Lagatar24 Desk
Meerut/New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Police have issued a traffic advisory announcing the closure of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME) for heavy vehicles due to the commencement of the Kanwar Yatra on Monday, July 22. The closure will remain in effect until 8 p.m. on August 5, with vehicles being diverted to alternative routes. According to Drik Panchang, Sawan begins on July 22 and ends on August 19 this year, lasting for 29 days and including five Mondays.
From July 29 onwards, traffic restrictions will extend to all vehicles, including private cars.
The Delhi-Meerut Expressway typically sees heavy traffic from Noida, Delhi, and Ghaziabad.
Vehicles traveling from Delhi via Tulsi Niketan, Seemapuri, and Anand Vihar to Ghaziabad will be redirected along Chaudhary Charan Singh Marg towards UP Gate, and then onto NH-9.
For destinations such as Haridwar, Amroha, Moradabad, and Lucknow, vehicles will use UP Gate, NH-9, the Dasna Intersection, and then the Eastern Peripheral Expressway.
Vehicles from Baghpat heading towards Delhi will be redirected through either Tronica City or Sonia Vihar. Meanwhile, vehicles from Hapur and Bulandshahr traveling towards Ghaziabad city via the Dasna railway overbridge will be rerouted to NH-9.
Restrictions will also apply to vehicles along the Loni border and those traveling from the Santosh Medical cut on NH-9 towards Meerut Tiraha.
Heavy vehicles will not be allowed entry from locations such as Gaur Green, Khoda, Kalapatthar, Sector 62, Chhijarasi, and Kanavani to Indirapuram via NH-9. Trucks will also be prohibited on Gangnahar Patri Kanwad Road, Pipeline Road, NH-34 (formerly NH-58), and the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.
Vehicles from Hapur heading towards Modinagar will be redirected via Bhojpur. Vehicles coming from the Vasundhara flyover towards Mohannagar will also be halted.
Additionally, the Uttar Pradesh police have announced that pilgrim groups will not be allowed to set up camps along NH-9 or the DME. Camps will only be permitted on traditional routes with police authorization and not on main roads.
So far, the police have approved 116 out of 214 applications for establishing Kanwar camps.
The Kanwar Yatra is expected to attract 15-20 lakh devotees this year and will conclude on August 2.