MISERY ALL AROUND AS TRAFFIC JAMS CHOKE CITY ROADS
LUCKNOW: The week started on a rough note for commuters in the state capital as chock-ablock roads, serpentine queues of vehicles and the cacophony of blowing horns greeted them at Qaiserbagh, Parivartan Chowk, Hazratganj, Rana Pratap Marg and Hanuman Setu on Monday. The traffic jam, which lasted nearly four hours, started in the afternoon and got only worse in the evening as all main and arterial roads remained blocked in the heart of the city. “There is an exhibition going on at the Qaiserbagh Baradari and another fair at the Moti Mahal lawns. Since there isn’t any proper parking arrangement at the Baradari, people have parked the vehicles on the road, leading to traffic jams in the area,” said Satish Khare, a retired government employee. Besides, district magistrate Raj Shekhar, who also got stuck in the traffic, said, “There were three major protests on the day that added to the traffic chaos in the city. Senior police officials have asked the traffic police department to be on alert and control the situation.” Perhaps the worst sufferers, ambulances also remained stuck for hours. “There was no one to control the situation and finally regular people got down from the vehicles to streamline the traffic and make way for vehicles, especially ambulances. Such chaotic situations will not arise if traffic is controlled in time,” said Dr Rupam, a resident of Mahanagar.