Chennai: As AIADMK general secretary and Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa lapped up 63 km across the city in her electioneering covering all 16 constituencies on Wednesday afternoon, Chennai’s traffic management went haywire.
Autorickshaw drivers refused to ply on the routes which she took, while the routes which were sanitised by cops ahead of her campaign did not have MTC buses.
The buses were stopped at nearest bus stops and junctions for the leaders to pass. She began her campaign at Ice House police station junction and wrapped it up at Mylapore covering the entire city in over two hours.
Vehicles could not move between Egmore and Central and the cascading effect was felt on several arterial roads including Grand Northern Trunk Road, Erukkancherry High Road, Perambur Barracks Road, Strahans Road, Walltax Road, EVR Periyar Salai, Anna Salai and GST Road.
Vehicles lined up from Padi Flyover to Retteri. Shoppers who wanted to go to T. Nagar were made to cover the distance by foot after buses were stopped at Saidapet itself.
No vehicles were allowed to ply on Anna Salai from Mount beyond Saidapet until the convoy returned. There was a pile up of vehicles up to Meenambakkam on GST Road.
During the campaign, the entire city moved at snail’s pace despite efforts of traffic police to restore normal traffic flow post-campaigning. Normal traffic was restored late in the evening.
