The huge turnout of people and dignitaries for the swearing-in of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president N. Chandrababu Naidu as the Chief Minister on June 12 (Wednesday) resulted in traffic congestion in Vijayawada, causing severe inconvenience not only to the commuters but also the VIPs attending the ceremony.
Almost all the traffic junctions in the city witnessed heavy snarls. The convoy of Andhra Pradesh Governor S. Abdul Nazeer, several MLAs-elect who took oath as Ministers and bureaucrats were reportedly stuck in the traffic on the National Highway, near Kesarapalli village, the venue for the swearing-in ceremony.
On receiving the information, Superintendent of Police Harish Kumar Gupta and other officials rushed to the scene to ease traffic.
Air travelers also faced problems due to traffic jam on NH-216. Several VIPs on their way to Kesarpalli village were also hit by the vehicle.
Krishna Lanka, Benz Circle, M.G. Vijayawada and neighboring villages at major junctions like Road, Ramavarappadu Ring Road, New Government Hospital and Eluru Road are about five hours away. Several police officials were deployed on the national highway to improve traffic flow. However, police were unable to control the traffic due to the large number of people.
“Vehicles were stranded for about two miles. We were struck for more than two hours,” said Srijit, a commutter.
“The arrangements for traffic management on the National Highway appeared inadequate. The officials hurriedly made arrangements for the swearing-in ceremony, which chocked Vijayawada and its surrounding villages,” said Umamaheswari who was caught in traffic jam.
Many leaders and activists of TDP, BJP and Jana Sena Party who came from various districts to attend the swearing-in ceremony also faced difficulties while travelling to Kesarapalli. Traffic snarls were also witnessed on the main and sub-roads in NTR district.
