Truck breakdown causes traffic snarl, strands voters

Guwahati: Traffic congestion caused apparently by the breakdown of a truck on the Saraighat Bridgeon Wednesday disrupted commuters, including voters who were stuck for hours while on their way to cast their votes in the panchayat elections.

The gridlock caused widespread congestion on the highway road, connecting Guwahati to places such as Rangia, Patshala, and Tezpur, delaying their journey by hours.

Santosh Rahang, a traffic officer at the Jalukbari outpost, said the long serpentine queue of vehicles stretched for 4km to 5km and was triggered by the breakdown of a truck on the Saraighat Bridge, the key arterial link across the Brahmaputra.

The officer said, "The truck, which was arriving from Amingaon on Tuesday night, had sustained damage and got stuck on the old Saraighat Bridge. This was followed by another truck from the same direction that also got stuck due to the narrow passage, leading to the congestion since early morning. We were informed about the situation in the early morning hours, and along with a team from Amingaon Police Station, we tried to manage the chaos. However, it was a challenge as vehicles began piling up rapidly leading to few minor accidents as well, "

Rahang said that by late afternoon, they had managed to clear the disabled vehicles and partially restore the traffic flow, though the accumulation took hours to ease.

Among the passengers, there were few voters who were attempting to go to the polling stations in Kamrup and other districts.

One of the voters, Jahangir Ali Hussain, who was travelling to Barpeta district to cast his vote, said he faced difficulties even before the traffic congestion. "I couldn't find any buses on Tuesday as most of them were already filled to capacity. I finally managed to get a seat early Wednesday morning, but now I'm stuck in traffic for nearly three hours on the bridge. It's frustrating because I planned everything in advance just to make sure I could vote on time," he said.

Though there were cabs readily available, many stranded passengers showed hesitations to hire them, due to the exorbitant fare.