This was a typical Tuesday chat, particularly in the afternoon and evening, between folks heading home or en-route to a meeting or delivery of products. Conversations over the city’s inadequate traffic management eventually descended into annoyance and finally rage as the traffic jams grew worse. After that, City Police faced harsh condemnation from nearly every quarter for its complete breakdown in traffic control on Tuesday. Everywhere throughout the Second Capital, there were traffic bottlenecks and congestion caused by police focusing solely on VVIP and VIP movements, especially in and around Vidhan Bhavan for the ongoing Winter Session of the Maharashtra Legislature.
The vehicles were jammed up in almost every direction, especially at Sitabuldi, near Zero Mile, the Sadar and Shaheed Gowari flyovers, Amravati Road, Civil Lines, Ramdaspeth, Dharampeth, East High Court Road, Akashwani, Maharajbagh Square, University Library to Central Mall, and the areas on either side of Wardha Road. The officers and men assigned to the Traffic Branch were seen as helpless in this regard. Even ambulances and police cars were observed getting stuck in traffic gridlock. The problems of commuters were exacerbated by partially excavated highways and thoroughfares, careless parking, and driving and riding on the wrong side of the road.
