Patna, Dec. 11: One man’s marriage is spelling doom for another’s marital life, literally.

The celebrations of marriage processions on city roads is not just prolonging travelling hours for commuters but also leading to marital discords over the invariable delay in returning home from work. Not only is the delay spoiling evening plans of families, it is also cutting down on the guest list for marriages as the invitees are either stuck in a traffic jam caused by another marriage procession or are still to return home from work.

Policemen are citing helplessness in tackling the problem as it is the marriage season and the procession, including guests, orchestra, lights and animals, is an essential part of the celebrations.

Unable to work out a plan to avoid traffic disruptions, the city police are now contemplating changing the restriction hours for marriage processions to start for their destinations.

The police had earlier instructed that marriage processions could start after 7pm because the traffic starts to get thin later in the evening. This, to the police’s surprise, is not helping much as the traffic rush on busy roads at 7pm is as good as earlier in the day.

“The cops cannot do much about a marriage procession as it is a part of the wedding rituals and a personal celebration for the people involved. But we are thinking of changing the restriction hours so that the daily commuters do not get stranded because of the marriage processions. Discussions are going on about the new timing and a final decision will be taken soon,” said city west superintendent of police (SP) Upendra Sharma.

The officer, who is also the traffic SP, however, did not give information on if the restriction would be extended by a few hours. In any case, the marriage processions are spelling trouble for the daily commuters who encounter one after another snarl on their way back home.

On Friday evening, the situation was worse with marriages taking place at several areas across the state capital.

“Around 8.30pm, I left for home (Punaichak) from Hartali Mor in my car and reached Bailey Road, only to find a traffic jam welcoming me. There was a huge marriage procession, apparently of some VIP, and the entire road was blocked because of the orchestra party, vehicles and baaratis. There was no space to move and no policemen to help the commuters. A lot of other commuters were also stuck on the road for more than an hour. Punaichak is barely 2km from Hartali Mor, still it took me almost one-and-a-half hours to reach home. It is frustrating for any person going home after a long day’s work,” Anish Sharma, who works at a bank on Boring Canal Road, told The Telegraph. At the Boring Road area, the scene was the same with at least two marriage processions choking the stretch and giving the commuters a tough time.

“The entire road was crammed and there was no space to move. The blaring music added to the frustration of the commuters. Marriage is certainly a happy event but there is a need to consider the difficulties of the commuters too. It took me almost an hour to cover a distance of just a kilometre. The police and the district administration must take some steps to contain this problem,” Raza Ahmed, another motorist and a resident of Boring Road, said. Some commuters said the problem becomes bigger when the marriage party decides to include animals in the procession.

“There are many families who want to show their money power and bring animals, ranging from horses, elephants and even camels, in the procession. Last year, I was stuck at the busy Income Tax roundabout for more than an hour because the marriage procession included a number of animals in addition to the scores of cars, minibuses and orchestra groups. The police and the administration must issue a directive avoiding the same and fix a maximum number of people who can be a part of a marriage procession,” Sunil Kumar Singh, a resident of Bakarganj, said.