Patna, May 21: Tension was writ large on the face of Bhuwaneshwar Sah after the ambulance in which he was carrying his ailing father-in-law from Samastipur to Patna got stuck in Gandhi Setu's perennial and infamous traffic snarl today, a day after a Siwan resident trapped in the jam died because she could not be ferried to hospital.

"I have read the news about the death of a woman from Siwan under similar circumstances yesterday. People have been left to fend for themselves with the government taking little interest in sorting out the problem of traffic congestion on the bridge," Bhuwaneshwar (40), a teacher by profession, said.

Bhuwaneshwar's father-in-law, Maheshwar Sah (68), was referred to Patna's Mahavir Cancer Sansthan by the doctor treating him in Samastipur, 110km northeast of the state capital. "Every minute is important for the patient, who is suffering from cancer. But we have been caught in the traffic and are waiting for police to clear the way for vehicles to move," Bhuwaneshwar said.

The condition of Dhananjay Mishra, a resident of Saran, was even more alarming. The doctors at a Patna hospital had referred him to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi after Mishra's condition deteriorated last night. "He is suffering from brain haemorrhage. He needs immediate care. But our ambulance is stuck in traffic in the middle of the bridge," lamented Mishra's brother Niranjan.

The family was taking 35-year-old Mishra to Chhapra from Patna, 70km away, in an ambulance from where he would be taken to New Delhi by train for treatment.

The plight of the patients reflected the harrowing experience faced by commuters daily on the 5.575-km-long bridge, which connects north Bihar with the capital Patna. A long queue of vehicles - a daily sight - was witnessed right from the toll plaza at Hajipur and Zero Mile in Patna. The people have to wait for several hours in the blistering heat (Patna recorded 42.6 degrees Celsius today).

Mohatbar Nisa, a 60-year-old woman from Siwan who had suffered burn injuries, died in the ambulance yesterday after the vehicle was stuck for one-and-a-half hours on the bridge. Till this evening, no case had been lodged pertaining to her death.

The movement of VVIPs often aggravates the situation. Today for example, vehicular traffic was stopped for about 15 minutes to facilitate the passage of the cavalcade of former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi over the bridge around 3pm. As a result, the congestion on the bridge increased and the police had a tough time dealing with the situation. The plying of vehicles on the western flank has been stopped after cracks developed in the spans.

The police, however, attributed the reason for congestion on the bridge to sudden snags developed by vehicles.