Vehicles Crawl for Hours from Station Chowk to Ganguly School; Encroachment and Random Parking Worsen the Crisis
Kahalgaon (Bhagalpur): Sunday proved to be an extremely harrowing day for commuters on National Highway (NH) 80 in Kahalgaon city, Bhagalpur district. A long queue of vehicles was seen crawling for hours along the city’s busiest route, stretching from Station Chowk to Ganguly School. Pedestrians and commuters faced immense difficulties due to encroached roads and the arbitrary behavior of e-rickshaw (Toto) and auto-rickshaw drivers.
Traffic System Completely Collapsed
By Sunday evening, the traffic jam on the main road of Kahalgaon had become so severe that people remained stuck in the same spot for hours. The situation reached a point where even emergency vehicles, such as ambulances, were forced to remain trapped in the congestion. According to eyewitnesses, the jam, which began in the afternoon, intensified as evening set in. The road from Station Chowk toward Ganguly School, which is already narrow, has been further constricted by encroachers who have spread their shops and merchandise onto the street. To make matters worse, randomly parked e-rickshaws and autos have reduced the width of the road even further.
Encroachment Has Become a 'Cancer'
Permanent and temporary encroachments on both sides of the road have brought traffic to a complete standstill. Shopkeepers have displayed their goods right up to the road shoulders, leaving no room even for pedestrians to walk. On the other side, private vehicles parked haphazardly along the roadside leave barely enough space for other vehicles to squeeze through. Local residents allege that due to the administration's lack of a firm stance, the encroachers have become emboldened.
Arbitrary Behavior of Toto and Tempo Drivers
A major cause of the traffic jam is also the undisciplined behavior of Toto and tempo drivers. It has become common practice for these drivers to pick up and drop off passengers right in the middle of the road. By parking their vehicles near turns on NH 80 or right in the middle of intersections, they trigger long queues of vehicles behind them. With no traffic police presence in sight, no one seems willing to follow traffic rules.
Impact on Daily Life
School children returning home, office-goers, and sick patients were the most affected by this grueling multi-hour jam. A local resident shared that it took him more than an hour to cover a distance that normally takes just 5 minutes. In this sweltering heat and humidity, the patience of those trapped inside the jam had reached its breaking point.
Growing Demands for Administrative Action
The city’s concerned citizens have demanded that the administration clear the main road from Station Chowk to Ganguly School of all encroachments. Furthermore, to streamline traffic, they have demanded strict enforcement of 'No-Parking' zones and the establishment of dedicated stands for Totos and tempos.
Currently, if a solution to this problem is not found in time, Kahalgaon will continue to face such traffic jams daily, which could prove even more disastrous given the city's rising population and growing commercial pressure.
