Vehicles form multiple lanes on the Mahatma Gandhi Setu following the traffic snarl, on Sunday. Picture by Sachin

Patna, Oct. 30: People heading home before Chhath remained stranded on Mahatma Gandhi Setu and its approach roads for hours this morning, as two vehicles developed snag on the bridge late last night.

The average time to cross the bridge was around four hours. The serpentine queue of vehicles spoilt plans of several devotees to take part in the nahay khay ritual today at their native villages. It also punched a hole in the tall claim of the district administration that everything was fine on the bridge connecting north Bihar to the state capital.

S.K. Tiwary, a Delhi-based journalist, remained stuck in the traffic snarl on Mahatma Gandhi Setu for over three hours. A resident of Askaranpur village under Mahua sub-division in Vaishali district, he was in a hurry to reach home after alighting from a train at Rajendra Nagar Terminal this morning.

“We wanted to reach home as early as possible because my wife is supposed to take part in the four-day Chhath festival, which starts with nahay khay today,” he said. But the traffic congestion on the bridge left him flummoxed.

Tiwary had hired a taxi to reach his destination on time but the traffic jam played spoilsport. “It took about three-and-a-half hours to cross the bridge and reach Hajipur,” he said, visibly upset.

The Delhi-based journalist was not alone to face hardships because of the traffic congestion on the bridge. Scores of others in vehicles approaching the bridge from its either side remained stranded at different places.

Sources said the traffic on the bridge came to a grinding halt after two vehicles, including a bus, developed technical snag between pillar number 36 and 37 last night.

City central superintendent of police (SP) Shivdeep Lande, who also holds the charge of traffic SP, said he received information about the traffic snarl around midnight.

“I visited the spot and issued necessary directions to ease the traffic congestion,” Lande said, adding that a deputy superintendent of police and four inspectors had been deployed to ensure smooth movement of vehicles from Fatuha in the east and Hajipur in the west.

Lande said the traffic remained disrupted for about four-five hours in the morning because of the snag-hit vehicles. “They have been removed with the help of cranes and the pressure has eased,” he told The Telegraph.

The SP said 20 baton-wielding cops had also been deployed for smooth traffic flow. “The traffic is slow. But the vehicles are moving,” he said, claiming that the traffic would become normal tonight.

Lande said the traffic pressure on the bridge has increased manifold before Chhath because most of the people living in urban areas want to be in their native villages during the festival.

“The flow of vehicles from the Patna side is more than that from Hajipur,” a policeman deputed on the bridge said. Sources said a long queue of vehicles was witnessed between Fatuha and Zero Mile in Patna City.