Public suffers as cops fail to manage traffic

LUCKNOW: It was another day of inconvenience for commuters as hundreds of Dalit protesters blocked Hazratganj crossing for more than three hours on Monday. As police put up barricades on the Park Road to stop the protesters, traffic came to halt on adjoining routes like Vikramaditya Marg, Rana Pratap Marg and Mahatma Gandhi Marg. The ripple effect was seen on Darul Shafa Marg, Vidhan Sabha Marg, Kaiserbagh crossing and Parivartan Chowk.
In a repeat of sorts, ambulances, officer-goers, travellers and schoolchildren were the worst-hit. Ashok Verma, who was coming to Hazratganj from Gomtinagar, was stuck near Park Road. He had to take a longer route to reach his office and complained that no cop could be seen regulating the traffic.

Anil, driver of an ambulance, said he was caught in the traffic maze for over two hours. Anjali Rai, a student, waited for two hours for public transport at Sikanderbagh crossing. "Police did not manage traffic despite snarls at Sikanderbagh crossing," she said. As some protesters headed towards the collectorate, traffic got disrupted around Kaiserbagh crossing and Parivartan Chowk.

SSP Deepak Kumar said since they had prior information about the protest a team under circle officer Hazratganj had been formed to control the protesters and give them a spot at GPO. "We ensured that protesters assembled at only one point," said SSP. On the question of disruption of traffic, he said cops managed to clear the snarls soon.