HYDERABAD: Despite advisory issued by the police regarding the diversions for Hanuman Jayanti in advance, several commuters were caught unawares. Clad in saffron clothes, waving saffron flags of varying sizes, shouting religious slogans, thousands of bike-borne devout participated in the procession in the city. The rally covering 12 km started at 10:30 am from Gowliguda Ram Mandir and concluded at Tadbund Hanuman Temple later in the night.
Though police bandobast for the procession was heavy, they couldn’t stop the traffic snarls at places like RTC Crossroads, Narayanguda and Chikkadpally were commuters were stuck in jams for hours.
Several commuters faced difficulty after police diverted traffic without telling them which alternate route to take. While bikers were seen shoving their vehicles over the divider to get away from the rally, those in the four wheelers had a tough time either being stranded in the bumper to bumper traffic or going round in round in the same area with no one to give them clear directions.
Sanjay Prasad, who was going to Khairatabad from Amberpet, spent two hours in the traffic at RTC crossroads. “There were so many cops but none of them knew which route leads where. I stopped to ask one and he said he didn’t know. Later, some boys who were part of the procession directed me,” the private employee rued.
Thousands turn up for Shobha Yatra
Hyderabad: The Shobha Yatra organised on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti went off peacefully on Saturday here. At around 10. 30 am, the yatra started at Gowliguda Ram temple and covered almost 12 kilometers to reach Hanuman temple at Tadbun. Thousands of devotees, armed with saffron flags and chanting Jai Sri Ram and Jai Hanuman, took part in the procession. Several organisations and business establishments set up free butter milk, water camps near the stretch where the procession was held.
Meanwhile, the Hyderabad city police made all arrangements by taking precautionary measures to prevent untoward incidents. Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar, who monitored the procession from the command control room, said that a special team kept an eye on the situation through 400 CCTV cameras installed in the city. Thousands of police personnel were deployed at all sensitive localities.