CWG closing ceremony: Here’s what they’re closing-Oct 12, 2010

CWG closing ceremony: Here’s what they’re closing

TNN, Oct 12, 2010, 12.45am IST


NEW DELHI: With over 60,000 spectators expected to congregate at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, all major and minor roads leading to the venue will be out of bounds for those not headed to the stadium for the event.

On the day of the opening ceremony, spectators faced a lot of trouble finding their way to their gates. But this time around, a dedicated access plan have been prepared, and specific Metro stations and park-and-ride lots have been dedicated for spectators using different gates. The traffic police say they saw the tickets for the first time only a day before the opening ceremony and this led to major chaos as spectators were clueless on how to reach their seats.

Now, for all those whose tickets are marked Gate 6 can take Metro trains till Jor Bagh station. From here, DTC will run shuttle buses which will drop spectators at Fourth Avenue. JN Stadium is a brief walk from this point. People should take the pedestrian way through Barapullah parking and then the new Army foot overbridge. As an alternative, spectators can park their vehicles at Safdarjung Airport and take park-and-ride DTC coaches to get down at Fourth Avenue and follow the same pedestrian route to the stadium.

For tickets marked Gate 9, people can take the Metro till Jangpura station, and walk to the stadium or get dropped at Silver Oak and walk the distance. However, there is no parking at this point and hence vehicles will not be allowed to wait after spectators are dropped. Another major entry, at Gate 14, can be accessed by Metro via JLN Stadium station from where the venue is a 100m walk.

DTC is also running focal point buses from 31 locations across the city to reach the Sunehari Pullah parking. From here, the stadium is a brief walk. Spectators can park their vehicles at Safdarjung Airport and take the bus till Mehar Chand Market. People will have to walk the distance from this point using the foot overbridge at Bhishma Pitamah Marg.

"People must take care to adhere to the advisory or else they will face difficulty in reaching their gates. Those getting off at a wrong Metro station or park-and-ride facility will not be able to reach a different gate as the area will be heavily barricaded,'' said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

The main Bhishma Pitamah Marg, from Lodhi Road to Kotla Mubarakpur, will be closed for traffic from 6am to midnight. From 2pm onwards, Lodhi Road between Safdarjung Madrassa and Lodhi Road flyover, JLN Stadium Marg between Mehar Chand Market and Lala Lajpat Rai Marg and MTNL Building Road from Scope Complex Chowk to Kushak Nallah will be closed till the function gets over at midnight. National Highway-24, Ring Road from Bhairon Road crossing to Ashram will be shut off from 2.30pm to 6.30pm and then 8 pm to 1am.

The traffic police have suggested alternative routes. To go from north-south Delhi, people can use the Ring Road, Bhairon Road, Mathura Road, Ashram, Ring Road to Dhaula Kuan or Mathura Road towards Badarpur. The other option is to go via Boulevard Road, Rani Jhansi Road, Faiz Road, Upper Ridge Road and Dhaula Kuan. Similarly, for east-west access, commuters can take the DND Flyover or else use Vikas Marg, ITO, DDU Marg, CP, RML Hospital, Upper Ridge Road.