Hyderabad comes to standstill

Hyderabad: Impact of the nation-wide strike of truckers, taxi and bus operators who are opposing the provision of Rs 7-lakh penalty and 10-year jail term for hit-and-run cases under the newly-passed Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita which is yet to come in force, led to chakka jam in many parts of Greater Hyderabad, and fuel supply was also badly hit.

Long queues of trucks, cars and two-wheelers at petrol bunks were seen across the state as there was a panic buying following rumours that the strike would last ten days or so though it was a three-day strike call from Monday. This surge in petrol buyers led to traffic jams at many places. According to the petrol pump owners, most of them did not store stocks to their full capacity as they were anticipating a reduction in fuel prices by the Central government.

As a result, they were not able to meet the sudden demand now. ‘No Stock’ boards were seen at many petrol pumps across the state. The impact was much higher in the GHMC limits.

Across the city bumper-to-bumper traffic was witnessed at various stretches wherever there were petrol bunks. The traffic police stepped in and diverted the traffic to roads which had lesser traffic but the cascading effect was such that even lanes got choked.

Despite ‘No Stock’ boards at petrol pumps, motorists continued to wait on roads and this resulted in traffic coming to a halt in various areas. Later, the police blocked the roads leading to the petrol bunks and barricaded the pumps at Chaderghat, Malakpet, Lakdikapul, Khairatabad, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Madhapur, Mehdipatnam, Langer Houz, Murad Nagar and other various areas.