KOCHI: The porn star-turned Bollywood actor Sunny Leone received a heart-warming reception in Kochi on Thursday with thousands of fans thronging to the city's main artery MG Road, to get a glimpse of their favourite actor.
However, Sunny's visit left a devastating impact on the city with many getting stranded for hours after the traffic came to a standstill. An ambulance and other public transport vehicles were stranded for over four hours as frenzied fans started to converge from different parts of the state from early morning. The Ernakulam central police registered cases against hundreds of yet-to-be-identified persons for disrupting traffic.
The fans' over-enthusiasm also resulted in the destruction of property including an ATM's hoarding which forced the cops to lathi-charge multiple times. Many youngsters even climbed onto the rooftops of nearby shops and buses to see Sunny, who was here to inaugurate a mobile showroom.
Social activists blamed the police, the Kochi corporation, and the organisers for the chaos.
There is an order of the Division Bench of the Kerala High Court banning the conduct of any business or meeting, assembly, or taking out processions or demonstrations on public roads, including road margins and footpath. Neither the police nor the Kochi Corporation did anything to prevent the organisers from conducting such a large event.
People from western parts of Kochi had the most difficulty in reaching the city on Thursday and many were forced to end their journey at Thevara owing to the traffic congestion created by the frenzied fans. A 65-year-old person who had to visit a private bank in the city said, "It took nearly three hours for me reach from Mattancherry to my bank at KPCC junction. This is really a pathetic show by the Kochi corporation and the Police as their inability has made many people stranded on the road."
Even the police who have the responsibility to control the mob washed their hands of any responsibility. "The actor's visit really affected the traffic movement of the city. Anyhow, we can not initiate any action against the public as no one is part of any organisation," said city police commissioner M P Dhinesh.
"We had a tough time to manage the crowd. A case has been registered against the persons to be identified on charges of disrupting traffic," said Ernakulam central assistant commissioner of Police K Laljy. However, the traffic was restored in the city by 2.30 pm.