Traffic congestion in Prayagraj eased on Monday following two days of severe gridlock, which had seen vehicles queuing for up to 15km on routes leading to the city. Commuters, including pilgrims and daily travellers, experienced some relief as congestion was reduced compared to Saturday and Sunday.
On Monday, traffic was backed up for only 2 to 5km at key entry points into Prayagraj. However, police officials stated that movement remained slow on the Varanasi-Prayagraj and Prayagraj-Rewa routes due to a continued high volume of vehicles.
Congestion was primarily reported near temporary parking areas set up at the city’s border points and along the seven main access routes to the Sangam.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) and assistant nodal officer for Maha Kumbh, Neeraj Kumar Pandey, confirmed to a news outlet that while the traffic situation on roads and highways leading to Prayagraj had improved, congestion persisted around parking facilities.
Pandey noted that the weekend had seen a massive influx of devotees, resulting in long queues of vehicles attempting to enter the Maha Kumbh area.
Major bottlenecks included Nawabganj-Kaurihar, located 25km before Prayagraj from the Lucknow side, a choke point at Gauhania, 16-20km before Rewa Road, and traffic snarls stretching 8-10km each towards Prayagraj, Andhawa, and Varanasi.
The DCP attributed the heavy congestion to three main factors: the lifting of the no-vehicle zone after February 5, the weekend rush, and a large number of pilgrims opting to travel in private vehicles.
Officials estimated that over 12 lakh vehicles had arrived in Prayagraj over the past two days, significantly contributing to the traffic disruption.
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