Full dress rehearsal of Republic Day parade 2020, traffic snarls in parts of Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 23: Thousands of commuters faced difficulties in reaching their destinations as several roads were closed in view of full dress rehearsal of the Republic Day parade, leading to traffic snarls in the Lutyens' Delhi on Thursday.

There was heavy traffic congestion at Dhaula Kuan, Bhikaji Cama Place, ITO and Pragati Maidan.

The rehearsal parade began at 9.50 am from Vijay Chowk and proceeded towards the Red Fort via Rajpath, C-Hexagon, Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Netaji Subhash Marg, according to the Delhi Police.

Traffic on Rajpath - from Vijay Chowk to India Gate - was restricted during the rehearsal on Thursday, the police said. Metro services were available for commuters but entry and exit gates at Udyog Bhawan and Central Secretariat stations were closed.

No heavy transport vehicles were allowed to enter the national capital from borders from 10 pm on Wednesday till the rehearsal concluded in the afternoon on Thursday. They were allowed to ply between ISBT Sarai Kale Khan and ISBT Kashmiri Gate on Ring Road from 7.30 am to 1.30 pm on Thursday.

The traffic on Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Subhash Marg was restricted on both directions. For the Republic Day too, no traffic will be allowed on Rajpath from Vijay Chowk to India Gate from 6 pm on Saturday till the parade gets over on Sunday. No cross traffic on Rajpath from 11 pm on Saturday at Rafi Marg, Janpath, Man Singh Road till the parade gets over. C-Hexagon-India Gate will be closed for traffic from 2 am on Sunday till the parade crosses Tilak Marg, a traffic advisory said.

From 5 am on Sunday, the traffic on Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Subhash Marg will not be allowed on both directions. Cross traffic will only be allowed depending upon the movement of the parade.

In this year's Republic Day parade, the Walled City of Jaipur and Gujarat's iconic stepwell in Patan, both UNESCO world heritage, and the 550th anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev will be thematically showcased among the host of tableaux.

Jammu & Kashmir will participate in the parade for the first time as a Union Territory. Out of the total 22 tableaux, 16 will be of various states and UTs and six of ministries, departments and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). They were unveiled at an event held at the Delhi Cantonment on Wednesday. Northeastern states will be represented by Assam and Meghalaya.