Schoolchildren and office-goers were caught in traffic for over an hour on Monday morning near the Baug-e-Jamsheed roundabout connecting the Straight Mile Road and Subernarekha Link Road in Sakchi.

Traffic cops were engaged in duty for Vice President Venkaiah Naidu’s visit to the steel city. Naidu was scheduled to attend a Tata Steel function at the XLRI auditorium around 10.30am.

The traffic snarl began at 8am and continued past 9am. Auto-rickshaws and vans carrying students got stuck near the Baug-e-Jamsheed roundabout. A long queue of vehicles could be seen at the intersections of the busy Subernarekha Link Road and Straight Mile Road.

Thousands of students from Rajendra Vidyalaya, Motilal Nehru Public School and Dayanand Public School, which are on the Subernarekha Link Road, were delayed. Luckily, no board exam was scheduled on Monday, but some schools had their annual final exam.

Tata Steel CEO and MD T. V Narendran greets Vice president M Venkaiah Naidu at Sonari Airport on Monday

Sunny Singh, a pool car operator who ferries students of Rajendra Vidyalaya, said he got stuck in traffic near the Baug-e-Jamsheed School for nearly 30 minutes. “So children reached school very late,” he said.

Anurag Singh, whose daughter studies in Rajendra Vidyalaya, said his daughter had her final exam. “My daughter was very hassled before her exam. She also reached late. I am very punctual about her school timing and we’ve never faced such a situation before,” Singh said.

The closure of the Jubilee Park gates at both Sakchi and Bistupur points added to the woes. Many use the park road as a short cut.

Vice president M Venkaiah Naidu greets former Tata Steel MD J. J Irani at XLRI Auditorium on Monday

“As Jubilee Park road was closed for the Vice President’s visit, I had to detour through Straight Mile Road crossing the Baug-e-Jamsheed roundabout to drop my son to Carmel Junior College. Commuters especially school students and office-goers faced a tough time,” pointed out Amit Chatterjee of Dimna Road in Mango.

What worsened the situation was the absence of traffic cops at the roundabout. “Not a single cop was seen at the roundabout today (Monday),” said an annoyed commuter.

Asked, traffic sub-inspector S. Singh told The Telegraph they had no option.

“We have to control traffic on roads leading to Tata Auditorium (XLRI), the venue of the Vice President’s event. But after we came to know about the traffic snarl near the Baug-e-Jamsheed roundabout, constables rushed to the site,” he said.