Motorists plying via arterial Poonamalee high road were forced to ply at a snail’s pace as party men thronged in large numbers throwing normal life out of gear. Though the invitees carried corona negative test report to the venue, the cadres who thronged en masse were spotted without face masks.

According to party insiders, the meeting was originally scheduled for 8.50 am but was later pushed to start after 11 am. This created additional traffic restrictions for office-goers and local public. The meeting lasted for more than three hours and more than 3,000 participants thronged the venue with hundreds of cars and SUVs chocking Vanagaram, Maduravoyal and Thiruverkadu areas.

“Due to the AIADMK meeting, my dad who is diabetes and BP patient was made to travel additionally for five kilometres when he was returning home. In the morning, when he left to drop my sister, he was forced to wait for 15 minutes. The party leaders should advise the police to assist people rather than putting hindrance,” fumed S Kumar, a resident of Golden Treasure Appartments in Thiruverkadu.

“The police were asking for residence proof to cross the roads in their vehicles or just take a diversion and the situation was horrible throughout the day,” said S Narayanan, a resident of Ayanambakkam.