Hyderabad: Hyderabad gave a big thumbs down to the protest by BRS cadres at Vidyut Soudha in Somajiguda, which resulted in a traffic gridlock extending to
surrounding roads in a three-kilometre radius.
Morning commuters, already affected by rain in parts of the city, were in for a shock at the sight of the ruling party cadres blocking the traffic. In addition to the hundreds of BRS cadres blocking the entire stretch, their vehicles parked on both sides of the road added to the woes of commuters.
“You make policies and you stage dharnas and create nuisance on the roads.
What kind of administration is this?” questioned an autorickshaw driver who was caught in the traffic near the Khairatabad junction.
A biker, coming from Balapur, said that he noticed slower-than-usual vehicular movement from as far back as the Liberty junction. “I was not aware of this protest and managed to come till here, but I got stuck,” he said.
Commuters were agitated by the long vehicle backlog, and many were angered at the choice of the ruling party to block one of the busiest junctions.
Although BRS cadres announced the protest plan in advance, no alternate measure was in place to ensure the free flow of traffic.
Police from the traffic, law & order and other wings were deployed at the protest site, but could do little to regulate the traffic flow during the protest.
The ripple effect of the protest, in which several senior leaders and legislators of the BRS participated, was felt till Mehdipatnam, with commuters getting stuck on roads leading to the Assembly, PVNR Marg, Tank Bund, Secretariat, Ameerpet, Somajiguda and parts of Begumpet.
Traffic personnel, however, said they managed to regulate traffic flow, with little inconvenience to the public.
