Guwahati, Oct 19: Guwahati’s traffic advisories may have arrived days ahead of Durga Puja, but on both Sasthi and Saptami, the city’s roads offered a familiar reminder that issuing warnings is one thing and keeping traffic moving is quite another.
As vehicles crawled through junctions and commuters abandoned buses and autos to walk, the festive spirit was left to compete with the city’s annual ritual of traffic chaos.
On Saturday evening, Saptami of the ongoing Durga Puja, traffic snarls occurred almost at every major junction in the city and on the roads leading to major puja pandals.
Office-goers left work hoping to get home, freshen up and return to bow their heads before the Mother Goddess while enjoying the spectacles put up by nearly 600 puja committees across the city. But their hopes were shattered as traffic came to a standstill, particularly in Chandmari, Fatasil Ambari, Ambari, parts of GS Road and Uzan Bazar.
Vehicles waited for long stretches just to inch forward. Passengers on public transport were eventually seen getting off buses and autorickshaws after prolonged waits and taking to the footpaths.
For bikers, the footpaths served as narrow passages to freedom. Pedestrians and bikers jostled for space, neither willing to give the other even an inch of their territory.
Amid all this, traffic police personnel were nowhere to be spotted at places like Gauhati Club for long while, where the resulting mess took a long time to clear.
Anirban Das, who was travelling with his wife and two-year-old daughter, had a train to catch but got caught in the traffic congestions near Dighalipukhuri.
“We have a train at 8 pm and have been stuck here for almost half an hour, moving only a few metres. We got off the bus near the State Museum and are trying to reach the station as quickly as possible,” he said.
Near Dighalipukhuri, several such passengers were seen abandoning public transport and taking to the footpaths in the hope of catching their trains. Some, however, eventually missed them.
At Uzanbazar, a group of friends heading towards Pandu to visit puja pandals blamed the lack of special traffic arrangements for the congestion.
“Most vehicles are heading towards Pandu, where several pujas are being held. The traffic police should have made special arrangements, knowing this in advance,” they said.
Traffic police personnel deployed near Bishnupur, which has drawn large crowds in the first two days of the festival, said the volume of vehicles was exceptionally high, contributing to the congestion.
“Vehicles are being parked randomly along the roadside. With so many vehicles on the streets, we can guide them and regulate traffic, but drivers must also respect traffic rules and drive responsibly,” an officer said.
Several other such officers were also approached in different locations across the city only to get almost the same answer from every-one.
For commuters trying to reach home, catch a train or visit a pandal, the evening turned into a test of patience. The traffic advisories may have been issued in advance, but on the ground, even moving a few metres proved an ordeal.