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Traffic police advice: A portion of Ashoka Road in New Delhi will be closed for vehicular movement from today till September 10. The Delhi Traffic Police has issued an advisory advising people to avoid this route. The advisory states that a portion of Ashoka Road from Jaswant Singh Chowk to Windsor Place Chowk will be closed for vehicular movement between August 12 and September 10 due to sewer line repair work by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).
The advisory states that vehicular movement will continue on the other side of Ashoka Road from Windsor Place to Jaswant Singh Square. People travelling from C-Hexagon India Gate towards Windsor Place are advised to use Kasturba Gandhi Marg. These traffic restrictions are likely to cause extensive traffic jams on one of the most important roads in this part of the capital.
According to NDMC officials, a nearly 1 km stretch of Ashoka Road between Jaswant Singh Marg roundabout and Windsor Place roundabout will be closed for traffic from August 12 to September 10. “Commuters travelling from India Gate’s C Hexagon towards Windsor Place are advised to use Kasturba Gandhi Marg and reach Windsor Place via Feroze Shah Road traffic signal,” an official said.
People aware of the matter said the road on Ashoka Road caved in twice on July 7 and July 10 due to damage to the sewer line. Nearly half of the road near 14 Ashoka Road has been barricaded due to the earlier cave-in, while the Windsor Place roundabout already witnesses traffic jams during peak hours.
A traffic police official said that adequate number of traffic personnel will be deployed at the diversion points during peak hours to ensure smooth flow of traffic. Commuters travelling from C Hexagon towards Windsor Place should use KG Marg and Feroz Shah Road to reach their destination, the official said.
The NDMC official said many of the NDMC sewer lines were laid before Independence and need to be replaced. “The old sewer line settled and started leaking, leading to soil erosion and damage to a portion of the road. The damaged portion of the pipeline has to be replaced for permanent relief,” said the official, who did not wish to be named. “We are carrying out the upgradation work in phases. Old brick barrel lines from Q Point to Sunheri Pul drain via Bharti Nagar and Archbishop Makarios Marg also need to be renovated. Repairs on Ashoka Road may take several days,” the official said.
Another NDMC official said there are many places in Lutyens' Delhi where sewer lines are 80-90 years old. Sewer lines in Mathura Road, Lodhi Road and other areas have already been replaced, and a project is underway for areas like CP, KG Marg, Satya Marg, Kautilya Marg, Shanti Path and C-Hexagon, the official said. Some of these lines are brick-barrel and some have been built using concrete using technology that is now outdated.