Friday, October 8, 2010

Central Delhi roads to remain closed on Sunday for Cyclothon

Two days before the capital hosts a walk and cyclothon as part of the Commonwealth Games, work on the routes still remains. Delhiites can expect roadblocks in central Delhi on Sunday as cyclists will take part in the 165-km event. To facilitate the event, roads are going to be blocked off a night earlier. The events are scheduled on October 9, 10 and 14.

The affected roads for the main cyclothon event on October 10 include Vijay Chowk, Rajpath, Janpath, Rajendra Prasad Road, Red Cross Road, Parliament Street, Outer Circle, Barakhamba Road, Inner Circle, Minto Road, Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Marg, take a round around the CAG building before turning back on DDU Marg and continuing back on the same route till Vijay Chowk. The main road at DDU Marg, however, is yet to be re-laid. The civic agencies have completed the road relaying work.

Last-minute work like barricading, painting of central verges and other street furniture and horticulture work is being carried out at a frenzied pace. According to OC officials, all the necessary arrangements have been completed but last-minute cleaning up will continue till the event starts since it is taking place in an open area. Said Lalit Bhanot, secretary general of the OC: ‘‘Since the events are taking place in the open, one has to be very careful about security. All the work has been completed, last-minute checks will be carried out till the events begin.’’

The OC has finished barricading the entire route. In addition, changing rooms, broadcasting and recording rooms, lounges, toilets etc, are being set up along the route of the cyclothon. Some seating will also be provided along Sansad Marg. There is a power requirement of 3,000 kilowatts for this event.

The traffic police said the entire route of the cyclothon will be cordoned off for traffic starting from midnight a day earlier. ‘‘The cyclothon which has a 165km men’s event and a 100-km women’s event, will start at 9am and continue till 7pm. The roads will be blocked on midnight of October 9 and opened only after the event gets over,’’ said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic). The cops will also divert buses along the route. Since the event is scheduled for a Sunday, the traffic police don’t expect much dislocation to traffic but blocking of roads could lead to inconvenience. Delhi Police has also set up 270 temporary CCTV cameras along the route. Rajeev Chowk, Central Secretariat and Patel Chowk Metro stations will also remain closed from 6 am to 6 pm.

The walk scheduled on October 9 will affect movement of traffic at Sansad Marg and Parliament Street. The traffic police plan to block movement of all traffic on the roads from midnight on October 8. The walk will start at 6.30am and will continue till 8am after which the roads will be opened. The route starts at RBI building and continues straight for 1km till Outer Circle and back.

On October 14, the day of the closing ceremony, a marathon will be held. It will start at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and tour the city. Even as roads will be closed for this, it is not expected to lead to jams since it’s a public holiday.

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