Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to travel in a helicopter to inaugurate DefExpo 2018 at Thiruvidanthai and the diamond jubilee block at the Cancer Institute in Adyar. Protests were held at 28 places, including Saidapet, Alandur and near the Indian Institute of Technology - Madras (IIT-M). Over 3,000 were arrested.
The protests and traffic restrictions in and around the Cancer Institute led to traffic blocks. Commuters were stranded as vehicle movement was reduced to a crawl at several places.
According to the police, cadre of the DMK, Congress, CPI, CPM, Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Manitha Neya Makkal Katchi and Naam Thamizhar Katchi held protests in different parts of the city. Film-makers Bharathiraja, Ameer, Gowthaman and Seeman of the Naam Tamizhar Katchi joined the protest and they were detained by the police.
Motorists, including office-goers and schoolchildren, using roads such as Sardar Patel Road and Grand Southern Trunk Road were put to hardship, and several of them picked up arguments with the policemen for poor traffic management.
“It was a harrowing experience for me. The traffic was blocked from the airport to Nandanam signal. It took two hours for me to reach Nandanam from airport,” said P. Selvam, a motorist, who was not able to reach his workplaceon time.
Bus services hit
A few ambulance vans struck in traffic were not able to reach their destinations on time. The commuters in the MTC buses were the worst hit as the buses moved at a snail’s pace.
The block on GST road had a cascading effect on Anna Salai up to Tarapore Tower. Several commuters were stranded in bus stands near the head post office, TVS and Simpson.
There was disruption of bus services in and around Adyar for more than an hour. Unaware of the blockade, commuters, especially students, waited for hours at the bus stop. As police personnel made commuters leave the bus stands, many, including women, had to walk to their offices. S. Hema from Pozhichalur, who works at a private company near IIT-M, had to take an autorickshaw and finally walk for more than two kilometres from Little Mount to reach her office.
