Dr Farman Ali of Kankerbagh could not reach his clinic at Mahua on Wednesday after Patna traffic police refused motorists permission to take the Gandhi Setu to cross over to Vaishali district, as dismantling of the landmark bridge started.
Not only did the actual work to dismantle the Mahatma Gandhi Setu start on Wednesday - stopping the two-wheeler and light vehicle traffic - the pontoon bridge parallel to the Setu was also disassembled on the same day.
The result: commuters were at the receiving end of the traffic diversions. Now, only heavy vehicles like trucks, tractors and passenger buses will be allowed on the Gandhi Setu.
"I go to my clinic in Mahua every day but on Wednesday, the traffic police did not allow me to take the Setu," said Dr Ali. "They told me to take the newly constructed JP Setu (Digha-Sonepur rail bridge) to reach the other side. It would be a really painful task to take the new bridge every day as it would take more time. I could not go to my clinic on Wednesday... it takes more than two hours to reach Digha from Kankerbagh."
"The actual demolition work of Gandhi Setu commenced today (Wednesday) and at the same time, the pontoon bridge has also been disassembled," principal secretary, road construction, Amrit Lal Meena told The Telegraph.
He claimed that the decision to stop small vehicles and two-wheelers was of the local administration's and had nothing to do with the department.
The Gandhi Setu is being dismantled for the restructuring project from the Hajipur end, while the pontoon bridge has been disassembled because of an increase in the water level of the Ganga.
Resident of Biscomaun Colony Satyendra Narayan, who has a business in Hajipur, echoed Dr Ali and said the administration should at least allow bikes to use the Gandhi Setu.
"The pontoon bridge, which was easy for us to reach Hajipur, has been disassembled but what is the logic behind stopping two-wheelers from taking the Gandhi Setu? I think the traffic police have taken the wrong decision," he said.
Sanjay Kumar, a resident of Mahua on the other side of the Ganga, who makes frequent visits to Patna for business, called the decision to stop light vehicles from using the Gandhi Setu horrifying. Bikes should be allowed to use the bridge, he said.
"After several requests to the police, they allowed my bike to cross the Setu," said Sanjay. "But they warned me not to take the Setu again and instead travel on the Digha-Sonepur bridge. If I will use the Digha-Sonepur route I will end up wasting two hours."
Heavy vehicles are not allowed on the JP Setu, functional since June 11.
Asked about the first-day experience of passengers facing difficulty for the traffic restrictions, Patna traffic superintendent of police P.K. Das said: "We are here not to enforce the law but to regulate traffic. My first priority is to regulate traffic and ensure the safety of passengers.
"Please try to understand one thing. Traffic moves from Patna to Hajipur to Chhapra in which three districts are involved. A hold-up anywhere will cause traffic problems. So the traffic in Chhapra needs to be regulated because the roads are narrow there. Even if we do it from Patna, ultimately the people will suffer. Today was the first day and we are trying to regulate traffic movement. There is lot of pressure on Bailey Road, but we are trying our best to regulate the traffic," he added.
Based on problems faced by the people, a senior government official has approached Patna divisional commissioner Anand Kishor.
Kishor has been requested to allow light vehicles and bikes to use the Gandhi Setu but no decision has been taken so far.
Ministry of road transport and highways (MORTH) has selected Afcon Infrastructure Ltd firm to complete the restructuring work and the agency had claimed to complete the work in 42 months.
The restructuring work entails dismantling of the 5.575 km Setu superstructure and replacing it with steel structure. A total of Rs 1,742.01 crore would be spent on the rehabilitation.
