Officials tell TNM that the majority of the vehicles seen were carrying essential services, and those motorists who defied rules have been let off with a warning.
India is under a complete lockdown as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while in Tamil Nadu section 144 that prohibits gatherings of more than 5 persons at any place, is in effect until lockdown ends on April 14. This lockdown has been announced as a precautionary and preparatory period to fight the spread of novel coronavirus, and has brought life to a standstill in the city.
While this means empty roads and deserted streets in most places, visuals captured on Wednesday morning at Padi flyover in Chennai showed a completely different picture. Hundreds of vehicles of different sizes choked up the flow of traffic on the flyover, leading many to question how and why so many people were out on the roads.
#Chennai Padi Flyover#lockdown and #StayHome are mere words in Chennai now…. pic.twitter.com/SbwXRHedt0
— Mugilan Chandrakumar (@Mugilan__C) April 1, 2020
Padi flyover this morning. I just have one thing to ask.
Engayaa poreenga?pic.twitter.com/enWew2IwwC
— Siddarth Srinivas (@sidhuwrites) April 1, 2020
The Padi flyover is the main junction connecting Korattur, Koyambedu, Villivakkam, Thirumangalam areas in the city. The police had put up three check posts on the flyover, one on Korattur side, one on Villivakkam side and another on Thirumangalam side, thus causing a slow-down of vehicular movement and eventual traffic snarl.
The traffic jam that formed around 10.30 am on the flyover was soon cleared by the police. Speaking to TNM, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Traffic West, MM Ashok Kumar said, “The check posts were put up by law and order officials. Now we have sorted it out.” The DCP added that the checkpoints have now been brought to ground level to avoid a bottleneck on the flyover.
DCP Ashok Kumar further clarified to TNM that the majority of the vehicles seen on the overbridge were those carrying essential goods to the markets of Koyambedu and Villivakkam. “Moreover, 10.30 am is a peak time for movement. I personally inspected and most of them were vehicles going to or coming from Koyambedu and Villivakkam markets carrying vegetables, gas cylinders and other essential commodities,” he added.
But pictures also showed motorists among the crowd. Speaking to TNM, Thirumangalam Inspector M Ravi, who was one among the officers on duty on the bridge, said that the motorists who were out without a reason were let off after a warning. “We have warned over 20 individuals who were out despite the order. They were made to take a pledge that they will not repeat it again. If they were to do it again, we will take strict action,” he said.
Saw visuals of traffic jam on #Padi flyover this morning? Here’s a police officer who made some of the motorists take an oath that they won’t venture out unnecessarily again. This is on the Thirumangalam side of the flyover #Chennai @thenewsminute pic.twitter.com/O4XvB6HGHH
— Anjana Shekar (@AnjanaShekar) April 1, 2020
Source: The News Minute