With four days left for Deepavali, people thronged the shopping areas in the city leading to traffic congestion on Saturday.
Most of the textile showrooms, firecracker shops, jewellery showrooms and other commercial establishments are situated on Cauvery Road, R.K.V. Road, Manikoondu, Meenatchi Sundaranar Road, Panneerselvam Park, Gandhiji Road and Mettur Road. These roads witnessed heavy flow of vehicles during the day.
The crowd movement that was normal till afternoon surged later in the day affecting vehicle movement on the arterial roads and in bazaar areas.
Drizzle in the evening did not dampen the shopping spree as shoppers purchased dresses for the festival.
Also, more crowd was seen in mobile shops, hotels and departmental stores even as the police, through the public address system, warned the shoppers to be cautious against bag-lifters.
Many were found without masks while personal distancing went for a toss in the market areas.
Awareness messages asking the shoppers to follow COVID-19 norms were played continuously in the market areas. But, the crowd moved at a snail’s pace due to heavy rush, mostly on R.K.V. Road where textile showrooms are situated. Since shoppers occupied a major part of the roads, movement of vehicles was completely disrupted causing congestion.
Police also intensified their vigil and surveillance and warned the shoppers to be cautious while in the market areas.
Police in plain clothes were also deployed to check for criminal elements. Since, the crowd is expected to be more in the next four days, vehicle movement will be restricted on R.K.V. Road and other bazaar areas.
