Commuters irked as barricades on roads lead to chaos in city

Every evening, the police install barricades at various locations on roads to monitor and deter miscreants. However, in the morning, these barricades are often left on the spot, causing congestion and traffic jams.

The barricades, intended to slow down vehicles at night, force drivers to navigate a zigzag path, significantly reducing their speed. While this may serve the police’s purpose in the night when traffic is minimal, it proves to be a major obstacle during the morning rush hours when traffic volume increases substantially.

Motorists are irked over the daily ordeal, which not only wastes their time but also increases the risk of an accident. “It’s unnerving to see these barricades still in place during the morning hours,” said commuter Rohan Sharma. He said the police should be more responsible and remove them promptly after the night-time operations.

These barricades can be seen outside most of the police stations. The plastic drums used as barricades are placed in such a way that only one vehicle can pass at a time while those coming from the other side have to wait till the passage is clear.

“The barricades stay at the place, but cops are not there. But the fear of the police is such that even when no policemen is in sight, a common man dare not remove these drums to ensure the smooth flow of traffic,” said another commuter.

Commuters have appealed to senior officials of the police department to sensitise cops at nakas to remove some of the drums to let traffic move smoothly during the rush hours. They stated that they appreciate the department’s efforts to keep a vigil on anti-social activities during the night.