Commuters heading for holiday destinations from Noida remained stuck in traffic for almost three hours on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway on the morning of December 31.
The weekend revelry was brought to a halt because of development work being carried out by the Uttar Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation Limited.
The corporation was carrying out work on new, high-tension cables just 100 m from the Greater Noida end of the expressway.
Surya Prakash, who was heading to Gwalior from Sector 93A, said he was stuck for more than an hour and a half near Jaypee Infratech Ltd, as were hundreds of other vehicles. He complained, “The authorities were aware of the holiday weekend. Was it then reasonable to start the work on December 31? This is hugely inconvenient for commuters!”
Kalyani Prayaga, who was travelling on the Taj Expressway, said, “After being stuck for more than an hour, vehicles started moving at a snail’s pace. It was freezing outside, with the temperature dipping to 14°C! It was a hellish drive, really!”
The corporation has put up signboards saying "Work in Progress" on both sides of the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway. Vipin Raghav, traffic sub-inspector, said, “The corporation obtained permission before starting work. We started around 9.30 am and took almost two hours to complete.”