Twin agitation throws traffic out of gear

THIRUVANANATHAPURAM:  The High Court order banning all kinds of agitations on roads obstructing public life does not seem to have reached the law enforcers, let alone the agitators. On Friday, the city witnessed an annoying scene, in which the law enforcers were seen making things convenient for the CPM and the DYFI activists, who were staging a twin agitation; one at Thampanoor, of laying a siege to the office of the Railway Mail Service; and the other, a Secretariat march on MG Road; both of which affected the vehicular traffic on all major roads in the city. The agitation was staged in protest against the latest petrol price hike. The agitation might have been aimed at the welfare of the common man, but it, for sure, caused  motorists to burn extra fuel by keeping their engines alive in the traffic, that was moving at a snail’s pace. The motorists had a tough time manoeuvring through the packed roads. The trouble increased as the police imposed diversions on major junctions so that the traffic and the agitations did not affect each other. The dharna in front of RMS office had started from 8 am onwards, when children and employees went to schools and offices respectively. Those who had to touch the MG Road during the peak hours, unaware of the agitations, had to pay a heavy price for it. Their woes  aggravated, when the DYFI activists too took to the MG Road, staging a Secretariat march.  The police had not only imposed traffic diversions at major junctions, but also switched off the traffic signal lights, which turned out to be the most annoying for several motorists.  ‘’The agitations are going on at Thampanoor and Secretariat. But why are the traffic signal lights from Palayam to LMS sleeping?’’ asked Geetha, an employee of a private firm at Vellayambalam. It had taken over half-an-hour for her to reach LMS from Statue junction in her car.  However, when contacted, the City Express received confusing answers from the authorities. While some police officers admitted that they had turned off the traffic signal lights to impose traffic diversions, others said that it was just a technical defect that happened often.Whatever the case may be, the traffic officials too had a tough time controlling the traffic, especially in Thampanoor area, as the dharna in front of the RMS office continued till 4 pm.