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The spate of protests against the US government outside its consulate in the city, which began on Friday evening and continued for the next two days, has not gone down well with motorists using the busy stretch near the Anna Flyover. While commuters expressed their sympathies with the cause of the protests, the venue and timing is what has irked them.
According to several of them, who were caught in the heavy traffic pile up near the flyover on Friday evening, the choice of place for the protests by the groups was completely insensitive. While it was useful to make a big impact and drive home the point of their agitation, commuters say the protests brought half of the city to a standstill.
This was because the RK Salai-Gemini Junction connects some of the most busy localities in the city, which are dotted by offices and commercial establishments. “Anybody moving into Nungambakkam or T Nagar from Anna Salai has to use this stretch. If there is a block here, there is bound to be a major traffic jam,” says S Vidhyarthi, a doctor at a private hospital. She recalls how she was dangerously caught near the flyover on Friday even as the protestors were vandalising the consulate.
“There was a block for over 45 minutes when vehicles did not move an inch,” she adds, recollecting how she was witness to two ambulances with patients caught in the logjam for over 30 minutes before they were able to move out of the junction freely.
B Bhargav, a content writer for a consultancy firm, says the movement of traffic on Anna Salai has already slowed down with the Metro Rail work. In this scenario, he says it was “surprising” that the police took so much time to intervene. “The narrow Whites Road is now used as the approach road for people moving to Gemini. On Friday, the traffic jam was so bad that the entire road as far as Royapettah was full of vehicles,” he recalls.
Commuters say there has to be some plan on where the gathering could be allowed. “Democratic protests are a necessity. But groups have to ensure that they do not disrupt normal life. If such traffic jams continue for a few days, they will only lose the sympathies of the masses,” opines Fareed Ahmed, a banker, who adds that the bus he boarded to T Nagar on Saturday afternoon took an entire hour to cross the Gemini junction.
“Let us decide on a proper place to express our anger. Anna Salai is not the place,” he says.
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