Chennai: On Monday, when the city police assigned a major portion of their force to the sands of Marina to handle the situation there, the rest of the city felt the lack of policing very much.
At several places across the city where the agitators had blocked roads, motorists complained of inept policing but, at the same time, experienced excellent volunteerism.
“In most of the places, members of public or agitating groups were helping motorists in updating them on traffic snarls and possible routes they should take to reach their destination,” said a software professional working in Guindy.
There were volunteers at almost every junction in the city while men in khaki were not to be seen, though the city police commissioner S. George, during his press meet, claimed that the police personnel were rushed to the spots where the protesters were indulging in road rokos. “Patrol vehicles were rushed to all those junctions where the traffic flow was blocked,” he said.
With no police in the sight, the city witnessed unprecedented road rokos at several places, particularly, in Jawaharlal Nehru Salai between SAF Sports village and Kathipara junction bringing movement of traffic to a complete standstill.
Unlike the road rokos of the past, this time around the protestors blocked interior roads too making it difficult for many office goers and others who were trying to return home because the situation had turned volatile in the city.
In the afternoon, people were stranded without any transport facilities and moved by foot. Those who were in their own transport experienced a harrowing time as the protesters blocked all the key junctions.
“I have never seen such a protest where people blocked even the interior junctions. I had to take to small streets and several turns to reach the destination. A four-kilometre stretch from Kodambakkam to Ashok Pillar was blocked in five places. It took me one hour to reach my destination,” A. Gopal, a retired senior citizen of Ashok Nagar said.
After the interior roads were blocked strategically, the motorists were made to take circuitous routes. “Between SAF sports village junction and Kathipara, I came across nine road blocks including in the interior roads to reach my office in the Guindy industrial estate. I have never seen such a strategically planned road rokos,” said S. Saravanan, a private firm employee.
