Students 'Chalo Assembly' clogs city roads

Hyderabad, Feb 21 (Inn): Following the 'Chalo Assembly' call given by the Telangana Students Joint Action Committee, under the command of Prof Kodandaram, all the principal roads, the nerve centres of the city came under police barricades as a result of which traffic was thrown out of gear. The police barricades had the affect of the traffic flow, always precariously close to being clogged, collapsing completely in the city. The impact of the road diversions spill-over was immediate and chaotic.

Buses, cars, two-wheelers and auto-rickshaws competed with each other to hurry and dart into lanes and bylanes to avoid being caught in the traffic jam. The result was dramatic, with most arterial roads also being clogged with vehicles. Commuters were seen waiting patiently, hoping that the traffic flow would resume and cursing whoever they held responsible for the jams.

The roads leading to and arount the Assembly premises, besides the lanes and other arteries, particularly at Nampally and Lakdi-ka-pul Junctions were clogged. 'I was in a hurry to reach my office at Lakdi-ka-pul. I should have reached my office an hour ago, but I got delayed by the diversions put up by the police. It took me an hour to cover a distance of four km from Afzalgunj that normally takes me 15-20 minutes during peak hours,' complained B Uma, a resident of Begum Bazaar.

The worst hit areas were Nampally, Lakdi-ka-pul, Himaythnagar, Basheerbagh, Abids, Afzalgunj, Osmangunj, Khairtabad, Rajbhavan Road, Ameerpet, Panjagutta and the arteries of these major roads. There were other complaints as well. 'I got stranded in the traffic jam near Himayathnagar for more than fifty minutes. The gridlocked traffic made it impossible to move ahead or go back,' said Kalyan resident of Pedda Amberpet, a regular commuter.

For Laiq Bhai, an auto-rickshaw driver, it was dreadful three hours in the peak morning hours. He said, 'There was a breakdown to an RTC bus in the middle of the Gandhi Bhavan Road at Nampally, further complicating matters. The fumes of fuels and the stench from garbage dumps made my passengers almost vomit. It was living hell for us all.'

The situation continued in Ameerpet and the Khairtabad. 'The roads and traffic are so bad here. Such sudden jams make commuting by road a horror. 'The sudden traffic diversions had to impose in view of called given by the JAC students, so that proceedings inside the House can pass off peacefully,'explained a traffic police officer.

The traffic jam were the result of the police being forced to resort to putting up the barricades when, as if part of a pre-formulated plan, the protesting students divided themselves into two groups and chose to reach the Assembly from two different routes.