CHENNAI: As an immediate fallout of the massive fire at Malli’s Building near Spencer Plaza yesterday, the traffic on the arterial Anna Salai came to a grinding halt leaving commuters stranded all through the arterial road till Guindy.Around 9.30am, traffic movement near the Anna flyover began to slow down as fire tenders were seen rushing towards the accident spot. By 10am, traffic was affected up to the Teynampet junction on one side, and around the bylanes of Anna Salai. By 10.45am, the entire stretch of the crucial road, as far as Guindy, was choked.Though two-wheeler riders were able to move at a snail’s pace by squeezing their way through the gaps — cars, auto rickshaws and more importantly, the MTC buses were the worst hit. Left with too little space, the bigger vehicles jostled to move ahead.At the DMS bus stop, several long haul buses like the ones between Vandalur and Tambaram to the Parrys Corner were seen parked alongside the bus shelter with passengers perplexed about the cause for the heavy congestion.By 11.15am, hardly any vehicles were moving and even two-wheelers could not find space to move ahead as traffic was closed towards the Anna flyover from the Kamarajar Arangam.As the traffic situation worsened, signal lights were switched off throughout Anna Salai and top cops descended to help ease the congestion. But, the situation did not improve till noon and many vehicles had to stay put at the same spot for 30 minutes before they could finally move, but only inch by inch.Vehicles from several locations, including Alwarpet, were unable to access Anna Salai. Many vehicles from Eldams Road tried hard to get into Anna Salai and several were diverted through T Nagar. At the Saidapet, Teynampet, and Anna flyover junctions it was all the same — thousands of vehicles lining up on the road.After 12.15pm, the situation began improving as traffic was allowed from the Kamarajar Arangam point towards Anna flyover. The situation was back to normal only by 1.30pm.
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