Bhubaneswar: BJD corporators hit the streets in protest against the brutal attack on BMC additional commissioner Ratnakar Sahu on Monday, leading to severe traffic congestion on Janpath in the evening, lasting for more than an hour. The situation worsened as senior BJD members, including former minister Ashok Panda and Bhubaneswar-North MLA Ananta Narayan Jena, joined the agitators, remaining at the site until late evening.The humid evening turned into a nightmare for commuters and motorists as vehicles stood still on the busy stretch. Three ambulances, with their sirens wailing helplessly, were stuck among countless cars. Inside them, patients gasped for breath while worried paramedics tried their best to keep them stable.Children in various vehicles were crying, some from hunger, others from the urgent need to use the bathroom. Parents, frustrated and anxious, had no choice but to let the kids relieve themselves in their cars. Police officers moved between vehicles, offering water and reassurance to stranded travellers. The evening snack time passed, with no access to food or water. The highway had transformed into a parking lot of suffering and discomfort.“I was travelling with my family to Cuttack. The journey should have taken just an hour. We could have reached Cuttack, finished our work, and returned by now,” said Mamata Behera, a commuter who got stuck. She said one couldn’t even walk out of the car and buy a bottle of water and biscuits. “Moreover, we couldn’t even take our children to urinate. They all had to relieve themselves inside the car. Horrible situation...” Sources said the protesting BJD members were unmoved by the traffic disruption. In response, police took action by making preventive arrests of the agitators, which eventually led to the restoration of normal traffic flow.“We tried to convince the agitators, but they were still occupying the Janpath at peak hours. For more than 2km, the road was blocked. To ease the traffic, we had to make preventive arrests of BJD members. They were released later,” said Prakash Chandra Pal, DCP (law and order).Jyoti Ranjan Mishra, president of the OAS Association, demanded security for officers engaged in public duty. “We demand serious punitive action under appropriate sections of BNS against the culprits,” he told the media.OAS Association members threatened to go on mass leave from Tuesday in protest against the assault on Sahu. BJP’s Ekamra-Bhubaneswar MLA Babu Singh told the media in the evening that BJD corporators shouldn’t have caused inconvenience to the public for hours, that too led by mayor Sulochana Das, by blocking Janpath.
