Beer Chand Patel Marg scripted a history of sorts on Wednesday as it was officially blocked for a political rally, probably for the first time.

Right on the middle of the road, a huge stage was set up in front of AG (advocate-general) office for the CPI(ML) Liberation’s Khabardar Rally. Its supporters occupied almost half of the street, blocking the entries and exits of government and commercial establishments on the either side of the road.

True, most political parties have their offices on Beer Chand Patel Marg — in the heart of the city. But nobody could recall if a political rally was ever organised on the street. The road closed for commuters, office-goers had a harrowing experience on Wednesday.

“Hardly anyone using personal vehicles, especially four-wheelers, came to office today (Wednesday). I had to leave my bike at Patna High Court and walk up to my office,” said R.N. Jha, whose office is at Parivahan Bhavan, the headquarters of Bihar State Road Transport Corporation (BSRTC), on Beer Chand Patel Marg.

None of the inter-state air-conditioned buses of Gaurav Luxury, operated in public-private partnership mode by BSRTC and Girish Infrastructure, could run from its booking counter at Parivahan Bhavan on Wednesday. “We did not receive a single booking for buses on any of the routes from this counter,” said Mantu Kumar, a ticket-booking agent at the counter.

The gates of the district guesthouse, popular as circuit house, on the southern-end of Beer Chand Patel Marg remained closed from the early morning. “We had to close the gates because the stage was set right in front of it. None of the officers having bookings for this (Wednesday) morning could come. Those leaving were forced to walk up to their vehicles parked on Serpentine Road,” said an attendant at the circuit house.

Services at Hotel Patliputra Ashok on west Beer Chand Patel Marg were also affected because of the rally. “Guests had to enter and leave the hotel using a bylane adjacent to it, which leads to Bailey Road behind Vidyut Bhavan. The supply of food and other materials were affected,” said Vikas Kumar, an employee of Hotel Patliputra Ashok.

Several vendors had also gathered on Beer Chand Patel Marg on Wednesday to cash in on the rally. “I usually put up my tea stall near Patna Junction. But I decided to hit Beer Chand Patel Marg today (Wednesday) after learning that that there would be a heavy public gathering in the rally. I sold 1,000 cups of tea by 12noon,” said tea vendor Ramesh Prasad in front of New Patna Club.

Pintu Kumar, an orange juice vendor, was not as lucky. “The participants were mostly from villages and were not keen on having juice,” said Pintu. Dress material vendors were also disappointed. “I had expected to sell more than 500 clothes, but there were hardly 50 buyers in the rally,” said Sanjay Paswan, a street vendor.