RailEnquiry

BHOPAL: The city residents commuting between the BHEL township and new Bhopal and those residing in colonies along Hoshangabad road were caught in a traffic jam owing to the function at the Habibganj railway station to flag off the first batch of pilgrims under the chief minister's pilgrimage programme on Monday. Police stopped traffic movement on the road along the second entrance at Habibganj railway station leading to jam at the under bridge near RRL and Chetak Bridge.Office goers and students commuting along Hoshangabad road, Govindpura, Piplani, Saket Nagar and Shakti Nagar among other localities were stranded as traffic was stopped for the rally addressed by the senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani near Habibganj railway station. It took almost an hour and a half for the traffic to ease out in these areas.Traffic was paralyzed at Habibganj railway crossing, Saket Nagar square and the road leading from DRM office to the Chetak Bridge when the senior BJP political leader arrived and left the venue.I had to go home using the Subhash Nagar under bridge when my home at Saket Nagar is just 10 minutes drive from my office at MP Nagar, said Rajesh Pathak a bank employee.It was a harrowing experience, said Mridula Seth, as I was held in the traffic jam for two hours. There was no traffic cop to help us. Movement between Hoshangabad road and Saket Nagar was worst affected as the Habibganj under bridge was over crowded with the sudden pressure of vehicles, said Rakesh Ahirwar."There was a little traffic jam of about five to seven minutes when chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and L K Advani arrived at the venue at about 3.30 in the afternoon. As per the protocol, we had to stop the traffic for security reasons. However, otherwise, the situation was normal," additional superintendent of police, Monika Shukla claimed."There was another jam when the ministers left the venue around 5.30 pm. We had banned the entry of heavy traffic on Hoshangabad road for security reasons," she added.In fact, the problem started after 5.30 pm when the traffic was stopped. It is the time when people return from their offices. They were caught in the traffic jam and struggled hard to reach home.Entry of heavy vehicles was banned on Hoshangabad road while heavy vehicles were diverted. The diverted route led from Habibganj railway crossing to Chetak Bridge via DRM office and Kasturbha hospital, Anna Nagar and then Chetak bridge.