Election campaign time means residents of the city are put to great hardship on the road, as campaign vehicles and party workers overtake the roads. Chennai got a taste of it on Wednesday, when traffic went out of gear in several parts of the city since Tuesday evening as the leaders of political party including Chief Minister Edappadi K.Palaniswami and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam deputy general secretary T.T.V.Dhinakaran hit the campaign trail.
The motorists and pedestrians had a harrowing experience especially during peak hours.
Mr. Palaniswami was campaigning for the party’s candidate J. Jayavardhan near Kandan Chavadi on Wednesday morning and his convoy passed the Rajiv Gandhi Road, also known as Old Mahabalipuram Road, where many IT firms are housed.
Thousands of commuters were stuck on the road which was jammed with vehicles. Many office-goers and IT staff were not able to reach their offices on time as they had bumper-to-bumper vehicular movement on the road. S.Selvaraj from Kovilambakkam said, “It is unbearable to wait under the scorching sun. I am worried over not being able to reach office on time. Traffic came to a standstill over 2 km on Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam radial road in the busy morning hours.”
Not enough policemen
Many complained that traffic police personnel were not deployed in adequate numbers on the Rajiv Gandhi Salai.
Motorists and others regulated the traffic themselves.
Many a trip cancelled
Natrajan, a businessman in Kandanchavadi said, “We had booked a cab to reach Mylapore by 9 a.m. The cab drivers themselves cancelled the trips since they were not able to reach our place. Food we had ordered over apps did not reach on time.”
Motorists had a tough time negotiating traffic near Kalmandapam, Royapuram, as people waited on either side of the road blocking the traffic movement for AMMK leader T.T.V. Dinakaran to start his campaign for the day in north Chennai. Police personnel had to intervene to clear traffic for ambulances.