We were stuck: Vehicles wait at Dak Bungalow Chowk in Patna on Tuesday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, July 12: Vice-President Hamid Ansari’s visit to the city today left commuters stranded because of restrictions on vehicular movement on the routes through which his cavalcade passed.

The commuters frowned as traffic cops stopped them at different intersections. Those going to station fretted fearing missing trains. Rickshaw-pullers made merry, as they charged people double the usual fare.

The road diversions and restriction were effective from 11am to 1pm, till the function in the memory of former chief minister SN Sinha continued at Maurya.

While Ansari was paying rich tributes to the former chief minister at the hotel, the commuters were jostling for space on roads. When he was talking about decentralisation of funds, motorists were busy honking and cursing cops.

At the Boring Road roundabout, the motorists were not allowed to take left and go towards Patna High Court on the Bailey Road. They had to drive straight to jam-packed Hartali roundabout.

“I am waiting for the traffic police’s green signal for almost 25 minutes. I understand a VIP is in the town and diversions need to be there. But the police should act swiftly. It is a very humid day and sitting in a crammed vehicle is nothing but painful and frustrating,” Siddharth Kumar, a student travelling in an autorickshaw, said.

People on their way to Patna Junction to board trains were also worried.

“There is heavy traffic here and it is almost impossible to move. Vehicles from all the four directions are converging at Hartali area. So, the waiting time (for green signal) is too long. I have a train to board and I am worried,” Sujata Kumari, a resident of Boring Road, said as she got down from the autorickshaw she was travelling in and started looking for a rickshaw.

The Frazer Road, too, was a no-vehicle zone. Cops chased away two pedestrians from Frazer Road around 12noon. They were walking down from the Patna station because of non-availability of vehicles. The duo somehow dodged the baton-wielding cops and ran inside the radio station.

“How do I know a VIP cavalcade is about to pass through this road? If this is a no movement zone, the police should have stopped us earlier. Why are they beating up people passing through the road? This does not make sense and is a clear case of injustice,” said one among them later.

The Dakbungalow roundabout was also blocked from three directions. People coming from the station and going towards Frazer Road or Exhibition Road had no option but to wait until the Vice-President’s cavalcade passed.

“I am stranded here for about 30 minutes. I knew there would be a traffic problem today and left for office early in the morning. As I stepped out from my workplace for some work, I got stuck. The heat and the humidity is just making matters worse,” Anil Kumar, who works in a private firm, said.

With no vehicles being allowed to move in the Bailey Road area, several people were seen taking rickshaws. “The rickshaw-pullers are charging Rs 50 for a trip from Hartali Chowk to Biscomaun. Usually, the fare is Rs 30,” Kamlesh Yadav, another commuter, said.