Kerala - Kochi   

It was a smooth ride in the city

– Photo: Vipinchandran (See also Page 7)

City on the move: Elaborate traffic arrangements ensured that life in the city was not affected during the One-Day International cricket match between India and Australia on Tuesday.

KOCHI: All roads led to Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at Kaloor on Tuesday. The mood was electric, as rain stayed away and sun beat down, promising a good day’s cricket.

The city police personnel were on their toes for a couple of days, starting with the teams touching down. Elaborate traffic arrangements made by the police ensured that life for those who were not bitten by the cricket bug could get along smoothly.

Once the crowd got into the stadium, the police personnel posted on the road relaxed. Traffic flowed, though roads were mostly deserted. With traffic diversions brought into effect from early morning hours, private buses connecting northern and western suburbs of the city took National Highway Bypass and private vehicles kept off the road, thanks to the holiday and the cricket match.

Regular commuters, however, were not happy with the arrangement. Short-distance travels to the city were affected with this diversion, they complained.

“Even though the match brought in record crowd, we did not really feel the pinch in traffic. The crowd came in a distributed manner and hence we could control it systematically,” said Manoj Abraham, City Police Commissioner.

Also, the police inside the stadium was put on full alert to prevent the crowd from running into the green after the match. “The entire playing area was cordoned off well in advance, so that no one from the audience could enter it,” he said.

The policemen were in position inside the stadium from Monday midnight. Some of them were seen sleeping inside the stands as the day and the match progressed.

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