Cavalcade Rehearsal, Security Drill Bring City To Standstill

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A day ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit, the state capital came to a standstill on Monday as commuters had a tough time reaching their destinations following long traffic disruptions. The traffic diversion was put in place for Tuesday, the day PM visits the city, however, security mock drill, PM’s cavalcade movement full rehearsal on VIP routes left the commuters stranded for hours in long traffic jams on Monday.

The traffic movement was put on a hold on the routes where the PM’s convoy will pass through on Tuesday. Security rehearsal was carried out on route from Raja Bhoj Airport to Lalghati, VIP Road, Governor House, Motilal Stadium. And then Barkatullah University to Rani Kamlapati Railway station, Lal Parade Ground.  

Restrictions lead to traffic chaos

Heavy traffic congestion was witnessed on Hoshangabad Road, DRM office Square, ISBT, RRL, Barkatullah University (BU). Similar was the condition in Link Road-1, Link Road-2, Link Road no-3, Jail Road. Long queues of vehicles were seen on road leading to Shivaji Nagar, Bittan Market, Old Campion School, BJP office, 7-bus stop, JP Hospital, Roshanpura Square, Polytechnic Square, Kamla Park, Retghat, Pull Bogda area, Prabhat Chowarha. Vehicular movement was normalized post noon.

All the VIP routes were heavily barricaded and traffic police were deployed at every congestion point. Struck in traffic for long hours, many motorists took u-turn on the traffic-congested road worsening the situation further. The commuters had to cover long distances due to barricading.

Traffic police did not allow commuters at Old Campion school to move toward 7-number Square so commuters had to go toward Narmada hospital.

Srutakiriti Somvanshi, in-charge traffic, said,

Traffic diversion for Tuesday is well planned and it was notified to the public before carrying out security drill and rehearsal on VIP routes on Monday ahead of the PM’s visit. SHOs were well informed and they should have ensured that traffic movement was not hampered.

 Holiday for schools today

On account of the Prime Minister’s visit to the city, the local administration has declared a one day holiday for all schools on Tuesday to avoid inconvenience to parents and students due to traffic diversion.