Our Bureau/

Bhagalpur city has been reeling under acute traffic jam for over last 48 hours. All the main thoroughfares in the city have been laying  paralyzed after being occupied by trucks and heavy vehicles since last late evening. Not only this, NH-31 (Assam road) across river Ganga from Naugachia to Dalkola in Bengal has the same condition due to the long traffic snarl.

The condition of Bhagalpur-Dumka state highway has also been lying defunct due to massive jam. Except train connectivity, road communication remains paralyze here over more than last 48 hours.

Passengers trapped in the jam.

Dilip Kumar, a reporter of a TV channel who left Purnea at around 11 am on January 10, finally reached Bhagalpur today at around 3 pm. Hence to cover the distance of nearly 92 from Purnea to Bhagalpur takes over more than 28 hours. “There are half dozen ambulance with serious patients trapped in the jam, an infant with breathing trouble was almost in the condition of collapse. The helpless parents of that infant were crying for help so that the child could be reach to JLNMC hospital, there was no one to help them,” Kumar narrated his eyewitness accounts.

The ambulance also trapped in the jam.

“We have been standing with loaded trucks for the last 4 days, all the vegetable and fishes inside the trucks would be rotten soon,” said a group of drivers who are on way to Assam and Manipur from Kolkata. The conditions of passengers inside long distance vehicles turn worst, they don’t have food or drinking water. “The spot where we have been detained is virtually a no man land and the children were crying for food and water,” said Vikash Kumar, a businessman who has been on way to Siliguri from Motihari at his SUV with family members.

News5Pm team however, provided some bottles of drinking water and biscuit packets to the children. Md Safir a resident of Tuttapool on Bhagalpur-Dumak road said that for the last 15 days the situation remains worst as most of the time the road remains jam with trucks and heavy vehicles.

Traffic snarl on Vikramshila bridge.

Meanwhile, Bhagalpur became the worst victim of the jam. “I could not attain my school again today as the school bus could not reach at my stoppage this morning,” Anamika , a student of class 7 at DPS, Bhagalpur informed.

Close of Farakka barrage for maintenances and subsequently blockage of traffic on it, has further compounded the problem at Bhagalpur city which yet not have bypass road like other cities. “The NH-80 which is passing through the narrow congested city road causing immense hardship for residence here. Police could not move in such conditions as well as the ambulances,” remarked an official here. Senior superintendent of police (SSP), Bhagalpur,  Ashish Bharati has to move on foot to reach Vikramshila  bridge across Ganga here this afternoon.

The jam stopped the wheels of the vehicles.

Local residents lambasted government’s apathy and hold the administrative mismanagements responsible for such traffic chaos. “ A bypass road yet not been completed, resulting such situation in the city. Bhagalpur itself is an unique place where NH is passing on the heart of the city. Go to other places even neighbouring districts like Munger or Purnea and others where there are bypass roads for passing out the traffic of NHs,” said Arbind Yadav.

A senior official on condition of anonymity however blamed Srijan scam for such poor condition of Bhagalpur. “The funds for bypass road along with

Jam destroys many prospects here.

other major projects were earlier embezzled in the Srijan scam and government literary stopped allotment of funds further. This is main reason of delay of such projects like bypass road,” the official pointed out.

However, SSP, Bharati who himself monitoring traffic problems on Vikramshila bridge and also coordinating his Naugachia counterpart, Nidhi Rani, SP, Naugachia said time will be taken to clear the traffic from city areas as the entire stretch of NH-31 from Naugachia to Dalkola remained overcrowded with trucks and heavy vehicles. “All senior officials have been deputed in different points and we are trying our level best but request people to be patience and also requesting for their support,” he said.

He said that since Naugachia police has been starting passing the vehicles from Khagaria side, the vehicles trapped on Vikramshila bridge could not

No space even to walk.

move. “Only after clearance of the bridge and subsequently the NH-31, the traffics trapped in city areas at Bhagalpur could be moved,” Bharati informed.

“How long we will remain patience ? This type of situation has become a regular affair here. Why not the government will take notice of such problem and take  proper steps to counter jams from Bhagalpur,” innocently asked Manoj Kumar, who operates auto rickshaw  on city roads at Bhagalpur.