HYDERABAD: With the BJP top brass and combined Opposition’s presidential candidate Yashwanth Sinha landing in Hyderabad, it was commuters who suffered for hours together on Saturday. At many places, traffic came to a grinding halt, forcing motorists to curse their decision to venture out.
However, traffic movement around the HICC and Novotel at Gachibowli, where the BJP’s national executive meeting is being held, traffic was moving, albeit slowly, through the day. Except for a few halts to facilitate movement of VVIPs and delegates attending the BJP conclave, commuters didn’t face much trouble.
However, the thousands of youngsters and TRS activists, who were part of the bike rally that started from Begumpet Airport to Jalavihar, played havoc with the traffic flow.The ripple effect reduced traffic to a crawl in areas as far away as Begum Bazaar, Goshamahal, Nampally, Lakdi-ka-pul, Khairatabad, Punjagutta, Secunderabad, Paradise, Begumpet, Somajiguda, PVNR Marg, Jalavihar from 11 am onwards. Traffic from Greenlands flyover towards Raj Bhavan Road was diverted at Monappa Island/ Rajiv Gandhi Statue towards Punjagutta.
Likewise, traffic from Khairatabad towards PVNR Marg was diverted at Khairatabad junction towards Shadan College and vehicles coming from Minister’s Road towards Children’s Park were diverted towards Buddha Bhavan, Tank Bund at Nallagutta Bridge.Similarly, vehicles from Tank Bund towards Sanjeevaiah Park were also diverted towards Karbala Maidan at Sonabai Mosque and traffic from Mint Compound towards Necklace Rotary was diverted towards Khairatabad leading to traffic chaos.
So haywire was the traffic situation that some airlines issued an advisory update, alerting passengers about the slow movement of vehicles till Sunday and advising them to allow more time for their journey to the airport.“Traffic snarls in Hyderabad. TRS resorted to puerile tactics inviting Sinha when we are well aware of the BJP meeting. People were massively inconvenienced. Insecurities manifesting in such actions. When will this idiocy end,” Ramachandran Gopinath tweeted.
“Declared online classes. Today for my 3,000 students and 160 staff to avoid adding traffic to Hyderabad as political bonanza sets in today. My contribution towards traffic management,” Rekha Rao tweeted.
“Where are the Hyderabad traffic police? Normally they chase students, women with kids, and elderly people for collecting challans but they don’t take action against political party supporters? Why so,” Ade Govardhan tweeted “Huge bike rally to greet the Joint Opposition Presidential Candidate Yeshwanth Sinha, so will the Hyderabad Traffic Police vigorously implement the helmet rule or conveniently turn a blind eye as usual fearing their political bosses,”
GVG Naidu tweeted “Why traffic diversion in Hyderabad today just for some local party rally,” Pinnapureddy Gavaskar tweeted.