Thousands of commuters and truck drivers have been stranded for the fourth consecutive day on National Highway 19, as a 15- to 20-kilometre-long traffic jam near Sasaram and Rohtas in Bihar continues to bring movement to a standstill.
Despite the highway’s importance as a key trade link between Delhi and Kolkata, there has been little to no intervention from local authorities or the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
“The jam has been there since yesterday morning, around 8 am. I've barely moved 5 kilometres. I've been stuck here in Sasaram itself since then. There is no food, we are surviving on little snacks available on the roadside,” Duban Kumar, a truck driver travelling from Odisha to Delhi, told India Today.
Another driver, Sanjay Das, who was heading from Kolkata, said he had covered only 20 kilometres in 24 hours. “No authorities have visited us yet. We have barely been able to move. We are surviving on tea and biscuits,” he told India Today.
The gridlock, which began after torrential rains hit the region last Friday, has worsened by ongoing six-lane road widening work near Shivsagar being carried out by the NHAI. The downpour flooded diversions and service lanes, creating potholes and waterlogging that forced vehicles onto narrow temporary routes.
“This jam is only on one side, from Aurangabad to Varanasi, but it's affecting hundreds of trucks and passenger vehicles. There’s no help, no arrangement for food or water. We are just stuck here,” said another stranded driver.
The jam has now extended up to Aurangabad, about 65 kilometres from Rohtas, with hundreds of vehicles queuing bumper-to-bumper. Drivers say they have been crawling forward at a pace of 5 to 7 kilometres in 24 to 30 hours.
"In the past 30 hours, we have travelled only 7 kilometers. Despite paying tolls, road taxes, and other expenses, we still face hours of traffic jams. Neither NHAI personnel nor the local administration are visible on the road," Praveen Singh, a truck driver, told NDTV.
“Have been stuck in traffic jams for two days. We are hungry and thirsty and in a miserable state. Even covering a few kilometres is taking hours,” said Sanjay Singh, another truck driver, speaking to NDTV.
The gridlock has also disrupted the transport of perishable goods, affecting businesses that depend on timely deliveries. Ambulances, emergency vehicles, and tourists are among those caught in the snarl-up.
When contacted by NDTV, NHAI Project Director Ranjit Verma refused to comment.
National Highway 19 — part of the historic Grand Trunk Road and a segment of the Golden Quadrilateral and Asian Highway Network (AH1) — connects Agra to Dankuni, running through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.
Its current state underscores the fragile infrastructure and inadequate crisis response along one of India’s busiest trade corridors.
