Restrictions Shift With VVIP Movements
More than 35 roads may be affected by restrictions during the summit period, with 22 diversion points established to manage traffic.
Among the important stretches potentially affected are Sardar Patel Marg, Ashoka Road, Mathura Road, Janpath, Barakhamba Road and sections of Ring Road.
Not all of those roads are closed continuously.
Traffic police can temporarily restrict movement as official convoys pass, then reopen routes when security conditions allow. That approach keeps more of the road network available but makes journey times difficult to predict.
On Friday, restrictions and diversions in parts of central Delhi were scheduled between 2 pm and 8:30 pm.
For someone travelling without a fixed deadline, an unexpected diversion is an inconvenience. For a passenger trying to reach a railway station or airport, the same delay can have much greater consequences.
Detours Carry a Financial Cost for Drivers
The effect is particularly visible among workers whose income depends on moving around the city.
Autorickshaw drivers, delivery workers and taxi operators cannot simply switch to remote work during a summit. A diversion adds kilometres to their journeys, consumes more fuel and reduces the number of trips they can complete.
Autorickshaw driver Neeraj Kumar described the problem in practical terms.
“If a one-kilometer journey turns into an eight-kilometer detour, what are we supposed to do?” he said.
Delivery driver Mohammed Eliyas raised a related concern. Reaching work does not necessarily solve the problem if congestion makes completing deliveries difficult.
“Even if we reach work, we will get stuck in traffic. We won't be able to work,” he said.
Their experiences explain why a citywide holiday can reduce disruption without eliminating it. The people most exposed to traffic restrictions often work in jobs that continue precisely because other residents still need transport, food deliveries and essential services.
Metro Offers Greater Predictability
Delhi has not been placed under a general lockdown for the summit.
Metro services continue to operate, making rail a more predictable choice than road transport for many journeys. Access at individual stations can still be temporarily regulated when security requirements demand it.
Buses, taxis, autorickshaws and app-based cabs are also operating, although vehicles may be diverted or prevented from entering controlled zones.
Authorities have advised passengers travelling to airports and railway stations to allow additional time and use the Metro where practical.
That advice is particularly relevant during convoy movements. A road journey that appears straightforward when it begins can change quickly if police temporarily restrict a route ahead.
Thousands Deployed for Summit Security
The disruption reflects the scale of the security operation.
Around 15,000 police personnel and 200 paramilitary companies have reportedly been deployed for the summit, alongside roughly 4,800 traffic police personnel managing roads and delegate movements.
Security is particularly concentrated around Bharat Mandapam and routes used by international delegations.
The gathering brings some of the world's most closely protected political leaders to the Indian capital, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Moving multiple delegations safely through one of India's busiest urban transport networks requires temporary control over roads that residents normally use throughout the day.
That explains the restrictions. It does not reduce their effect on commuters.
Public Holiday Takes Pressure Off the Roads
Delhi's public holiday on September 11 forms an important part of the traffic-management plan.
Schools and government offices are closed, while many private businesses have either shut or allowed employees to work remotely. Some schools had already closed on Thursday as preparations intensified.
Reducing routine commuter traffic gives police more flexibility to create secure corridors for visiting delegations without producing the level of gridlock that would occur on a normal working day.
Delhi used a similar approach during the 2023 G20 Summit, when security measures substantially changed movement across parts of the capital.
The experience also demonstrated the limits of such measures. A public holiday can reduce office traffic, but it cannot remove hospital journeys, airport transfers, deliveries or the daily work of people in transport and other essential services.
Residents Want Clearer, More Predictable Movement
Some residents have taken to social media to share information about barricades and available routes, while others have questioned whether the restrictions could be managed with less disruption.
Kumar argued that the objective should be to protect international visitors without imposing unnecessary difficulties on residents.
“The government should make proper arrangements for foreign delegates so that neither the public nor the guests should face any trouble,” he said.
For traffic authorities, predictability is difficult when convoy schedules and security requirements can change.
That makes timely public information especially important. Police have advised residents to follow official traffic updates before travelling rather than relying on their usual routes.
Emergency services are receiving protected movement arrangements.
Why Delhi Cannot Treat This as an Ordinary Traffic Problem
The BRICS gathering involves 11 member countries and brings together governments representing roughly half of the world's population.
Security planning for an event of that scale cannot operate like routine traffic management. Police need the ability to secure routes quickly, maintain buffers around delegations and respond to changing circumstances.
But the burden of those precautions is not distributed evenly.
An office worker given a holiday may experience little inconvenience. A delivery rider losing several hours to diversions may lose part of the day's earnings. A passenger heading to the airport faces a different risk again.
That difference matters when judging the effectiveness of the city's arrangements.
The objective is not to eliminate every inconvenience around an international summit; that is unlikely to be realistic. The more practical test is whether restrictions remain targeted, information reaches commuters quickly and essential journeys can continue without unnecessary delays.
For Delhi, the BRICS Summit is therefore both a diplomatic event and a logistical exercise. Inside Bharat Mandapam, attention is on international relations. Outside, the immediate concern for many residents is considerably simpler: finding a reliable way across the city.
