For the second successive day, some of the main thoroughfares of the twin cities especially those leading towards Hussainsagar lake, remained chock-a-block with traffic. The final procession of the idols, which began on Monday morning, was only completed at dusk, throwing traffic movement out of gear for several hours besides keeping the police and civic authorities on tenterhooks.
With around 1,000 idols still awaiting immersion in the holding area along the lake, authorities did not allow traffic on certain roads. The last of the idols, ‘Mahaganapathi’ from Khairatabad, which started its journey on Monday at midnight, was finally set for immersion around 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
This resulted in traffic slowdowns in different areas around the water body with vehicles moving at snail’s pace at Basheerbagh, the Legislative Assembly, AC Guards, Khairatabad, Himayatnagar, Old MLA quarters and Paradise for most part of the day.
Although the traffic police tried to make arrangements to ensure free flow of traffic on alternative routes, it did not appear to have helped as the volume of traffic was high. Trucks returning after immersion, added to the chaos. At many places, motorists were seen struggling to find their way out of the traffic gridlocks. “As against a time of 10 minutes, it took me an hour to reach Lakdikapul from Basheerbagh junction,” Rajesh Kumar, a sales executive, said.
The traffic scenario was worse in the morning when office-goers and students started for their respective destinations. Those having to reach offices located around Tank Bund were seen pleading with the police to allow them but to no avail. APSRTC buses also took alternative routes to reach their destinations. A few bus services were curtailed in view of the prolonged traffic restrictions.
