Celebrations bring traffic to a standstill

ibune News Service

Jammu, September 23

The birth anniversary celebrations of the last Dogra ruler of the state, Maharaja Hari Singh, on Sunday led to huge traffic chaos in Jammu city.

Most of the roads remained blocked till evening as various social, religious and political organisations took out massive rallies.

With open swords and guns in hand, the Yuva Rajput Sabha started its rally from Chinore, which passed through Roop Nagar, Janipur, New Plot, BC Road and Jewel Chowk areas to reach at the Tawi bridge, where they paid tributes to the statue of Maharaja Hari Singh.

Another rally organised by Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan chairman Choudhary Lal Singh started from Kathua and reached Jammu at 3 pm. It passed from Satwari to Gandhi Nagar, Bikram Chowk, Jewel Chowk, BC Road and concluded at Hari Niwas.

The Rajput Sabha also took out a rally, which passed through different localities of the city and gathered at Hari Singh Park on the banks of the Tawi.

All these rallies blocked major city roads for hours, causing inconvenience to the public.

Meanwhile, the police stopped the vehicular traffic from all lanes and connecting roads to the main city areas. Some ambulances were also stuck in traffic jams.

“The rallies should have been taken out in a planned way. An alternative route should have been decided for the rallies. I had to visit Gandhi Nagar from Janipur. As the Canal Road was completely blocked, I went till the fourth bridge but couldn’t find a way to reach Gandhi Nagar as all connecting roads were closed by the police to facilitate the rallies,” said Vikram Singh, a local.

The police were also feeling helpless. “People are arguing with us. They are right on their part but what should we do. We are also doing our duty,” said a policeman.