Amritsar turns into fortress as top dignitaries attend Heart of Asia

PM Modi and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani arrived in Amritsar last evening to inaugurate the Conference

The holy city of Amritsar has turned into a fortress as top dignitaries are attending the two-day Heart of Asia (HOA) conference here, with several roads remaining blocked with police barricades and the traffic being diverted from alternative routes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani arrived here last evening to inaugurate the Conference.

There was a thick security blanket on all the VVIP routes, including Hyatt hotel at G T Road, where the Afghanistan President is staying, and Circular Road where Modi is staying at Taj hotel. Hotel Radisson, the venue of HOA conference, is located on Airport Road. All these roads were blocked for movement of the general public.

Traffic jams at many places in the city was reported last night as people got stuck up owing to the VVIP movement on several routes.

Simranjit Singh, a timber merchant said, "With some dignitaries visiting Golden Temple, normal traffic was suspended for general public which created inconvenience to many.

"Several business establishments on the route had to close in the evening on Saturday for more than three hours due to security point of view. Even all link roads and junctions were blocked and traffic was badly affected."

Visitors to the historic Jallianwalla Bagh also faced barricades on roads leading to these locations.