Jagan grilling: Citizens say traffics a b***h!

HYDERABAD: Dark oaths and horrific curses issued from the mouths of Hyderabadis who were caught in the steaming traffic jams caused by the security arrangements for Jagan’s grilling by the CBI. For the second day in succession, traffic diversions away from Dilkusha guest house resulted in a mile-long gridlock on the Punjagutta-Khairatabad road and other streets radiating from it.With heavy bandobast on Raj Bhavan road and other roads leading from Banjara Hills to important junctions like Khairatabad, Punjagutta, Somajiguda and Nagarjuna Circle, citizens were seen arguing with policemen and turning red with fury at the thought of taking long detours.“It took me an hour and 20 minutes to reach Somajiguda from Road No 12. I wasted so much petrol just going round and round,” fumed G Sudhakar, whose office is in Somajiguda.A software engineer, Venkat, who was seen arguing with policemen, said: “The police seem to have lost it. How can they question an MP in the heart of the city? They could have kept the interrogation venue on the outskirts. Of all places, they decided on Raj Bhavan road? This is absurd.”For people living on either side of Raj Bhavan road, it was akin to house arrest. “We can’t go anywhere,” said Ramachandra Pillai, who lives in Somajiguda.Those who had to  visit Yashoda Hospital found themselves barred by cops even if they waved an x-ray or narrated a gut-wrenching story. “I begged with them as I had to show some medical reports to the doctor but I was not allowed through. I had to take a detour and got stuck in a huge traffic snarl,” complained Yadagiri. With the detours in place, it was the road from Masab Tank to Nagarjuna circle that everyone made a beeline for. With vehicles packed like sardines, it proved a trying time for commuters.Meanwhile those who looked towards the traffic police’s Facebook page for help, were left disappointed and took to posting comments on it. “We have seen smooth traffic even when presidents visited”, said a user while another joked, “How can the Governor move now?”