Harrowing time for commuters in Patna

By: Pushkar Ranjan
PATNA: Motorists in the city had a harrowing time on Monday. Most of the thoroughfares had long traffic jams as schools reopened after the extended summer vacation. Even arterial roads, lanes and bylanes were chock-a-block with school buses and other vehicles since morning. Vehicles were seen moving at a snail’s pace on Dakbungalow road, Boring road, Ashiana-Digha road and in Raja Bazar, Hartali Mor and several other areas.
Ayushi Singh, who rides a two-wheeler from Raja Bazar to her office on Fraser Road, was annoyed with the traffic snarls between Punaichak Mor and Hartali Mor. “Everyone seems to be in a hurry. Hardly any one follows the lane discipline and other traffic rules. Nonetheless, needless honking is another bane at the already chocked intersections. People don’t make space even for ambulances,” she said.
Many commuters preferred to make a detour to escape the snarls, but had to face similar situation on other streets as well. Emergency services like ambulance and fire tenders were also seen stuck in the traffic jams.
Sharing his experience of city traffic, Boring Road resident Anish Prasun said: “There was heavy traffic congestion and it had become more discomforting because of the scorching sun. I had to make a detour from A N College to Patna high court as there was no other way.”
Another commuter, Rajesh Kumar from Kumhrar Park area, echoed similar concerns while travelling to Fraser Road. “Vehicles were moving at a snail’s pace right from Bhootnath Road up to Fraser Road. The distance which I usually cover in 20 minutes took me around one and a half hours. It was all the more exhausting due to the heat.”
Patna traffic SP Ajay Kumar Pandey, however, claimed that around 400 cops were deployed at every nook and corner of the city to streamline vehicular movement. “Vehicular congestion was observed on several arterial routes on Monday after schools reopened. The issue will be resolved soon as the schools have been advised to park buses on their campuses and not on roads. Also, instructions have been given to traffic policemen not to allow school as well as city service buses to stop anywhere on the streets for long as it aggravates the situation.”
Traffic experts say vehicular movement is the maximum on Mondays and Fridays due to opening of schools and closure of offices for weekends, respectively. Apart from normal trend, the dug-up roads at several places like on Bailey Road and Dakbungalow Road for civic works also lead to traffic snarls.
“Alternate traffic arrangement must be made near construction sites to avoid traffic jams; otherwise, motorists face lots of hardship. Besides, the dust coming out of the construction sites causes health hazards as well,” said Ravi Parmar, an advocate at Patna high court.