Lucknow’s New Year bash turns roads into parking lots

Traffic arrangements went haywire as New Year’s revellers jammed multiple streets and junctions in the city on Monday evening. Parks, hotels and places of entertainment witnessed a huge rush of people till late in the night.

Mahanagar, Hazratganj, Gomti Nagar, the stretch from KGMU Crossing to Parivartan Chowk and IT Crossing remained choked with vehicles. Also, ambulances got stuck in the jam even as traffic personnel appeared helpless to manage the traffic load. Gandhi Setu, Samta Mulak Crossing, Lohia Path, Chiraiya Jheel, Saharaganj Mall, Polytechnique Crossing and Golf Course Crossing were also congested.

“The road from Riverbank Colony to CDRI was chock-a-block. No cops were seen regulating traffic. It took us two hours to reach the house of a relative in Kaiserbagh, a route which otherwise takes us 20 minutes,” said Rajat Rastogi, who was commuting from Saadatganj to Kaiserbagh.

Priya Mukherjee, who lives in Gomti Nagar and had gone out with friends, said there was no space for pedestrians to walk from Dayal Paradise Crossing to JN Mishra Park. “Vehicles were parked on both the sides of the road. No arrangements were made by police or administration,” said Jain.

Rana Pratap Marg was also jammed as many were celebrating the New Year at Moti Mahal. “Cops had not planned any strategy to counter the jam here,” said Rohit Roshan, who hails from Kaiserbagh.

Joint Commissioner of Police (JCP)-Law and Order Upendra Agarwal said people parking their vehicles on roads while visiting temples such as Mankameshwar, Hanuman Setu and Khatushyam was one of the major reasons for traffic snarls in the city.