Bhubaneswar: Traffic was chaotic late last night after the suna besha (golden attire) rituals of Lord Jagannath was over in Puri on Monday.

More than 10 lakh devotees had come to witness the suna besha.

Thousand of commuters were affected by the traffic bottleneck because of the crows and it took many more than three hours to cover 7km. The road leading to Puri was jammed for more than six hours.

Bhubaneswar to Puri traffic had diverted on Monday night from the Malataipatpur bus stop, about 6km from the pilgrim town. Those who took the diversion could reach the Jagananth temple via Talbania temporary bus stand.

The bus stand itself is 5km from the temple. Only those with valid car passes were allowed to pass through the Bata Mangala route and Medical Square directly reaching the town.

The problem began after the suna besha got over around 11pm on Monday. All the vehicles that had entered Puri tried to leave Puri at the same time. By that time, the police personnel deployed on duty were tired after having worked for more than 12 hours.

"We too are human beings. We have been tired working for such a long stretch. We lost patience. The senior police officials should look into that aspect and rotate the duties." said a police constable. "Car passes were given to everyone while they should have been restricted to emergency services, the police and press. But with thousands of car passes having been issued, the road leading to Puri was jammed."

While the constables were seen on the road, the senior police officials, looking visibly tired, were seen sitting on chairs by the road side.

Also, the police officials deployed to manage traffic flow do not have any idea about the city's geography.

"They don't know name of the square and the roads where they had been deployed. So asking them about routes is a futile exercise," said another commuter.

The thousands of people who had come to Puri on their motorcycles added to the chaos. "They have scant regard for the traffic rules. What can the police do at midnight?" said another constable.

However, a senior police official said the police should be appreciated as "we could manage the traffic flow of 10 lakh people without any accidents."