Hyderabad: The ruling party’s civic election meeting addressed by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao at Parade Grounds here threw the traffic out of gear on Saturday. Commuters spent more than an hour to travel a short distance from Begumpet flyover to Hari Hara Kala Bhavan junction. Traffic diversions only added to the problems. The narrow roads failed to cope with the heavy flow of vehicles at evening peak hour, while TRS activists marched to the Parade Grounds in a steady stream, and vehicles that brought them near the venue were parked at Clock Tower. This, despite the Hyderabad traffic police alerting the public about alternative routes which largely went unheeded. The traffic was uncontrollable in the areas nearby, as the Parade Grounds itself resembled a mela in progress. Traffic jams started from 6pm and continued beyond 9.30pm by when the parked vehicles moved out. The jam extended till Banjara Hills, while all the DCMs and other vehicles were seen parked on the main road along the Clock Tower.
The Chief Minister reached Parade Grounds around 7.45 pm, and after his speech ended, it was a hard struggle for the people to get out of the grounds and head for their homes. Large numbers of women were also present. Motorists were in deep trouble as vehicles would not move amid the traffic jams. “The meeting should have been held during the afternoon or on Sunday morning, when the rush of office people would not have been there on the streets. I spent over one hour crossing Begumpet, airport and Paradise bridge,” said a harried Madhusudan Chary. All the alternative routes via Paradise, Sindhi Colony and Minister Road were choked. After the meeting, the route from Secunderabad towards Panjagutta was jammed.
There were much noise, slogan-shouting and air pollution. A few people were seen standing outside the Parade Grounds and on the flyovers, causing major inconvenience to commuters.
The speeches of TRS leaders could be heard till Banjara Hills as loudspeakers were installed all the way from Secunderabad to the Hills. Traffic on the ever crowded Begumpet stretch moved at a snail's pace as thousands of party workers, vehicles and the public in and around the Parade Grounds area brought vehicular traffic to a standstill.
