HYDERABAD: Road-users were caught unawares when the police blocked several arterial roads and intersections to allow the mammoth convoy of over 600 cars of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao’s convoy to travel to Pandharpur in Maharashtra, via very busy areas like Erragadda, Kukatpally and Patancheru at peak hour on Monday.
While commuters said they were caught on roads amid rainy conditions, residents complained they were not allowed to walk on the route to visit temples and vendors claimed a big hit to sales due to the restrictions.
When asked why no alert was given in advance, given the size of the convoy and its movement at a peak hour, a senior traffic police officer said it was not released for security reasons.
A senior city traffic police officer said that the Chief Minister’s convoy left Pragathi Bhavan at 9.45 am and reached Erragadda, at the end of city jurisdiction, in 10 minutes. But police had stopped traffic much earlier, resulting in untold misery to commuters.
However the 600-vehicle convoy was so long that it held up traffic at more than 24 junctions, several more subjunctions, alternative roads, Metro stations and parallel roads for over an hour.
Traffic was blocked on routes either side of the Panjagutta junction, from Lakdikapul and Khairatabad to Erramanzil, till the convoy reached Erragadda.
“I had to wait for over an hour to get to the U-turn from the Taj Krishna road that connects with the Raj Bhavan. My destination was Kukatpally, for which I had to change my route and pass through Sanathnagar. I was two hours late to my officer,” said B.V. Prasad, a software engineer who resides in Vijaynagar Colony.
Pedestrians said that they were also barred from visiting nearby shops, temples and salons till the convoy reached Kukatpally.
Metro Rail users were stranded at the Ameerpet station, an interchange hub. Commuters at the Erramanzil, Panjagutta, Sanathnagar and Moosapet Metro stations also said they were delayed, due to a long wait time to cross the junctions to reach their destinations.
“We had to wait at the station for more than 20 minutes just to cross the road from the station. Luckily, my principal knew about the Chief Minister’s programme and did not scold me for being late,” G. Sirija, a school teacher, said.
Over 400 fruit and vegetable vendors, small kiosk owners and those selling furniture on roadsides at Erragadda, Moosapet and Sanathnagar, who usually open shop at 5.30 am, were not allowed to open their shops till the convoy passed.
“It is our peak hour. There are over 17 hospitals (in the vicinity) and thousands of people daily purchase fruits from our pushcarts. We were strictly not allowed to operate and were told that the Chief Minister is passing through,” said Mohammed Saleem, who sells fruits at the Sanathnagar Rythu Bazaar.
“We hardly earn '600 to '800 a day. Our business is high in the morning hours. Who will pay for our loss? Not only me, but there are over 100 fruit vendors whose families depend on their income. Today, all of us are facing a loss and will have to sell the same fruits tomorrow,” Saleem said.
Jagdish Tiwari, who runs an eatery in Erragadda, said, “I went to open my tiffin centre at 6.30 am, but I was told by my friend that the police had directed shops to open after 11 am. I request the government to find alternatives so that the lives of thousands of poor persons like me, who depend on our daily income, are not affected.”
Shiva Chandra, who delivers products for a food app aggregator, said: “I was held up for more than 50 minutes in the traffic jam near Mata Temple in Moosapet. Finally, the customer cancelled the order despite as she had to reach her office by 10 am and had placed the order at 9 am. If we fail to deliver orders on time or if the customer cancels the order, the same is deducted from our earnings.”
The police officers dismissed the residents’ woes, claiming that they took control of roads for a minimal time. “The convoy started from Pragathi Bhavan at 9.45 am and crossed Erragadda within 10 minutes,” Rahul Hegde, DCP (traffic), said.
Another police officer, requesting not to be named, said: “During VIP movements, the problem for commuters arises when officers take control of roads 10 to 20 minutes before the convoy starts.”
The officer said that on Monday, 126 traffic personnel up to the rank of additional commissioner were deployed for the Chief Minister’s bandobast.
“If it’s a VVIP, the timings change. We do not have any intention to delay (the public). If the convoy gets into an accident or faces an untoward incident, the incharge officer will be held responsible and not the public,” the officer said.
The officer said that traffic personnel are well-versed in clearing traffic jams. “Even our home guard can clear traffic jams within minutes,” he said.
A retired traffic police officer said: “Basically, the traffic police see that there is a smooth flow for commuters, but during VIP moments, they too are helpless due to protocol. As the city has a high traffic density, a traffic jam for even five minutes on any of the city's main roads will lead to traffic congestion across the city.”
