[SusanSazzios]

The city almost came to a standstill on Monday morning when people demanding installation of traffic signal and removal of the foot overbridge in Saidapet blocked traffic on arterial Anna Salai, which branches off into several other thoroughfares in the city. With students and office-goers stuck in buses, cars and two-wheelers, it was utter chaos on the long stretch of Anna Salai for over three hours. With all parallel roads leading to prime areas like Teynampet and T. Nagar also filled with vehicles, hundreds of Chennaiites found the going really tough. About 200 people living in Saidapet suddenly assembled near Saidapet magistrate court complex and blocked the road demanding installation of a traffic signal on the road which was made one-way a few months back. They also demanded a subway to enable them to cross the road used by several lakhs of vehicles every day.

School and college students, office-goers and those rushing to the airport to catch flights, were caught unawares following the agitation.

“With works for metro rail project taken up in the area, the stretch used to witness traffic snarls.
Now, the agitation compounded the woes of office-goers,“ said bus passenger Geetha.

“I have to attend an interview at 10 am at Teynampet, and I fear that I would miss it,“ complained Wasim, a twowheeler rider caught at Kathirpara junction.

- dc chennai