A number of weddings across town, protest march by activists near the Ambedkar Statue in Tank Bund area in the afternoon, and transport of mortal remains of actor-politician Nandamuri Harikrishna in Mehdipatnam area threw traffic out of gear on Wednesday. Vehicle owners were left fretting and fuming in multiple locations as vehicles were stranded for long durations as traffic was choked on arterial roads.
“Slow movement of traffic from NFCL, NIMS rear gate, Vengal Rao Park, Road No 1/4, Road No 1/7, Taj Krishna, Road No 1/10, Road No 1/12, Khaja Mansion towards Masab Tank Junction. Commuters are requested to take alternate route for safe journey,” tweeted the Hyderabad Traffic Police in the afternoon. But there was no alternative route as every road was blinking red on the online traffic map.
“I wanted to go to Rethi Bowli. I tried three other routes but all of them are blocked and I came back to where I started,” said Afroz Khan near NMDC Flyover waiting for the traffic to clear at 3 p.m. The traffic situation worsened in the area due to VIP movement and police blocking traffic to create a corridor for their smooth passage.
“Due to the sudden death of Harikrishna film actor, so many VIP, VVIP, celebrities visiting his house at Masab Tank. So, kindly avoid these routes between Masab Tank and SD Eye Hospital (sic),” said police without a mention of the alternative route.
“Our traffic police has failed again. They could have deployed extra personnel. Called Home Guards stopped checking for revenue helmet violators,” said Syed Qamar Hasan, who was stuck in a traffic jam at Banjara Hills Road No. 12 for 45 minutes.
Even at 8.30 p.m., traffic remained blocked as a distance of 4.1 km from Somajiguda to Humayun Nagar showed 41 minutes — a speed of 6 km per hour. Ride hailing apps showed a spike in charges. A circuitous route bypassing Mehdipatnam between Somajiguda and Tolichowki showed a fare of ₹360 for a distance of 11 km in the evening.
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu’s visit didn’t help matters as traffic was regulated due to protocol. Police officials regulated traffic in the morning between Banjara Hills and King Koti affecting areas like Masab Tank, Mahavir Hospital, Saifabad PS and Nizam College. Again traffic was regulated near Assembly building, Khairatabad and Taj Krishna Junction in the afternoon.
