Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad   

VIP caravans add to traffic chaos

By K.V.S. Madhav

HYDERABAD Nov. 29. Coming to a grinding and excruciating halt appears to have become a way of life for road users in the twin cities. No. There is no Broadway spectacle unfolding on its choked streets, but VVIP movement and the accompanying traffic regulations that have made life hell for the commoners.

The restrictions have assumed a menacing avatar after the bid on the Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu's life and not a single day passes by in the city without people being made to wait for a long time to make way for the VIP caravan. A mad scamper to wade out of the traffic jam follows this and all hell breaks loose.

Such is the security overdrive that vehicles are being stopped much in advance and the entire ordeal could last nothing less than 15 to 20 minutes. Amid belching exhaust fumes and the drone of vehicles, people have to wait for the VIP juggernaut to pass by, come rain or pounding sun. Some vent their ire mouthing expletives, but gritting and grinding teeth is all they can do with the traffic cops keeping a close watch on the vehicles. With medians covering entire stretches, there is literally no leeway for escape either.

The Begumpet airport, Greenlands and Khairatabad junctions -- places which have heavy vehicle density -- are the worst hit as they fall under the VIP routes. In a city that boasts of a staggering 12.59 lakh vehicle population, including close to a lakh autos, and with bare minimum road space to accommodate them, even a few minutes stoppage of traffic leads to long traffic snarls. "It takes lots of time for the bumper-to-bumper traffic to clear and imagine the kilo litres of petrol that is lost everyday at these unscheduled halts and the subsequent progress of vehicles at a snail's pace," asks Premkumar, a HR professional.

The frequent visits by international dignitaries and national leaders only compound the problem and the hapless vehicle users of the city become unwilling partners to these impromptu civic receptions on the city roads. "I'm sure the international dignitaries must be mighty amused and flattered by the strange spectacle of the city stopping in its heels to make way for them. Wonder whether they get the same treatment in their own countries," remarked a software engineer who shuttles between Marredpally and Somajiguda, one of the most crowded corridors of the city that is badly hit by the VIP movement.

The police overzealousness to stop the traffic much before the arrival of the VIP only makes the wait at these junctions even worse. "They can stop the traffic five minutes before the arrival of the VIP, but 15 minutes and sometimes more in advance is intolerable," fumed Ramakrishna, an architect stranded on his two wheeler rider at Rasoolpura junction. "Here we are badly stuck with all our plans going haywire and the cops with their flowery language make it worse. Perhaps, it is their way of providing humour to the waiting people," retorted his pillion rider.

So much so that even ambulances have to wait for the netas to zoom past the hundreds of stranded road users.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• TRS chief joins issue with Naidu
• IT orientation to open learning system urged
• 34,000 sports kits to be distributed
• Petrol tankers to go on indefinite strike
• VIP caravans add to traffic chaos

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu