E-Paper
VVIP visit blocks Chandigarh road, commuters suffer
The defence minister visited Chandigarh to inaugurate the country’s first Indian Air Force (IAF) Heritage Centre that has come up at the Government Press building in Sector 18
Union defence minister Rajnath Singh’s visit added to the Monday blues of commuters, as thousands of motorists were stuck in a traffic gridlock caused due to the restrictions imposed for the smooth movement of the minister’s convoy.
The minister was here to inaugurate the country’s first Indian Air Force (IAF) Heritage Centre that has come up at the Government Press building in Sector 18.
To ensure the safe and smooth movement of his convoy, the traffic was diverted/restricted on Dakshin Marg – Airport Light Point, Hallomajra Light Point, Poultry Farm Chowk, Tribune Chowk, Iron Market Light Point, New Labour Chowk (Sector 20/21/33/34); on Madhya Marg – Sector 7/8/18/19 roundabout, Press Light Point (Sector 8/9/17/18) and Matka Chowk (Sector 9/10/16/17); Sector 17/18 light point and Gurudwara turn in Sector 8 during VVIP movement.
This led to major traffic snarls on these roads, the connecting roads and surrounding localities. The traffic was gridlocked especially at Madhya Marg which connects Panchkula and Chandigarh, due to traffic diversions for the VVIP visit.
Chandigarh Police had issued prior traffic advisory on social media platforms to warn residents of possible inconvenience. The public was advised to take alternative routes to avoid congestion and inconvenience.
Though regular updates on traffic were shared on social media accounts of Chandigarh Traffic Police, major traffic chaos was witnessed in the city with commuters losing their cool.
“It is disturbing to see the sheer harassment caused to the public amid VVIP visit. Two chief ministers and Punjab governor reside in the city and still the poor planning of traffic was done by the police here. My vehicle got long stuck in the traffic near Sector 7 due to traffic restrictions. We could not even give way to an ambulance as the traffic flow was curbed by the police to give clear passage to the minister”, said Himesh Sharma, a commuter stuck in the traffic.
Meanwhile a senior police officer said people were made aware well in time about the road diversions days before the visit of the defence minister. “Traffic police followed the protocol and ensured that least inconvenience was caused to the public”, he added.
