Traffic groans as over 1 lakh students descend on city for competitive exams
LUCKNOW: Major roads of the city remained choked throughout the day as over one lakh students from different parts of the state visited Lucknow to appear in competitive examinations.
There was traffic congestion in many parts of the city, particularly near Engineering College on Sitapur Road and in Qaiserbagh area.
The traffic snarls, which began in the morning, continued till evening. “There was a huge jam between Engineering College and Kursi Road. People remained stuck in it for hours. It shows no proper planning was done by the administration even when they were aware about the examinations,” a commuter said.
Several commuters and examinees of the Central Teachers’ Eligibility Test (CTET) and village development officers exam, who braced the jam, said traffic was choked because of such a large number of students visiting the city. They suggested that on the day of examinations, the transport department should ply extra buses and special bus service should be introduced from Charbagh to examination centres and back. “This will not only make commuting convenient for students but will also help in generating additional revenue. Similarly arrangements for food packets could be introduced for helping the outstation students,” an examinee said. A senior official of district administration said they will now do special planning during examinations as every Sunday the state capital witnesses some examinations.
Not only commuters were stuck for hours at many places, even service roads and colony roads were packed with vehicles as people tried to wriggle out of jams. Several residents of the city took to social media to write about and post pictures of jams on city roads.
A chaotic scene was witnessed at Charbagh railway station and also at Qaiserbagh bus stand where students occupied reserved seats causing inconvenience to other passengers.
Besides, a protest march and demonstration by UP Panchyati Raj Gramin Safai Karamchari Sangh near Vidhan Sabha and GPO also added to traffic woes of commuters.