Prayagraj: Diwali rush seems to have exposed the failure of the traffic police in managing the crowd on main city streets that witnessed a jam-like situation on Tuesday night.A handful of traffic police personnel tried to check chaos as hundreds of commuters were trapped in a jam for hours. The situation remained quite similar on Wednesday too.Apart from the festive rush, yatra and rallies of political parties compounded the woes of commuters following the route diversions implemented by the traffic police. Commuters alleged that cops should come up with a blueprint for managing the festive shopping rush to ensure smooth movement on the streets.Haphazard parking and unauthorised vendors added to the problem at major commercial hubs like Chowk, Ghantaghar, Civil Lines, Katra and Leader Road.Civil Lines resident Rajul Bhargava pointed out, “Inadequate deployment of traffic personnel at key locations has aggravated the traffic scenario in city.” The failure reflects not just poor traffic management but also a lack of basic planning and accountability, he said.Every year, Diwali shopping draws crowds to markets, yet the same chaos returns with depressing regularity. Encroachments on the footpath force pedestrians to squeeze through moving traffic on already congested roads. The zigzag parking at the busiest Chowk-Johnstonganj crossing route invites unwanted trouble for commuters and pedestrians.Vinay, a resident of Civil Lines, questioned why the authorities fail to make proper arrangements for managing the festive rush. “Commuters cannot be expected to suffer,” he said.A senior cop said, “The volume of traffic doubled due to festive fever and resulted in a jam-like situation due to limited space for commuting.” He, however, said, “Efforts are underway to streamline traffic at prime market locations and a plan will be made effective shortly.”
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