BJP protest at Chaura Maidan leads to traffic jams in Shimla

The BJP protest against the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government at Chaura Maidan in the heart of Shimla on Thursday, triggered long traffic jams across the state capital, inconveniencing commuters.

While BJP supporters from across Himachal Pradesh converged at the ground on the call by state unit chief Rajeev Bindal to highlight the state government’s failure to ensure law and order and rein in inflation and unemployment, residents of Shimla were at the receiving end as all roads in the hill town witnessed long jams.

“I had an appointment with a doctor but have been stuck in the traffic jam for 45 minutes,” said Anita Kumari, a resident of Chaily in Shimla. Another woman resident from Summer Hill, Monica Sharma, said: “I had to return midway after being stuck in traffic for an hour. I couldn’t drop my daughter to school.”

Protesters raised slogans against the Sukhu government for failing to address the growing unemployment and inflation, while educational and health institutions were being closed. Bindal had announced that BJP activists would gherao the Vidhan Sabha against the “mafia rule” in the state due to the unchecked sale of ‘chitta (heroin)’ and illegal mining.