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Amritsar proud to host 2-day ‘Heart of Asia’ event but city choked due to traffic restrictions
It is a matter of pride for the city to host the two-day Heart of Asia ministerial conference which commenced on Saturday, but the barricading of roads and traffic restrictions caused great inconvenience to the residents.
It is a matter of pride for the city to host the two-day Heart of Asia ministerial conference which commenced on Saturday, but the barricading of roads and traffic restrictions caused great inconvenience to the residents.
Top dignitaries from 14 member countries are meeting here to discuss key challenges facing the region, including from terror groups, and explore ways to bring lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan.
A thick security blanket was thrown in the city to ensure safety of delegates from participating countries, supporting countries including China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE, and various organisations. Also a special traffic route had to be marked for them, leading to hassles for the local residents.
The city was dotted with police personnel deployed to make sure that the visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani and adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz are hassle-free by providing them a traffic free route.
The walled city got choked due to traffic snarls as the Hall Bazar was closed for the commuters and it was converted into a no-traffic zone. No vehicle was allowed in the Town Hall area and route diversion was made from RS tower (Bijliwala Chowk) from where the traffic was sent towards the already chaotic markets such as Katra Jaimal Singh, Katra Baghia and Guru Bazar.
The worst-affected areas were adjoining the Golden temple which connect each other. The scenario led to traffic jams wherein people got stuck for hours, with no way out.
11 paramilitary companies, 5,000 cops deployed
Amritsar was turned into a fortress with deployment of 11 companies of parliamentary forces and 5,000 cops.
“Amritsar police are on their toes to ensure smooth traffic movement to VIPs and others. It may give a bit of hassle to residents, but we assure that after Sunday evening, there would be normalcy and smooth movement of traffic,” said ADCP, traffic, Gurcharan Singh.
He said in order to supervise traffic, Batala SSP Daljinder Singh Dhillon, 4 SPs, 8 DSPs and 16 inspectors have been put on duty, beside 600 cops.
Barricading on major roads
During the morning hours, when the delegates landed at the city airport, there were a proper arrangements for them. But as the entire airport area was cordoned off and people faced a lot of problems.
Security was so tight that traffic movement was also hampered at the airport road and people were held back to their homes. In the afternoon, the entire Circular Road was under surveillance and all the U-turns were prohibited which gave hard time to commuters. The area where PM Modi, along with other VIPs, is putting up was also converted into a no-traffic zone because of safety issues and every vehicle crossing the adjoining road was also checked. Even the cars with read beacons were also stopped for checking.
PM pays obeisance at Golden temple
There was a security alert in the late evening as PM Modi, who is putting up at Taj, left for paying obeisance at the Golden temple. The entire route he took was made traffic-free which affected the regular traffic of the city.
