Full Dress Rehearsal for Republic Day Parade, Traffic Congestion Likely in Central Delhi on Thursday

New Delhi: Several roads in central Delhi are expected to remain shut briefly on Thursday for the full dress rehearsal of the Republic Day Parade, raising the possibility of traffic congestion.

The rehearsal will start at 9.50 am at Vijay Chowk and will proceed towards the Red Fort via Rajpath, C-Hexagon, Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Netaji Subhash Marg, taking the route the actual parade will take on January 26, according to Delhi Police.

Traffic on Rajpath from Vijay Chowk to India Gate has been restricted till the rehearsal is over on Thursday, and from 6 pm Saturday till the parade concludes on Sunday, police said in an advisory.

Metro services will be available for commuters on Thursday but a few gates at Udyog Bhawan and Central Secretariat stations will be closed. "Exit and entries will remain functional at the two stations," a senior DMRC official said.

On Sunday, the entry and exit will remain closed at Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhawan from 5 am till 12 noon and Lok Kalyan Marg and Patel Chowk from 8.45 am to 12 noon, the official added.

The Delhi Police advisory added that no cross traffic will be allowed on Rajpath from 11 pm on Wednesday at Rafi Marg, Janpath, Man Singh Road till the rehearsal gets over. C-Hexagon-India Gate will be closed for traffic from 09.15 am on Thursday till the rehearsal parade crosses Tilak Marg, it stated.

From 10 am on Wednesday, the traffic on Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Subhash Marg has been restricted on both directions. Cross traffic will only be allowed depending upon the movement of the rehearsal parade, the 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.

Flying of sub-conventional aerial platforms like para-gliders, para-motors, hang gliders, UAVs, UASs, microlight aircraft, remotely piloted aircraft, hot air balloons, small size powered aircraft, quadcopters or para jumping from aircraft are prohibited over the jurisdiction of National Capital Territory of Delhi till February 15, it said.