Trucks and other vehicles stranded on Mahatma Gandhi Setu in Patna on Tuesday. Commuters had a harrowing time after the bridge witnessed chock-a-block traffic situation. Incessant rains during the past 24 hours only added to their woes. The bridge, which connects north Bihar to Patna, witnessed a heavy traffic flow leading to snarls right from Zero Mile on the southern end in Patna to Hajipur in Vaishali. The heavy vehicles, including 10-wheel trucks, were allowed to cross the 5.575km bridge despite a ban order issued by the transport department on Monday. The orders were defied, however. Vaishali district magistrate Vinod Singh Gunjiyal iterated that the ban on the entry of 10-wheel trucks was aimed at saving the bridge from further damage. “The ban order has already come into force with immediate effect,” he added. The administration, however, claimed that efforts were on to ease the traffic on the bridge. “A meeting of officials of Patna and Vaishali has been convened to chalk out strategy to ensure smooth flow on the bridge,” a transport department official said. The government’s plan to make two pontoon bridges on the Ganga is also in a limbo. Text by Ramashankar, picture by Sachin