In wake of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the city, people complained of reaching late to their destinations due to the travel restrictions imposed by the traffic police.
Commuters, who took to roads during the peak morning hours, shared ordeals of travel hassles. “My office bus didn’t reach in time. Apparently, it was stopped as some VVIP vehicles were passing by. I reached almost an hour late at work and had to face the senior's ire,” said a commuter who was travelling in the south Mumbai.
Similarly, school buses too, reportedly ran behind the schedule. Prominent areas like Malabar Hill, Babulnath, Kemp's Corner, Haji Ali, Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Saat Rasta, Chinchpokli junction, Lalbaug, Lotus junction, Worli dairy, Worli Sea Link and Lilavati junction witnessed slow movement of vehicles from 9 am till 12.30 pm.
“School buses are usually not on time due to bad traffic and potholes. The VVIP visit added to the woes. My son’s bus arrived an hour late. So, I didn’t send him to school,” said Bhargavi Seth, a resident of Dadar.
Even the BEST buses were late causing hardships to a large number of daily commuters. Office-goers in Powai faced traffic congestion that was worse than usual.
“I travel towards Vakola after work, but before leaving when I checked on the app, it showed almost an hour delay. I was stuck inside a bus for 15 minutes before it moved, only to get stuck again in the next two minutes,” said another commuter.
The traffic authorities deactivated the signals at Marine Drive, Nariman Point and Churchgate during the VVIP visit. Apart from VVIP visit, Chembur, BKC, Andheri’s Gokhale Bridge, Vakola flyover, Mulund toll naka witnessed heavy congestion due to potholes and Metro works.
