BHOPAL: People could be seen taking the wrong route to travel on the roads because of the lockdown. The barricades put up around the lanes and bylanes of Bhopal restricted the movements of even those who had a valid reason to travel. All the commuters had to take alternative routes to reach their destinations. Policemen were deployed at the important roads and streets, but, to reach those roads, commuters had a tough time.
On the other hand, shops inside the narrow lanes in Old Bhopal remained open and residents could be seen taking a walk or playing outside. The roads at Rachna Nagar, Gautam Nagar, Kasturba Nagar, Subhash Fatak, Smart City site at TT Nagar, Chawni Road, Shahjahanabad Trisection and other areas were closed. So, commuters had to take alternative routes to travel to their destinations.
A youth, Ram Singh, said he had to reach the railway station to see off his father. He says the roads were barricaded and then they had to take another route which is 2 kilometres longer. But, because of the barricading, he decided not to take a risk and inquire before heading any other way. He called one of his friends who lives down that way to check out if the roads were blocked. Disappointed, they had to take a different route, which was 4 kilometres longer route, to reach the station.
Similar scenes were witnessed at Kamla Park, where the police had barricaded the road leading towards Retghat. The commuters had to take a different route to reach the area as there was no cop deployed in the area to advise them on the matter.