Protests lead to grid lock all over the city, traffic thrown out of gear

The protesters in small and large numbers gathered in several areas all over the city and created road blocks either by forming a human chain or holding a sit-in protest in the middle of the road. Places such as Royapettah, Ice House, Marina, Santhome, Tiruvanmayur and OMR faced severe traffic jams. Similarly, arterial roads of the city including Mount Road, R K Salai, Koyambedu and Kamrajar Salai were completely blocked. 

Pondy Bazaar was shut down for the day. With MTC buses and other modes of transport taking a hit, many had to walk several kilometres to reach to safety. Deputy Commissioner for Traffic Planning, Sivanantham said that the city traffic police faced difficulty to divert traffic as there were agitation in many parts of the city.  By evening, IT hubs such as Ambattur, Guindy and Sholinganallur were severely hit. 

Neha, who works for a private company, said, “My office asked the employees to leave by 2.40 pm. Even as I had no choice but to walk several kilometres to my house in Ashok Nagar, many others who had their own vehicles, had to stay back. Many women even walked till Koyambedu.’