The police blocking traffic leading to Vyttila from Aroor in view of the CPI(M)’s flag pole march in Kochi on Tuesday. more-in The national highway stretch between Aroor and Vyttila was virtually turned into a traffic hellhole during the peak morning hours on Tuesday, thanks to the CPI(M)’s flag pole march, being held as a prelude to the party’s State meeting later this week, which entered the district from the neighbouring Alappuzha. On a day when the traffic was already bad owing to the presence of larger number of private vehicles on the road because of the private bus stir, the march and the accompanying traffic regulations to facilitate its smooth movement turned the situation worse and literally left motorists stranded in the middle of nowhere. Traffic was disrupted as early as around 8.45 a.m. when the police blocked the entire track leading to Vyttila from Aroor just after Lakeshore Hospital, about 300 metres from the Madavana Junction by parking a jeep bang across the road much to the chagrin of motorists trapped in vehicles. In no time, a long queue of vehicles was formed and it snaked all the way up to Madavana Junction. As traffic on that track was completely choked, the police began to divert vehicles through the opposite track. Things turned worse on that track as well as two-lane traffic was allowed through what was meant for single lane traffic. “The police were absolutely insensitive to the hardship of the public who were already suffering because of the private bus strike. There was no prior notice of the traffic blockade in which case people would have avoided the route. Besides, what was the need for blocking traffic along an entire track when they could have at least allowed traffic through half of that track, leaving the remaining half for the march,” said Manoj, a casual labourer who got stranded in the traffic. A senior traffic police officer said that the police had no option but to block traffic through one side of the road, since the rally comprising around 400 people occupied as much width on the NH. This resulted in vehicles in both directions having to be diverted through the other side of the road, resulting in traffic hold-ups, he said. Some motorists took a left turn at Madavana Junction and proceeded along the PWD Road to re-enter national highway at INTUC Junction. Meanwhile, traffic along some narrow bylanes flanked by the national highway in the area was also choked as motorists, including four-wheelers, in their desperation to escape the traffic mayhem steered into them, paralysing vehicular movement there as well. Local residents along the roads were trapped inside their homes as the traffic logjam right in front of their doorstep even prevented them from taking their vehicles past their gates. Though not as worse, traffic blocks continued right up to Edappally till the march covered the stretch.

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