Reporter’s Diary:When city traffic caused ‘VIPs’ to break beacon rules

This was recently seen in Purasaiwalkam when the leader of Hindu fringe outfit tried to enter the narrow, two-lane Perambur Barracks Road during the evening peak hour when traffic always moves at a crawl. At Doveton junction, the leader, who had police escorting him in an old Ambassador car, was caught as he had five outriders in assorted two-wheelers.

Though the escort police tried to clear the traffic they could not and traffic cops on duty, irked by this fuss, asked them in no uncertain terms to await the green signal to come on.

It was then that the police escort switched on their siren in a short burst to enable the traffic cops recognise that they were indeed escorting a VIP. On hearing the siren, the traffic cops had to willy nilly get among the moving vehicles to make way for the VIP to pass.

Needless to say, the hapless traffic cops got quite an earful from irate commuters who told them in no uncertain terms what they thought about their suddenly wanting to let an unmarked VIP car through.

But then, when the VIP got into Perambur Barracks Road from Doveton junction, his convoy was again forced to crawl at a snail’s pace despite the beacon and the siren.