Traffic at a standstill at Master Canteen Square on Monday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 24: Teachers blocked traffic movement on the road connecting Swasti Complex Square and Rajmahal Square for nearly an hour this afternoon to demand abolition of block grant. Master Canteen Square turned out to be the worst victim of the rally.

With thousands of teachers taking part in the protest, vehicles remained stranded for about an hour. The rally not only brought traffic on Janpath to a halt, but it also choked several adjoining service roads with commuters trying to sneak out of the jam.

“I was supposed to reach a bank in Rajmahal but was delayed. I will have to go there again tomorrow,” said Anshuman Panda, an entrepreneur.

Students also faced problems due to the traffic jam. “I was returning to Ashok Nagar but the rally forced me to wait for nearly an hour. I tried my best to go back but there was no other route,” said Arun Naik, a school student.

This was not the only rally that triggered traffic congestion today. Several other small rallies also led to traffic disruption at Master Canteen Square.

“We face hardships during Assembly sessions as the protesters organise rallies and demonstrations, causing traffic disruption in the area,” said Sibananda Sahu, a shopkeeper.

A number of buses coming from the Master Canteen Square were also seen waiting in the traffic jam. Though a large number of traffic policemen had been deployed on the route, they could do little to bring the situation under control.

On November 13, the traffic at Master Canteen Square had come to a halt for nearly two hours after hundreds of agitators sat on a dharna on the main road. The protesters, mostly women of the tribal and dalit communities, had held dharna demanding land pattas. Commuters apprehend further trouble with the winter session of the state Assembly scheduled to run till December 26.

On the other hand, the police officials said they were trying their best to ensure that commuters did not face problems.

“We will deploy adequate number of personnel to ensure that traffic remains smooth during such rallies,” said assistant commissioner of police (traffic) Jatindra Kumar Panda.