Traffic on the second day of the Vidhan Sabha Session was practically thrown out of gear, as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Kisan Morcha and Uttaranchal State Jal Nigam, Jal Sansthan, Mazdur Union staged stirs separately on Tuesday.
Bearing the brunt of these agitations, the commuters had to walk a few kilometres to board buses or autos to reach destinations. The students were also at the receiving end of the stirs. They faced difficulties in getting back home as several roads in the city were blocked.
The district police had drafted plan for smooth flow of traffic in the State capital. Some traffic routes were changed to ensure that traffic movement remained smooth during the session.
Apart from this, police forces were deployed at crossings to resolve the traffic congestions in case of rallies being staged. However, these arrangements seemed to have failed to spare the commuters inconveniences. As BJP’s peasant wing staged a rally that snaked through several localities in the city, the students and the commuters had faced harrowing time with traffic coming almost to a standstill on the important roads.
When the protesters from the two organisations were advancing towards Vidhan Sabha, things looked dismal. The hardships were further compounded as the police put up barricades at important places, including Haridwar Road (Rispana Bridge), to keep order and to stop the protesters from advancing towards the Assembly premises.
The district police had deployed police forces at various crossings to smoothen traffic to spare the commuters inconveniences in the State capital.
In spite of this, traffic congestion was witnessed at important crossings like Survey Chowk, Dilaram Chowk, Dharampur, MKP College crossing, Rispana Bridge and other places in the city. Many students were found walking a few kilometers due to traffic diversion especially around Dharampur, Rispana area and other places in the city.