Vehicular movement was partially restored on Wednesday after authorities reopened one lane of the Ring Road stretch between Maharani Bagh and Ashram Chowk, which had been closed since late Monday night for repairs to a damaged Delhi Jal Board (DJB) sewage pipeline.The traffic congestion on the Ring Road near Ashram Chowk in Delhi on Tuesday. (Raj K Raj /HT Photo)Traffic police said the move brought significant relief after severe congestion across south-east Delhi on Tuesday.Delhi Traffic Police said one lane of the Maharani Bagh-Ashram Chowk carriageway had been reopened while repair work continued on the remaining section.“We have opened one lane of the Maharani Bagh-Ashram Chowk carriageway of the Ring Road for traffic. Traffic personnel have been deployed on the route to regulate the flow of traffic and ensure lesser inconvenience to motorists. They are also ensuring that the restoring of the traffic on one lane isn’t affecting the ongoing DJB pipeline repair work,” additional commissioner of police (traffic) Dinesh Kumar Gupta said.Traffic movement across parts of southeast Delhi had descended into chaos on Tuesday after authorities shut the Ring Road section between Maharani Bagh and Ashram Chowk to facilitate the repairs. Commuters remained stranded for hours as traffic crawled on Mahatma Gandhi Road, Mathura Road, Eastern Avenue, CV Raman Marg and several other arterial roads.Motorists travelling from Sarai Kale Khan and the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) corridor towards Delhi were among the worst affected, with many complaining of poor traffic management and inadequate coordination among agencies.A traffic police inspector said lengthy traffic snarls were reported on the Ring Road and the DND flyway carriageway leading into Delhi from north Delhi, Ghaziabad, east Delhi and Noida due to the closure and diversions. Since the traffic advisory issued on Monday night had recommended the Ashram flyover and Barapullah flyway as alternate routes, both elevated corridors witnessed heavy congestion throughout Tuesday.“Keeping in view Tuesday’s massive traffic congestion and the problems caused to motorists, we have opened one lane for vehicles, even as a majority of the traffic is still being diverted on the Ashram and Barapullah flyovers. The traffic situation is relatively better today as compared to Tuesday. No major traffic congestion was reported even in the morning peak hours. We are monitoring the situation through patrolling, navigation maps, complaints of traffic jams received in our control room and social media posts,” the officer said.Another traffic inspector said traffic entering Delhi via the DND flyway was moving normally and no major jams had been reported since Wednesday morning.A senior DJB official said on Tuesday that a major 1,200-mm sewage pipeline near Ashram Chowk had developed a leak, causing the road surface near the busy intersection to sink.“If the work was delayed, it could have led to a complete cave-in. This 1,200-mm deep line carries sewage from Red Fort, Supreme Court, WHO, and the New Delhi area towards Okhla STP. Some agency must have carried out drilling or repair work, which triggered the leakage. We sought permission from traffic police and started the repair works around Monday midnight. The leakage has been detected and repaired, and we are hoping that the situation will be resolved by Tuesday night,” the official said, requesting anonymity.According to a traffic advisory issued by Delhi Traffic Police on Monday night, the Ring Road carriageway was scheduled to remain fully closed from 10pm on June 15 for approximately three to four days to facilitate repairs.DJB officials said the three-day timeline remains tentative and is intended to ensure that no fresh leakage emerges after repair and refilling work is completed.“Monsoon is ahead of us and such a leakage or road damage could not be left unrepaired,” the official said.