Traffic gridlock was witnessed on the Palarivattom-Edappally stretch of the NH bypass on Wednesday. | Photo credit: THULASI KAKKAT
Life in the city came to a standstill for around eight hours on Wednesday as a large number of vehicles carrying Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists and supporters poured into the city to attend events attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Vehicles, including private buses and other transporters from neighboring districts, which had been arriving in the city since morning with party workers, added to the traffic snarl. City buses and private vehicles were diverted to handle the crowd that arrived in the city during peak hours.
The traffic jams were compounded by extensive traffic curbs put in place by police at key intersections from about 10:00 a.m. until the afternoon to facilitate the movement of the ministerial motorcade and public events.
Internal roads were also congested during the day as vehicles were diverted from the main roads through them to facilitate the events held at the centrally located Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in Kaloor. Mr Modi attended a government event to launch a number of programmes, apart from a public meeting organized by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at adjoining venues set up on the stadium campus.
A long queue of vehicles was seen along the Vyttila-Edappally section of the NH bypass around 11 am and at all major junctions and traffic lights. Vehicular movement along the route connecting Marine Drive and Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was restricted around noon, while the movement of the return convoy led to additional curbs in the afternoon. Heavy movement of people from different parts of the state to and from the stadium made vehicular movement difficult even after restrictions were lifted.
Restrictions in major corridors caused slow vehicular movement on bypasses and adjacent roads.
Police earlier advised residents, office-goers and students to plan their journeys in advance to avoid inconvenience during the heavily guarded visit. “Restrictions and diversions were imposed only as per the pre-announced plan,” said a traffic police officer.
Published – 11 March 2026 23:15 IST
