New Year’s Day: Delhi Metro ‘restricts entry’ at THIS station; India Gate, Connaught Place draw massive crowds

New Year: Gate number 2 of the Central Secretariat Delhi Metro station was closed at 9:30 pm on Wednesday, January 1, as large crowds waited outside it. As per official timings, Delhi Metro stations remain open until 11 pm.

A man waiting outside the metro gate with a child said that he had been waiting for 10 minutes, and the gate was closed because of the large crowd waiting outside it.

“ ...I am standing for 10 minutes...they said there is a lot of crowd and that's why the gate is closed...it is being said that gate will be opened once information comes from outside,” he told ANI.

Delhi traffic peaks on New Year's Day

On New Year's Day, several roads in Delhi witnessed heavy traffic, and long queues formed at key metro stations as huge crowds thronged the national capital's iconic locations such as India Gate, Connaught Place, and several other sites.

Apart from the Central Secretariat metro station, massive crowds were also spotted at other metro stations such as Mandi House and Rajiv Chowk. All these subway stations in Delhi are the closest to major attractions such as Connaught Place, Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, and Agrasen Ki Baoli, among others.

The Delhi Traffic Police also regularly made social media announcements. "Traffic is affected on Rohtak Road in both the carriageways from Mundka to Rajdhani Park and vice-versa due to deep potholes and water logging. Kindly plan your journey accordingly," the Delhi Traffic Police announced on X on January 1.

Traffic police officers had also barred auto-rickshaws from parking on C-Hexagon near Rajiv Chowk metro station to minimise traffic disruptions. Visitors had also been asked to stay within the India Gate premises to reduce congestion, a police officer told PTI.

Visitors frustrated after waiting for long hours

One resident of Machkar Village who came to visit Qutub Minar with her family was frustrated after she had to wait for over an hour to get entry tickets. “ All our excitement has faded. We're now questioning why we even came here,” news wire PTI quoted the resident as saying.