Political roadshow chokes city, commuters fume

LUDHIANA: Travelling around the city is always a challenge for residents. On Monday morning, many commuters got stuck in jams while others had to take the long way round to their destinations as traffic was diverted at various points to allow president of Youth Akali Dal Bikram Singh Majithia to pass.
On his way from Chandigarh to Amritsar, the leader passed through parts of the city between 9.30am and noon.District traffic police had blocked Neelon bridge, Samrala Chowk, Cheema Chowk, Dholewal and Jagraon bridge for the road show, causing confusion and major traffic jams.
Residents living in Sherour Chowk, Vishkarma Chowk, Bharat Nagar Chowk, Karabar Chowk and Loduwal Chowk also faced a hard time as most of the traffic was diverted through these areas.
Rakesh Kumar, a resident of Model Town who has a shop on Mall Road, was not impressed by the Akali leader's visit. ''It took me 30 minutes to cross the half kilometre-stretch from Model Town to Bharat Nagar Chowk. It is disturbing that the police not care about inconvenience caused to city residents for the sake of a politician,'' he said.
Sunny Kapoor of Sarabha Nagar said he had to rush his wife to Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH). ''But we were forced to wait for more than 45 minutes at Jagraon bridge so that the politician could pass,'' he complained.
Another commuter, Swati Sharma, who stays in Civil Lines, said she had to go to her son's school to attend a function but could not reach on time and ended up missing his performance. ''For me it was a special moment but I missed it due to lack of responsibility among district authorities,'' she added.