Traffic in the State capital was thrown out of gear due to the rallies carried out by various outfits, including the main Opposition party BJP, Congress, BJP’s student affiliate ABVP and some others. Police having drafted a traffic plan involving diversion of routes at various places while keeping the rallies in view failed to provide relief to the harangued commuters.
Vehicles moved at a snail’s pace with public transports taking over an hour more to reach their destinations. Traffic jams began since the morning and continued till late evening.
As the activists loyal to different organisations started reaching Dehradun in their hordes traffic jams ensued at various crossings across the city, snarls that were found continuing long after the rallies were over.
Despite district police having drafted traffic plan, long queues of vehicles were seen stuck up at various crossings as the rallies were moving on.
Vehicles were found stuck up at Clock Tower, Survey Chowk, Dilaram Chowk, Doon Hospital and other places in the city. Some had to wait for a long time to get autos or buses to reach destinations during the noon when students came out of their schools.
A bike- borne Sohan Kishor Singh, found stuck at Dilaram Chowk, said that it was over an hour that he had remained stuck there. “Besides, the role of police is pitiable. They do nothing to give us relief,” he said.
Venting annoyance against the ordeal they have been facing almost daily helplessly without the least possibility of redress in sight, Manish Semwal, a commuter, said they had nothing to hope that things would be better for them in the coming days. “Political rallies would be held to champion our cause and we would be made to suffer ordeal on the road for hours on end. This is the irony of our democracy,” he said despairingly.