Anna supporters disrupt traffic in Ahmedabad

The cause of Anna supporters may be noble but their protests against his arrest on Tuesday caused hardship to the residents of Ahmedabad.

Due to demonstrations across the city, traffic on major roads was disrupted at several places on Tuesday.

All traffic movement on major city roads had to be stopped temporarily because of the protests. Individuals as well as members of different organizations had started gathering at major road junctions in the city such as Income Tax, CTM and Maninagar crossroads. All of a sudden at 10:15 am, the protestors began blocking the roads.

The situation at Income-Tax crossroads on Ashram road was the worst as protestors here succeeded in blocking the roads for more than 15 minutes. Sources said 58 youths were detained while trying to block traffic.

Commuters had to stand in scorching heat during the chaos as the sky had cleared in the morning and the sun had come out.

Some commuters took a detour via Nehrubridge and returned to Ellisbridge to continue towards places like Paldi, VS hospital, Parimal Garden and Shivranjani. Most commuters, however, found themselves stranded between other vehicles, waiting for the congestion to clear.

Traffic began to move normally again at around 11 am.
The protestors had evidently come with the intention to cause a huge traffic jam at income tax crossroads but they could not succeed as the police immediately detained them.

Similarly, protestors also blocked the roads near Maninagar crossroads and CTM crossroads in the afternoon. But the resulting traffic jam at these places didn't last long as the police disperse the protestors quickly.

Sudhir Sinha, commissioner of police, Ahmedabad, said that the traffic department had been alerted as soon as Anna was arrested in Delhi. "At 9 am, I informed the concerned departments to look after law and order in the city. Traffic movement in the city remained normal barring some incidents," Sinha said.

According to Nilesh Jhajhadia, DCP Traffic, traffic had to diverted at several places on Tuesday because of the protests.

"At income tax crossroads, we tried to ease the problem by diverting the traffic. Commuters coming from Shahibaug were diverted towards CG Road, while Ashram road commuters were diverted to the left side of the road," said Jhajhadia.

Residents in Maninagar, on Tuesday morning, were seen on roads supporting Anna Hazare.

People took out a candle light rally from Maniangar railway station to Maninagar police station in Rambaug area. The rally resulted in a traffic jam and created trouble for the buses on BRTS routes.