VIP Culture or Public Inconvenience? Pune Airport Traffic Grinds to a Halt
Sumit Singh
Pune, 6th August 2023: In an unfolding scenario that has left citizens frustrated, Pune Airport found itself in the midst of a traffic standstill yesterday as VIP movements took precedence. Amandeep Singh who arrived at the airport, took to Twitter to express his exasperation. He recounted being caught in a traffic gridlock for hours due to the visit of Home Minister Amit Shah. Singh detailed his struggle to cover a mere 300 meters in the span of an hour, and the prospect of an additional hour of delay ahead.
Landed at Pune Airport at 4:40 PM today. Our country's home minister, Amit Shah, is visiting, so they have blocked all traffic. Got a cab in 2 hours, but it only moved 300 meters in 1 hour. Still, 1 more hour to go. What kind of nonsense is this? Not only is it a wastage of… pic.twitter.com/QEsmeAbVzh
— Amandeep Singh (@amandeepgini) August 5, 2023
Nitin Kumar, echoing the sentiment, shared his ironic experience of being stuck near Pune Airport due to the very VIP movement that has repeatedly promised to reduce such inconveniences. Sudhanshu’s tweet conveyed disappointment at the situation, emphasizing the unnecessary strain on the public who were stuck in the traffic snarl without any emergencies or medical necessities to warrant such disruption.
Stuck in traffic close to Pune Airport…reason some VIP movement which is one of the biggest irony of traveling in India…
— Nitin Kapur (@kapurnitin78) August 5, 2023
Abhishek also took to social media to express his frustration. He described being stranded for over an hour outside the airport due to safety protocols related to the VIP visit, which could potentially result in him missing his flight. Several others joined him in pleading with the police for passage.
https://twitter.com/AbhishekDayal01/status/1687817834716688386?t=otoVGWWLjb_3gasDCEztFA&s=19
The Pune Police and Pimpri Chichwad Police’s Traffic Department implemented diversions on multiple routes within the city as part of safety protocols for Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit. Scheduled to launch a new web portal for the Registrar Office in Chinchwad and attend the Sugar Conference, Shah’s movements necessitated the traffic changes between 8 am and 3 pm. The ongoing situation raises questions about the extent to which such VIP protocols are warranted and the inconvenience they cause to ordinary citizens.
