Motorists' delight could be a curse for Gardanibagh residents.

The shift of the venue of multiple-day demonstrations from R-Block to Sanjay Gandhi Stadium at Gardanibagh would free the arterial roads of the city of snarls for sure. But the motorists' cruise on Hardinge Road and Beer Chand Patel Marg could take the pace off the road leading to Gardanibagh - a south Patna locality. Several residents feel the Gardanibagh main road might become chock-a-block because of demonstrations.

Acting swiftly after the Wednesday's high court order, the district administration and Patna traffic police have come up with an elaborate plan to ensure processions did not hinder the vehicular movement in the city. Sources said permission would not be granted to demonstrate at R-Block from Thursday.

"Two venues have been identified for staging protests - Kargil Chowk and Sanjay Gandhi Stadium at Gardanibagh. Located on the north-eastern corner of Gandhi Maidan, Kargil Chowk has been earmarked for daylong dharnas. The organisations demonstrating there would be allowed to take out a procession around Gandhi Maidan and then demonstrate at the Kargil Chowk. In the evening, they would be able to hand over their memorandum of demands to a city magistrate," said a senior officer of the district administration.

The officer said: "According to the directive of the high court, we have earmarked an area of the Gardanibagh stadium for those holding dharnas or hunger strikes for more than a day. In such cases, protesters would assemble at the ground itself. A few representatives of the demonstrators would be then taken to state secretariat to meet the minister or the official concerned to hand over the memorandum to him/her." A team of senior officers of the district administration and Patna police surveyed the Gardanibagh stadium on Wednesday evening.

The decision of the state government to shift the existing protest venue at R-Block to the Sanjay Gandhi Stadium at Gardanibagh would bring comfort to those frequently commuting through Hardinge Road and Beer Chand Patel Marg. But the Gardanibagh residents are apprehensive that they would have to face the brunt of frequent snarls because of numerous processions in vicinity.

"I fear the situation which would arise when thousands of protesters would march through the Gardanibagh main road to Sanjay Gandhi Stadium. As it is, the base road is quite narrow. Half of it is occupied by the Gardanibagh rail overbridge. People living in this part of the city are sure to face problems because of the new protest site here," said O.P. Yadav, a resident of road No. 16 at Gardanibagh.

Abhimanyu Kumar, a resident of road No. 2 of the Gardanibagh locality had a different reason to protest the move of the district administration.

"We play volleyball on the stadium premises every evening. Once protesters are accommodated here, our game sessions are bound to be adversely hit," he said.

The protest venue was shifted from Hartali Mor on Bailey Road to R-Block in 2004 to reduce the traffic disruption. But over the years, it lost its purpose and traffic congestion became a norm during demonstrations.

The shifting of the protest site from R-Block would usher in numerous benefits for commuters. When the R-Block gates remained open, reaching Mithapur from the western side of the city was an easier task because commuters could take the flyover ahead. But whenever the gates were closed for demonstrations, motorists had to take the busy Income Tax roundabout and Dakbungalow Chowk.