Vehicles ply between Dakbungalow roundabout and Danapur on Bailey Road. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Nov. 18: The traffic movement on the city roads was smooth today after commuters fumed and fretted for hours yesterday.

The diversions announced on Wednesday had led to major traffic snarls on Beer Chand Patel Path and Income Tax roundabout on Thursday morning. Hours after imposing the traffic restrictions, the police were compelled to roll back their diktat.

Patna traffic superintendent of police Shivdeep Lande told The Telegraph: “There were no traffic snarls today as the diversions at the Income Tax roundabout were lifted. Things went back to normal. Adequate traffic constables were deployed at different areas, including places where overtaking is common, resulting in normal traffic movement. We had no information of traffic snarls throughout the day.”

The diversions lifted, vehicles going towards Secretariat took Bailey Road as usual. They no longer had to take Beer Chand Patel Path as Thursday.

“Traffic police have been deputed at Amarnath Road, where vehicles moving towards Patna Junction frequently overtake each other. As traffic police restricted overtaking, the road was free of snarls,” said Lande.

With the gate at R-Block closed for the overbridge construction, all Secretariat-bound vehicles from Patna Junction turned left from Income Tax roundabout yesterday and jostled for space on Beer Chand Patel Path. Dakbungalow crossing-bound vehicles from Hartali More also had to turn right from the Income Tax roundabout and take Beer Chand Patel Path. The R-Block-bound flank of Beer Chand Patel Path was soon chock-a-block. As the situation spiralled out of control, commuters cursed the administration’s experiment.

“Yesterday, navigating through Income Tax roundabout and Beer Chand Patel Path was like a nightmare. They were under so much pressure that every other important road was affected. Today things were normal as the diversions were no longer in place. The police should plan things in a proper way before experimenting,” Ravi Kumar, a daily commuter, said.