Taking charge as Union Minister of State for Transport, Sarve Satyanarayana came visiting the city on Friday only to end up throwing normal life out of gear on several busy stretches.
As supporters in large numbers converged at Begumpet airport to receive him, clueless motorists were forced to endure an endless traffic logjam, that too as it was drizzling continuously. The traffic jam was particularly intense on Sardar Patel Road and extended all the way from Chief Minister’s Camp Office in Punjagutta to Mettuguda Junction.
“It usually takes about 30 minutes to cross SP Road during this time of the day. But today it took me more than 4 hours to cover the same stretch,” M. Sudhakar Rao, a motorist said. A resident of Tarnaka, Mr. Rao commutes to his office in Gachibowli on his motorcycle.
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“Initially, I was under the impression that the traffic jam is a result of some major accident but realised the cause later,” he said. How can Ministers, who are supposed to be responsible, hold an entire city to ransom like this, he wondered.
With the ever-busy thoroughfare blocked, traffic congestion spilled over to the connecting roads like Paradise and Ranigunj and even to the Khairatabad.
“This part of the city was forced to a standstill for more than four hours. In a way we were lucky that traffic jam started only during afternoon when traffic was a bit less. During a peak hours, the chaos would have been unmanageable,” another irate motorist said.
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After alighting at Begumpet airport, Mr. Satyanarayana went to Chief Minister’s Camp Office and later went back to his constituency. Along with supporters, the Minister was said to have planned to visit the statues of leaders at various junctions and pay his respects. However, this part of the programme was dropped at the last moment and the police clearly heaved a sigh of relief.