taking the highway from Delhi to Ghaziabad and vice-versa will not be an option — as well as the Hindon elevated road from UP Gate to Raj Nagar Extension and the border at Anand Vihar.However, Tuesday being a national holiday for Gandhi Jayanti, the office-bound traffic volume will be a lot less.“Travelling to or from Delhi through UP Gate or Anand Vihar will be barred on Tuesday,” Ghaziabad SP (traffic) Shyam Narayan Singh told TOI. “Those wanting to travel towards Delhi from Indirapuram can go to Noida across NH-24 and take any of the routes connecting Delhi. Seemapuri border near Dilshad Garden and the Bhopura route through Hindon airbase roundabout are the other routes (that will be available),” he added.Major traffic snarls were reported from Anand Vihar, NH-24 and Noida Link Road through Monday evening as UP Gate was closed by Ghaziabad police. In the trans-Hindon areas on Ghaziabad, most main roads remained choked throughout the day. Meerut road and the Mohan Nagar-Sahibabad road were the worst affected.Traffic was diverted through Dilshad Garden, DND and Kalindi Kunj to ease off pressure on Delhi traffic. Prohibitory orders have been issued till October 8 to prevent the farmers’ rally from entering the capital, police officers said.The traffic situation on Ghaziabad roads worsened as Monday wore on. The farmers, led by Bharatiya Kisan Union, advanced steadily. Two state ministers, Suresh Rana and Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, spoke to them but failed to convince them to return. Sensing a crisis, chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who was in Delhi, flew to Ghaziabad and held talks with farmers leaders at the Hindon airbase.But the farmers refused to call off their march to press for a range of demands, from fixing minimum support price to changes in the central crop insurance scheme. Rajvir Singh, one of those heading the agitation, said, “Under no circumstances will the rally stop here in Ghaziabad. We will move towards Delhi early Tuesday morning. Many leaders have met us throughout our rally from Haridwar, but none has given us any concrete assurance as far as our demands are concerned.”On Monday evening, the march stopped near the farmhouses next to Sahibabad Sabji Mandi, just 2km from UP Gate. Initially, the plan was that the farmers would congregate at Kamla Nagar stadium and move towards Delhi on Tuesday. Police had even put a traffic diversion plan in place so that roads did not choke.But all arrangements went for a toss as farmers changed their plan. Instead of stopping at Sai Mandir on Meerut road, they decided to halt at Haj House on Mohan Nagar road. But they didn’t stop at Haj House wither, and marched on towards Sahibabad.Consequently, a 5-km long jam was witnessed on Mohan Nagar road as one side of the road (towards Sahibabad) was completely occupied by farmers. Soon after the crowd reached Sahibabad, its effect was felt on NH24. A traffic jam started to build on both sides of the road around 4 pm. The march winded through Meerut Road T-point, GT Road, Mohan Nagar and Vasundhara along Link Road to stop near the Sahibabad wholesale market.“It took me more than two hours to reach my home from Nizamuddin to Ahimsa Khand 2 in Indirapuram as there was a massive tailback of vehicles on NH-24. Normally, this travel takes less than 25 minutes every day,” said Vivek Singh.On Monday, all private and public buses bound from Maharajpur in Kaushambi were barred entry through Link Road. These were diverted to an alternative route through Sahibabad that links GT Road near Sahibabad police station.Administration and police officials opened a few farmhouses along Link Road for the farmers to spend the night. Circle office (traffic) R K Pandey said, “Commuters should remain on alert on Tuesday as well, as farmers plan to move towards Delhi. Cops from various police stations as well the as traffic wing have been put on duty.”Delhi police said they had deployed a huge contingent at the borders to stop the agitating farmers from entering the capital. Sources said the bordering areas of north-east Delhi, Shahdara, east and south-east Delhi had been asked to keep forces on standby to prevent the farmers from entering the city. Police expect a 20,000-strong crowd to reach the capital on Tuesday. Sources said the cops had been directed to “use force” if needed.Railway stations in Delhi and bus stands will also be kept under watch on Tuesday to prevent entry of any protester. The farmers had earlier asked for permission to enter Lutryens Delhi, but it had been denied to them. Senior officials of the home departments of both Delhi and UP had been huddled in a meeting late on Monday to plan security measures. Delhi traffic police issued an advisory asking drivers to avoid Ghazipur Chowk, Road No 56 going towards Anand Vihar ISBT, Apsara Border, GT Road, Mohan Nagar and Ghaziabad. Drivers going towards Ghaziabad have been asked to take the Kashmere Gate-Shahdara-Dilshad Garden-Mohan Nagar route. Commuters can use the DND Flyway to reach Noida Link Road and Mahamaya flyover.

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