On Dec. 7, Delhi hosted a whopping 25,000 weddings on a single day, as the date was considered to be extremely "auspicious" according to Hindu astrologers. The resulting celebrations added to the city's traffic woes, and added to its air pollution, which has already reached dangerous levels in the last month.
Several major roads were choked with bumper-to-bumper traffic, despite additional personnel being deployed by the Delhi Traffic Police. Transport minister Nitin Gadkari was among those caught in the traffic jams. After being stuck near a wedding hotspot in Mahipalpur for nearly two hours, Gadkari ordered the authorities to make the road "jam-free" in 24 hours.
Massive traffic jams in delhi. Took 3 hrs to cover 12 kms frm central delhi 2 Mayur Vihar ! #OddEvenFormula shd b applied 2 weddings first— Vishal Dahiya (@dahiya_v) December 7, 2015
That moment when the groom sitting on a chariot talks with his friends sitting in a BMW at a stuck Delhi Traffic... #25000MarriagesInOneDay— Prashant Kumar (@prashant_ians) December 7, 2015
This is far from being the highest number of weddings in the city in a single day. In 2011, the Indian capital saw as many as 60,000 weddings on Nov. 27, which is considered to be a record of sorts across the country.
Since Hindu wedding dates are governed by astrology, there is generally a day like this nearly every year in India, when the planetary positions are deemed to be the most auspicious in the entire season. While several people posted about the high number of weddings on social media, some saw the funny side of the celebrations.
RT if you haven't been invited to any of the 25000 weddings in Delhi...— AcronymMuktBharat (@sidin) December 7, 2015
25000 weddings in Delhi and approx 2500000 uncle/aunts asking 1000000000 questions there.— Mojo (@Singhlicious) December 7, 2015
25000 weddings in Delhi today. 2500000 pics on Facebook tomorrow.— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) December 7, 2015
Delhi is also in the midst of a debate on how to curb its air pollution. With close to 9 million private vehicles running on the the city's roads everyday, Delhi already has the world's most toxic air. With air quality levels plummeting in winter, the Delhi government has announced an odd-even measure to curb car traffic in the city. The move is being heavily debated, despite the Delhi High Court describing the city as a "gas chamber".
For now, the Delhi Traffic Police is gearing up for another surge of traffic over the weekend, when numerous marriages are scheduled.