Samajwadi Party workers halt traffic on DND

NOIDA: Hundreds of commuters were caught in an hour-long traffic jam on DND flyway on Tuesday after workers of Samajwadi Party gathered at the toll plaza to welcome former BJP leader and four-time MP Ashok Pradhan who joined SP. Pradhan was on his way back from Lucknow where he met SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and joined the party as its national general secretary on Tuesday.
Pradhan, who has four times represented the Khurja Lok Sabha seat that contained Gautam Budh Nagar before delimitation, switched sides and joined the ruling party in UP, alleging BJP deviated from its path.
Nearly 80 vehicles carrying about 150 SP workers reached the toll plaza around 3pm. The workers double and triple parked the vehicles on the Delhi-Noida carriageway and waited for Pradhan, resulting in a jam. They even drove on the wrong side. The helpless toll plaza operator remained a mute spectator to the hour-long jam. "We requested the authorities to clear the jam but to no avail. It lasted for an hour," said Anwar Abassi, spokesperson for Noida Toll Bridge Co Ltd.
According to reports, vehicles got stuck in a logjam starting from near the toll plaza and extending up to the exits for Sector 15A and for Film City. The chaos ended when Pradhan left the flyway after meeting the party workers at about 4.15pm. "If politicians behave in this manner, what will happen to the country," said a hassled commuter.