Pandemonium ruled the roads coming to Chandigarh from Panchkula and those around Sector 17 throughout the day, with more than 800 vehicles pouring into the city to attend a rally organised at the Circus Ground in Sector 17 by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The rally marked the culmination of a 662-kilometre Jan Akrosh Padyatra by Indian National Lok Dal secretary general Ajay Singh Chautala.

Though the traffic police had made elaborate arrangements since morning, they failed to manage the heavy traffic flow. With the rally winding up at a time when people were returning home from office, the situation was worse in the evening. Most of the roundabouts on the Madhya Marg remained blocked, with traffic moving at a snail’s pace.

“Most of the people who attended the rally were from Haryana and they moved out of the city from the Transport Area traffic light point. We tried to divert the traffic through Industrial Area, but the chaos could not be averted,” said a traffic policeman. People visiting Sector 17 faced a tough time parking their vehicles since the parking lots around the Neelam Cinema were closed.

Superintendent of Police (Traffic) H S Doon said they had planned to ensure minimum trouble to the public due to the rally. “We never let the flow of traffic come to a halt. It kept moving, though at a snail’s pace. Personnel were deputed at all roundabouts and they performed their duty with excellence,” he added.

Vends do brisk business
People who had come from different parts of Haryana to attend the rally seemed to have some other plans too. Many thronged the vends in Sector 17 as liquor is cheaper here than in Haryana. People were seen carrying home cases of liquor in their vehicles.

Khaki garrison
More than 1,500 police personnel were deputed to maintain law and order in view of the huge footfall for the rally. It is estimated that nearly 25,000 people attended the rally. Officers said apart from the Chandigarh Police, there were six companies from Punjab Police and four from Haryana on duty.

Mismanagement in parking lots
With the closure of parking lots around Neelam Cinema, people opted for the MC parking area, Gurdev parking area and Lyon’s parking lot. But with the parking contractors not bothering to manage the parking, it led to chaos. People could be seen fighting with each other for parking spaces. Minor scuffles were also reported.