Chennai: AIADMK meet leaves roads choked – Times of India

CHENNAI: The AIADMK’s general council meeting at Vanagaram on Monday, for the second time in a month, threw traffic completely out of gear in several parts of the city, particularly Poonamallee High Road, Mount-Poonamallee Road, Porur, Maduravoyal and Koyambedu.
Haphazard parking of vehicle and ‘receptions’ for Edappadi K Palaniswami’s entourage en route added to the chaos. At least six ambulances were stuck in traffic as senior AIADMK leaders halted their vehicles at several places to meet their supporters. On June 23, when the first AIADMK general council meeting was held, traffic was badly hit as party workers flooded the roads.
The situation was no different on Monday, if anything even more chaotic. Several motorists stuck in the traffic began to honk, asking the hordes of party cadres on the road to clear the path for the ambulances, but were shouted down and warned of dire consequences.
Though the flow of traffic remained disrupted since morning, the situation worsened after Edappadi K Palaniswami left the meeting venue in Vanagaram at 1.10pm when his supporters surrounded his vehicle.
More than 10 vehicles that accompanied the one carrying him began to move slowly on the road, towards Marina Beach from the venue. Police had to block the Vanagaram-Ambattur road junction as the traffic was completely blocked on the stretch. It took more than two hours for the situation to return to normalcy at the spot, leaving hundreds of motorists in the lurch.
It was complete confusion, as AIADMK workers and functionaries kept jumping into and out of vehicles that were indiscriminately stopped in the middle of the road.
Vehicles piled up for a long distance on the Maduravoyal flyover and at Koyambedu as the vehicle in which Palaniswami was travelling stopped abruptly on the road for the leader to greet fawning party cadres.
“Most of us were at the receiving end,” said Chandrasekar, a resident of Maduravoyal who was stuck in the traffic for a long time.
Several party functionaries who exchanged greetings in the middle of the busy road, picked up an argument with police personnel when told that they were disrupting the traffic.