VISAKHAPATNAM: Scores of people thronged major junctions in the City of Destiny to catch a glimpse of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who commenced his ‘Memanta Siddham’ bus yatra from the Chinnayapalem stay point in Anakapalle district on Sunday.
On day 20, his first stop was at Pinagadi Junction in Pendurthi mandal. Despite the scorching heat, locals eagerly lined up along the roads to cheer for the YSRC president. After interacting with locals from Pinagadi village, Jagan headed to Visakhapatam. The cavalcade passed through Lakshmipuram, Vepagunta Junction, Gopalapatnam, and NAD Junction. In the city limits, the roadshow passed through Kancherapalem Mettu, Akkayapalem, Maddilapalem, Venkojipalem, and Hanumantha Vaka and concluded the programme at Endada.
The Chief Minister had his lunch before entering Gopalapatnam and reached Kancherapalem Mettu around 6:30 pm. Due to the massive crowd, the roadshow covered just 9.6 km in three hours.
While touring Rampuram village, the Chief Minister met specially-abled twins G Tarun Kumar and G Jeevan Kumar. Jeevan told Jagan that he secured 815 marks in the intermediate exams. The brothers expressed their aspiration to pursue higher studies and sought Jagan’s help. Impressed by their determination, the Chief Minister assured them complete support in their academic pursuits.
“I was delighted to see Jagan in person. I have personally benefited from his welfare schemes. Participating in the rally was my way of expressing gratitude for everything he has done for us,” expressed Shantamma.
As the yatra traversed through Uttarandhra, scores of Opposition leaders from Jana Sena and TDP joined the YSRC.
Senior JSP leader Giridhar Gampala, who contested the 2019 elections from Visakhapatnam South constituency, along with other party members G Sreeja and G Dhanush joined the YSRC. Executive trustee of Shankar Foundation Krishna Kumar, former TDP district president and former UDA director D Bharti, and TDP Youth Wing leaders Charan, Sandeep, Kiranmayi and Dasu also joined the YSRC.
Traffic snarls reported
Several junctions and interior roads in the city reported severe traffic snarls. While the Chief Minister’s cavalcade arrived at the Akkayapalem junction highway at 7:30 pm, the road leading to Akkayapalem 80-feet road from Akkayapalem highway was closed for commuters from 3:30 pm.
Consequently, traffic jams occurred on interior roads connecting major junctions, while others routes experienced slow-moving traffic.
“The roadshow should be properly planned to avoid disrupting traffic. The Chief Minister’s late entry into the city caused significant congestion at main junctions like Satyam and Akkayapalem during rush hour in the evening, affecting commuters from all walks of life. Either busy routes should be avoided or utilised during non-peak hours,” a motorist stuck in the traffic jam opined.