State police breathed a sigh of relief, as contrary to apprehension, the maiden day of the Budget session of the State Assembly passed off peacefully. Security was heightened in view of the possibility of several outfits taking out rallies to vent anger against some decisions of the State government as well as its alleged apathy to the people’s woes. Nothing of that kind happened on Wednesday. Besides, BJP, the principal Opposition party, threatened to create ruckus right from the first day of the session. However, things were smooth inside the Assembly as the session started with the Governor’s address. Calm prevailed outside too.
Keeping the possibility of unrest breaking out, the Dehradun district administration had made elaborate security arrangements with the deployment of heavy police forces inside and outside the Assembly campus. They were on their toes since the morning.
The commuters sounded happy too as no major traffic congestion was witnessed on the city roads.
However, traffic was stalled in the morning for some time on some roads through which the cavalcades of dignitaries like Governor, Vidhan Sabha Speaker, Chief Minister, leader of the Opposition in the assembly and cabinet ministers passed. Traffic police were vigilant as instruction was given from the police top brass to spare the commuters the ordeal of traffic snarl. Besides, the traffic diversion plan drafted by police seemed to paid dividends on the first day of the session. Routes were diverted to facilitate the vehicles run smoothly.
“We are happy as the traffic police regulated traffic well. We were spared the ordeal on the road thanks to the alert traffic police. However, we should thank the outfits which have refrained from taking out rallies as apprehended. We hope things would be the same during the remainder of the Assembly session,” said Anuj Semwal, a resident of Dalanwala.
However, the officer goers said they had faced inconvenience due to traffic jams for some time as the dignitaries were on their way to the Assembly. “However, things were much better than Tuesday when we faced a greater traffic ordeal,” said Umesh Bisht, resident of Salawala.
The security arrangements were fool-proof with a host of senior cops being posted on the road. Heavy police forces were witnessed around Rispana bridge area near the Vidhan Sabha campus where a barricade was erected to stop the agitators in case they hit the road to vent protest. Several barricades have been put up across the city to keep things under control during the session. Entry was restricted inside the Vidhan Sabha campus as none was allowed to get past the gate without valid entry passes.