Pune citizens were at the receiving end when political heavyweights swooped in to show their strength by holding rallies and roadshows.
Pune citizens were at the receiving end on Wednesday when political heavyweights swooped in on the city to show their strength by holding rallies and roadshows, triggering many a poll-time traffic jam. Many commuters found themselves stuck in the jams for hours.
To top it all, the two road shows organised by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray ensured traffic snarls both in the old city areas like Shaniwar Peth, Ravivar Peth, Budhwar Peth in the morning and in new city areas of Law College Road, Kothrud, Karvenagar, Warje and Sinhgad Road in the evening. The rally finally ended at Swargate.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar also held a brief roadshow on Wednesday morning in Pashan, Aundh, Bopodi, Kamalnayan Bajaj garden, Shivajinagar, Erandwane areas. The traffic police temporarily blocked the stretches in Pawale Chowk, Kumbharwada, Narpatgir Chowk and Apollo theatre areas, causing severe inconvenience to office-goers and collegians.
The MNS workers took part in the rally carrying life-size replica of railway engines. Later, the parked vehicles, including trucks, used in the rally were blocking the roads near Shaniwarwada, forcing the traffic police to clear the road for traffic.
Suraj Bhor, an office-goer who got stuck in the traffic congestion near Shaniwarwada, “I had to reach my Kothrud office at 11.30 am, but I got stuck in the traffic for half an hour.”
Inspector Vijay Palsule (planning) of traffic branch said, “We did not divert the traffic to any alternative roads on the rally routes as it would have created traffic jams on those alternative routes also. Instead, we blocked the traffic temporarily by putting barricades till the rallies went ahead.”
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