AAP rally in Ludhiana: Chaos prevails on city roads
The political rally was conducted in favour of AAP’s West constituency nominee MP Sanjeev Arora where supporters from all across the Punjab attended the event; as many as 324 state-run buses were deployed and parking area remained jam-packed
The visit of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann to Pakhowal Road indoor stadium for a public rally on Tuesday caused massive traffic disruptions across several key areas of Ludhiana. Commuters faced long delays as major roads, including the Pakhowal Road, Model Town, Sarabha Nagar, Jawaddi, and Punjab Mata Nagar, remained choked for hours.
The political rally was conducted in favour of AAP’s West constituency nominee MP Sanjeev Arora where supporters from all across the Punjab attended the event. As many as 324 state-run buses were deployed and parking area remained jam-packed. Due to this, parking was done on roadside which created chaos for the commuters. Even emergency vehicles were seen stuck in the traffic.
One-way traffic restriction caused bottlenecks
The administration had enforced one-way traffic restrictions 11am onwards, leading to congestion on alternate routes. Office goers, school buses, and emergency vehicles found themselves stuck in long queues as roads turned into bottlenecks. Frustrated residents and commuters criticised the poor planning, stating that prior arrangements should have been made to avoid such inconvenience.
Gurpreet Singh, a businessman stuck in traffic near Model Town, said, “It took me over an hour to cover a distance that usually takes 10 minutes. Authorities should have informed the public in advance and made alternative arrangements.”
Amanpreet Kaur, a teacher, added, “School children were stranded in buses for hours due to the traffic jam. Political events should not disrupt daily life like this. Already traffic congestion has become pain in the neck of the commuters in daily life due to political event the city got blocked for several hours.”
Despite heavy police deployment, traffic remained chaotic for nearly four hours before gradually easing in the afternoon. While authorities assured that diversions were in place, commuters argued that the arrangements were inadequate.
Situation controlled after a few hours: Police
Commissioner of police Kuldeep Singh Chahal said, “We have already managed the traffic diversions and traffic congestion was there for only a few hours as hundreds of buses were present. The situation was later was brought to normal.”
With political rallies becoming frequent ahead of the by-elections, city residents have urged authorities to ensure better traffic management in the future.
