Rain clouds over Patna City and (above) a biker and his pillion rider dismount after losing their balance at waterlogged Kankerbagh on Wednesday. Pictures by Sachin and Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Traffic hiccups after a moderate rainfall on Wednesday marred the mood for a perfect monsoon revival in Patna.

Though there was not much waterlogging in the city, the traffic movement was adversely affected during and after the rainfall.

Most thoroughfares remained chock-a-block between 11am and 2pm. The travel time for commuters increased from 15-20 minutes to around an hour.

“A rainfall in such humid conditions is a breather but traffic snarls have become a perennial problem in Patna and it worsens during a shower. It normally takes me around 30 minutes from my home at Ashiana Nagar to reach my office at Dakbungalow Road. However, on Wednesday it took me around an hour to cover the same distance of 10km. Consequently, I was late for an important meeting,” said Amit Kumar, an employee with a private firm.

Soon after it rained, vehicles were seen crawling on Bailey Road. Similar jams were witnessed between Patliputra roundabout and Boring Road crossing and further to High Court Mor between 12.30pm and 2pm. Most school buses were on the roads during that time.

Vehicles were also seen moving at a snail’s pace on Ashok Rajpath along Patna University around the same time. The stretch of Dakbungalow Road between Income Tax roundabout and Exhibition Road crossing also remained jam-packed.

“I took an autorickshaw from Pani-Tanki Mor for Hartali Mor. It took me around 45 minutes to cover the distance of around 4km. The autorickshaw was crawling between hundreds of other vehicles, including buses. Now, that the monsoon has revived, I would need to take extra time for travelling in the city,” said Pranab Kumar, a resident of Gardanibagh.

Residents would have to bear with such traffic problems on roads because the Met department has said the showers are likely to continue over the next few days.

“Patna received light rainfall on Wednesday and monsoon would intensify over the next couple of days. The city is expected to continuously get moderate rainfall at least till June 30,” said Ashish Sen, director, India Meteorological Department, Patna.

Many commuters blamed the snarls to the lack of traffic sense among motorists.

“Hardly anyone follows lane discipline while driving. People overtake from right, left and all sides, leading to road blockages. Drivers seem to be sitting on the horns as they honk all the time,” said Pooja Pandey, a resident of Kankerbagh.

Others blamed the monsoon malady on roads to slackness on the part of the authorities.

“The roads are already narrow and the number of vehicles in the city is increasing by leaps and bounds. If the traffic police strictly implement the norms or have any specific management plan for monsoon, such chaotic conditions on roads could be avoided,” said Saurabh Singh, a resident of Boring Road.

The traffic police, on the other hand, do not seem to have any specific plan for streamlining the chaotic traffic during monsoon. Patna city superintendent of police (SP) Jayant Kant, who also holds the additional charge of traffic SP, said on Wednesday: “We do not have any traffic plan for monsoon. During the rainy season, the traffic comes to a halt only in case of accidents and roadblocks. To avoid road blockages, we have prohibited parking at turnings. We are also aware of the traffic jams on the stretch of Boring Road between AN College and Boring Road crossing. We are planning to put more traffic personnel on the stretch.”