India, Feb. 13 -- With key arterial roads across the Capital perennially choked, the Delhi Traffic Police appears to be battling a crisis of its own making. Operating at a staggering 20% vacancy - with another 10% of staff effectively unavailable due to leaves, VIP duties, and other deployment - the consequences are not theoretical; they play out on every jammed intersection and unregulated flyover. And with the high-profile AI Impact Summit kicking off next week, likely bringing with it a surfeit of VIP cavalcades and route closures that will paralyse large swathes of the city, commuters are bracing for even more chaos.

Official Delhi Traffic Police data accessed by HT underscores the scale of the problem. Against a sanctioned strength ...