Hyderabad: Formula e makes traffic go awry

Hyderabad: While the elite were excited and were trying to get a ticket or pass to witness the Formula E racing event on Saturday, the common man was upset by the massive traffic snarls across the city due to traffic restrictions in and around necklace road where the racing would take place.

Next two days promise to be much worse as the police would impose more restrictions to ensure that the event would pass off peacefully.

Police has advised the motorists to postpone their programmes and come out only if it was necessary and avoid the roads around the Secretariat, Assembly, Khairatabad and Panjagutta as there would be heavy VIP movement. City Police Commissioner CV Anand reviewed the security arrangements as well as traffic management on the busy roads during the Assembly session and racing. This had become necessary as the road users on Friday gave vent to their displeasure over traffic jam and resorted to removing the barricades and entered the road on which the formula drivers were practicing.

This led to the disruption in the practice run. Taken aback by the vehicles freely moving on the track, the drivers of the formula vehicles walked up to the police but could not get positive reply. The volunteers who were supposed to see that the barricades were not removed alleged that the police had beaten them when they resisted removal of barricades. As a result, the practice session got delayed by 30 minutes. Motorist A Dharmendra, who was going from Narayanguda to Banjara Hills, said the police had miserably failed in traffic management.

Students, women and employees struggled hard to reach their places in the morning and evening hours. He said the state government should not have permitted such events in the heart of the city.

Traffic police said that despite the advisory issued on traffic restrictions, people are travelling on the prohibited areas. The two-day formula racing is a key event in the city. Hence, people are advised to bear the difficulties and travel by alternative routes.