CHENNAI: Road work on certain stretches, including near Panagal Park for the construction of a drain, and major traffic diversions colluded with sporadic showers to create chaos on busy commercial roads in T Nagar and Nungambakkam on Independence Day.The conditions were perfect for traffic snarls, with vehicles slowing to a crawl, and for six hours starting from 1pm, there were huge, impenetrable jams on all roads leading to Panagal Park and bylanes from those roads. The traffic police, struggling to regulate motorists in the commercial hub, soon also had to contend with the knock-on effect on vehicular movement in adjoining localities.Traffic policemen at key junctions were clearly unprepared for the gridlock. Whenever they eased the flow of traffic, more vehicles immediately occupied the vacated space, standing bumper-to-bumper and going nowhere in a hurry.Google Maps’ live traffic option showed many Android cellphone users, apart from everyone else, were trapped in jams on Anna Salai , Eldams Road, Venkatanarayana Road, GN Chetty Road, North Usman Road and South Usman Road — the red lines on the map as dark as their mood. Commuters said they spent at least an hour to get past some stretches in the core city that would normally take them just 15 minutes.“We had a tough time getting through North Usman Road on my motorcycle,” said Ramesh, who regularly passes through T Nagar on work. “People out shopping on the holiday spilled out on the roads. I was stuck with other motorists for at least 30 minutes before I could get to T Nagar bus terminus.”People in cars were even worse off because they could only inch forward, he said. “Motorists had to move in single file, leading to vehicles piling up,” said Shivakumar, another commuter.Apart from the drain work near Panagal Park taking up space, police officers said, waterlogging on several roads also slowed down vehicles.“Many shoppers thronged T Nagar and Pondy Bazaar , which caused traffic jams,” a police officer said. “Those who came by car parked their vehicles haphazardly, making matters worse.”

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