Shobha Yatra throws city traffic out of gear

Shivani Bhakoo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 22

A ‘shobha yatra’ was organised in the city for paying tributes to Lord Valmiki here on Monday.

The yatra began around 3 pm from near the Clock Tower Chowk. Though elaborated arrangements were made by the authorities to prevent any harassment, residents still had a tough time as several city roads — starting from near Bhadaur House to Clock Tower, Railway Station road, Civil Lines, Fountain Chowk, Domoria Bridge — were jam-packed and residents had to divert their routes to reach their destination.

Around 10:30 am, serpentine queues were witnessed near Domoria Bridge, Deepak Cinema road and other areas. Traffic policemen were seen diverting the traffic towards the Kapoor Hospital road and commuters had to cover long distances to reach their destinations.

Heavy vehicular traffic was witnessed at the Lakkar Bridge and commuters started taking the road from the DIG Office towards Clock Tower, Bhadaur House, but huge rush was witnessed on all city roads. Fountain Chowk, Rani Jhansi Road, and Guru Nanak Stadium road witnessed huge traffic as routes were diverted due to ‘shobha yatra’.

Meanwhile, hundreds of devotees took part in the shobha yatra, which started from near Clock Tower and passed through Lakkar Bridge to Fountain Chowk and Bharat Nagar Chowk.

Congress leaders, including Food and Supplies Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Member of Parliament Ravneet Singh Bittu, Mayor Balkar Singh, and Member of Legislative Assembly Surinder Dawar were part of the yatra.

Another ‘shobha yatra’ will be held on Tuesday to pay tributes to Lord Valmiki, which will be supported by another group (organisers) and the SAD-BJP functionaries.

Sukhminder Singh, a commuter, said they would have a tough time again on Tuesday. “All religions are equal and should be respected, but political colour should not be given to everything,” he said.