Former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa's release from Parappana Agrahara Central Prison on Saturday ended up causing traffic snarls in the eastern part of the city all through the evening.
Though no longer a chief minister, Jayalalithaa was provided Z+ security. The convoy, which included Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Paneerselvam, was given right of way. This led to traffic gridlocks on Hosur Road, Electronics City, Madiwala and other surrounding areas.
Added to this, the roads were choked with thousands of AIADMK vehicles trying to move out of the city towards Chennai all at the same time, minutes after Jayalalithaa left the prison complex. There was also slow moving traffic in Madiwala and Koramangala, further compounded by heavy rains in the evening.
A senior traffic cop said that the traffic flow on the road was expected to be low as it was a weekend and none of the IT firms in the eastern part of the city worked, which he said showed that the traffic congestion could be only attributed to Jayalalithaa’s release from prison.
Police express relief
Meanwhile, police commissioner M.N. Reddi took to Twitter minutes after Jayalalithaa flew out of the city to express relief that the day had passed without any untoward incident and thanked the public and his officers for their co-operation.
Even police officers posted at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison Complex for bandobast duty during Jayalalithaa's 22-day stay expressed relief that they could return to their regular duties. The city police had posted three sub-inspectors, two inspectors and an assistant commissioner of police round-the-clock all through the 22-day period.
