BJP march leaves Nagpur gridlocked for about three hours ahead of Dhanteras

Nagpur: The BJP's "Save the Constitution, Remove Anarchy" march on Thursday evening threw the city's traffic into disarray, and Nagpur struggled with congestion for about three hours. Thousands of residents who had stepped out for Diwali shopping were stuck on the roads. Long lines of vehicles built up not only on the main roads but also in the narrow lanes of Dhantoli and Sitabuldi. Even ambulances heading to hospitals were seen caught in the jam.

The BJP had taken out the march from Yeshwant Stadium to Samvidhan Chowk. In view of this, police had diverted traffic from 4 pm on the main roads along the march route. Vehicles heading towards Variety Square, Panchsheel Square and Lokmat Square were being sent along other routes. As soon as the march took to the streets at 5 pm, traffic management collapsed. Long queues of vehicles formed from Lokmat Square to Sai Mandir. The double-decker flyover coming down from Wardha Road towards Ajni Square was also hit by the jam. Motorists travelling from West Nagpur to South Nagpur were stuck for hours. Nearly all roads between Variety Square, Jhansi Rani Square, Panchsheel Square and Samvidhan Chowk were crowded with vehicles. Traffic crawled from Dhantoli police station to Ashok Chowk in Imambada. When motorists turned to narrow lanes to avoid the jam, the routes there were almost blocked as well. Walking was difficult in the lanes of Dhantoli and Sitabuldi.

Residents inconvenienced a day before Dhanteras

The show of political strength, held just a day before Dhanteras, made residents who had gone out for Diwali shopping spend their time on the road. People who set out hoping to reach the markets were stuck in the jam for hours. Ambulances getting stuck also raised questions about emergency services. The traffic chaos the march caused became more talked about than its political message. There is considerable anger among residents over the trouble just before the festival. The question is who is ultimately responsible for keeping public convenience and emergency services running during political events. Residents have been angry for some time over worsening traffic.