Rally attended by CM Fadnavis chokes Nagpur for hours, leaving commuters stranded and markets empty

A rally taken out in Nagpur on Thursday evening brought the whole city to a halt. The purpose of the rally and who organised it are not stated here. The fact is that it effectively choked the city. The rally came amid an ongoing national debate over rallies and agitations during the festival season.

As dusk fell, the city's pace began to slow, and the situation continued until late at night. A jam began at Kripalani Chowk on Wardha Road and its effects were felt up to Chhatrapati Chowk. Vehicles crawled. People headed for the airport also had great difficulty reaching it.

The impact was not limited to Wardha Road. Congestion was seen at Ajni station, Moksh Dham, Ghat Road, Medical Chowk, Ashok Chowk, Mahal and Central Avenue. In Dhantoli, patients had great difficulty getting to and from hospitals. Vehicles entering the area were crawling in every lane. So many vehicles were stuck, from the lanes to the main roads, that even ambulances could not find a way through.

Leaving Dhantoli, people tried to head towards Dikshabhoomi Road and Laxmi Nagar Chowk, but found no relief on those routes either. People remained stuck from VIP Road to Dikshabhoomi Chowk. From Aath Rasta Chowk to roughly Shankar Nagar Chowk, vehicles barely moved.

Traffic on these routes was in a bad state, yet no traffic police personnel were to be seen anywhere. All efforts to clear the jams appeared to fail. The Police Commissioner had taken charge personally a day earlier and told everyone to work with vigilance, but the police arrangements appeared to fall apart in the face of the crowds. People were left to remain stuck.

Construction work was also one of the causes of the jams. In many areas, projects have still not been completed even after their deadlines have passed, and people are bearing the brunt. Somewhere a road is blocked, elsewhere there is a diversion, forcing people to get stuck here and there.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was among those at the rally. Some trade bodies had put up stages to welcome him. On the other hand, traders waiting for festival-season custom were distressed because customers did not reach them. They said that people talk about Delhi, but in their own city they are being troubled by a rally.

Traders also said that such a rally should not be held right at festival time. The entire market was ruined. They had made full preparations, but customers simply could not reach them. People stuck in vehicles were so fed up that they thought it better to turn back.

The question is also being raised that, if rallies in Delhi cause losses of thousands of crores of rupees and traders have complained about it far and wide, why was there no opposition to this rally in Nagpur.