Vehicular traffic was disrupted in and around Little Mount, Saidapet, Guindy and on roads leading to Adyar and the IT corridor, for nearly three hours on Monday, May 22, 2023 as the AIADMK members took out a protest march against the hooch tragedy.
The AIADMK cadre started gathering for the scheduled protest on the road near Little Mount leading to the Raj Bhavan from 9 a.m. They started arriving in four-wheelers and buses in large numbers. This caused traffic jam on Velachery High Road up to the Phoenix Mall on southern side, Sardar Patel Road on eastern side, Kathipara junction, Saidapet, Kotturpuram and Nandanam.
S.R. Godwin, a lawyer, said: “I was travelling from Tambaram to Saidapet court. After reaching the Kathipara junction, I saw that it was choked, one could not move towards Guindy. I had to go around Ekkattuthangal which was also choked with vehicles and we managed to reach Saidapet through Guindy Industrial Estate after one-and-a-half hours.”
Another motorist said: “Is it not wrong on the part of a political party to cause so much inconvenience to the public during peak hours on a Monday? As it is, crossing these stretches is a harrowing experience on any Monday morning. Government-run buses, private vehicles, cars and motorcycles were struck in the traffic. It took more than two hours to travel from Guindy to Sardar Patel Road. Who granted permission to the political party to conduct a protest that too on the arterial busy road?”
Many motorists were seen struggling in the sweltering heat and pollution. Ambulances were also caught in the traffic jam.
