New Delhi, Dec 4 (IANS): Commuters faced a massive traffic jam at the Ghazipur border on Wednesday morning after police barricaded the area to prevent Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi and others in the party's delegation from entering Uttar Pradesh.
The blockade was put in place ahead of the Congress delegation's visit to Sambhal in UP to meet the families of victims of the violence in which five youths were killed.
Long queues of vehicles could be seen at the border, leaving commuters frustrated. Security has been tightened at the Delhi-Ghazipur border, adding to the delays.
Several commuters shared their grievances with IANS.
Om Prakash, returning from the airport, said: "There is a very long jam. I’ve been stuck here for over an hour and don’t know how long it will take to reach home. Why block the road because of Rahul Gandhi’s visit?"
Shikha Arora, a student, expressed her frustration to IANS: "I left early to reach home, but now it’s getting very late. What’s the need to block roads for his visit to Sambhal?"
Another commuter, Kailash, remarked: "It’s been 25 minutes since I’ve been stuck. People face lots of inconvenience due to political activities."
Aruna, travelling to Uttarakhand for a wedding, said: "We’ve been stuck for half an hour. It’s a lot of trouble, and the jam hasn’t cleared yet."
LoP Rahul Gandhi, and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who were heading to Sambhal district of UP on Wednesday, were stopped at the Ghazipur border on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.
The Congress MPs, accompanied by several party leaders and workers were stopped by police on the border, citing the law-and-order situation in Sambhal.
As the Congress convoy was stopped at the Ghazipur border, the Congress MPs asked the police to allow a small delegation of the party to visit the strife-torn town.
Sambhal has been under heightened police vigil after the November 24 violence. Prohibitory orders have been put in place and ‘outsiders’ have been denied entry into the town till December 10 to avoid any further escalation in violence.