Modi euphoria captures mood of city

--traffic comes to standstill

BHUBANESWAR: Euphoria to see BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi captured mood of the city. The Modi wave became a hot topic of discussion in the city when traffic was getting thick in the important places here.

The party people and supporters were landing in the city by train, buses and other means of communication to have a glimpse of Modi and to experience his speech which easily attract the crowds

Though Modi was scheduled to come at around 1pm, flow of the crowd was started from 8.30 am. When the time was coming nearer to Modi’s arrival, most of the traffic squares including Khandagiri, Fire Station, CRP Square, Acharya Vihar, OUAT, Power House, Sishu Bhavan and AG square witnessed very thick traffic which was a headache for the police deployed there to control the traffic.

From 9 am, women and men wearing Modi masks and hats marched to the rally venue by blocking part of the main roads in the city. The queue started from Vani Vihar square to the rally venue at Barmunda ground was the reason behind traffic problems in the main traffic points on the National Highway.

Shouting party slogans, flaunting party flags and wearing ‘Vote for India’ and ‘Modi for PM’ hats, the crowd hit the main roads lead to the venue. Troupes of tribal community with their traditional attire were engaged to perform dance in the city roads to welcome Modi.

At the Bhubaneswar railway station, hundreds of BJP supporters got down from different passenger trains and express trains by flaunting ‘Modi Sena’ flags.

During the rally, the traffic came to a standstill for more than four hours. Routes of heavy vehicles were changed by the traffic management between the CRP square to the Khandagiri square to avoid heavy rush. Transportation of buses was also stopped between Rasulgarh to Barmunda bus stand. The Barmunda over bridge and a portion of the National Highway were made as parking slot for vehicles came to the rally.

Security in the city was beefed up from Airport to rally venue to check any type of untoward incidents during Modi’s visit. The Odisha police along with a team of Gujarat police were ready for the arrival of NSG-guarded Modi. According to sources, 45 platoons of police forces were deployed in the city for the purpose. A team of Gujarat police were also deployed in the rally venue in plain clothes. Youths of BJP were also engaged to maintain peace in the rally.