Phase-III of Delhi Metro starts on wrong foot

Though arrangements have been made by DMRC, commuters are complaining of loss of precious time and money due to lengthy diversions near JanpathEven though work on the new phase of the Delhi Metro along Janpath has created traffic hassles, DMRC says it has made adequate arrangements to handle the situation. The stretch under construction, leading to some of the major hotels and office buildings, has been closed and traffic diverted to various lanes. Road, now less-travelled: Traffic being diverted due to ongoing Metro work on Janpath in New Delhi on Thursday. Pic/Subhash Barolia'Brake'downCommuters, however, complain that they are facing problems due to the closed stretch and have to take an almost one-kilometre detour to cross over to the other side. To take care of the coming vehicles, apart from the traffic personnel, people representing the various buildings like Hotel Imperial, Hotel Janpath, Thapar House and others, are on guard to give directions. I have my office ahead of the Janpath road, but the road is being dug, I have to take another road, which takes me about half-an-hour more to reach office, which otherwise was just a five-minute distance, said Kuldeep Chand, a commuter. HelplessAccording to DMRC officials, the necessary traffic arrangements have been made to help commuters. This is an everyday route to work, which will be under construction now for a long time. There is nothing we can do, but take a longer route, said another commuter. The Metro officials on the site said, The traffic to hotel Imperial has a specific lane and they will have no problem. The general traffic will have to be diverted till the construction is on.