India, Nov. 6 -- Delhi saw widespread traffic chaos on Friday as the Dhanteras shopping rush brought large parts of the national capital to a near standstill, with bumper-to-bumper traffic, kilometres-long vehicle queues, and commuters stranded for hours on several arterial roads, flyovers and market stretches.

From North and South Delhi to Central and East Delhi, motorists struggled to navigate congested roads, with vehicles barely moving at several intersections and even short journeys turning into prolonged commutes. Congestion intensified as shoppers headed to jewellery stores, shopping centres and traditional markets to buy gold, silver, utensils, clothes and other festive essentials ahead of Diwali.

In West Delhi, the stretch betw...