Bhubaneswar, Jan. 24: The conduct of multiple events almost simultaneously on the city streets inconvenienced many airport and railway station-bound passengers on the second day of Raahgiri today.

The celebration of Raahgiri blocked important stretch of Janpath between Ram Mandir and Master Canteen Square, while vehicles were not allowed to ply between Assembly and AG Square for the Republic Day parade rehearsal which was being conducted on Mahatma Gandhi Marg. The stretches of several city streets that run between Rabindra Mandap and Power House Square were also closed for a mini-marathon that was held on Vidyut Marg. With three major arterial roads out of bounds for the people, city traffic went haywire since early this morning.

"I wanted to catch my flight to Hyderabad this morning. I was aware of the Raahgiri Day celebrations on Janpath. Accordingly, I told my driver to take the route through Assembly and AG Square. But, I had no idea that the road was also blocked due to the marathon. The administration should make prior announcements before enforcing such roadblocks," said Sukanya Rout, a software engineer.

Rout was forced to take the narrow lanes of Unit-IX that pushed her further into traffic congestion. "I am being forced to take a longer route to the airport through Fire Station Square. I am not sure if I would be able to catch the flight," she said.

On the other side, blocking of two important stretches of Janpath and Mahatma Gandhi Marg inconvenienced Bhubaneswar railway station-bound passengers.

"I went to drop my brother at the city railway station. He was going to Bargarh to attend Dhanu yatra. The train to Bargarh left Bhubaneswar at 6.45am. But, we failed to reach the station on time," said Suramya Mahapatra, a student of College of Engineering and Technology.

Assistant commissioner of police (traffic) Jatin Panda felt sorry for the trouble of the city residents.

"We deputed our personnel on city streets to manage traffic. Managing three such big events at one time became tough for us. However, our personnel tried their best to manage the situation," he said.

A senior official of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, however, had no soft corner for those who had to bear the brunt of the on-street festivities.

"The events were organised for the benefit of the people. Raahgiri is helping citizens remain fit and healthy. It is also improving the environment. People should understand this and co-operate with us in making the events more successful," he said.