Despite the additional number of force deployed for the first of its kind human chain event, people at several junctions had to face traffic congestion. Majority of the commuters on Tuesday took internal routes as the highways and main roads were mostly blocked for any transportation during the programme. However, as soon as the programme was completed and mayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’ proposed the vote of thanks the police started removing the barricading and the citizens resumed using the earlier blocked routes.
Majority of the traffic congestion occurred at junctions including Mussoorie Diversion, Clock Tower and Kargi Chowk. Most of the commuters took internal routes, because of which the flow of traffic on small routes was heavy. At some points the traffic problem was generated due to the less space vehicles were getting to take U-turn.
The cumulative effect of only one vehicle stuck in the middle of the road could be seen for at least 500 metres in the internal area of the city. At some meeting points, number of school and private buses carrying students who were coming to participate at the event also became a major cause for traffic congestion.
The large number of force deployed did help in maintaining smooth traffic on the highways, but commuters complained that the district police completely forgot to regulate the internal traffic.
They complained that riders on internal routes were disregarding traffic rules completely, but the police is only interested in keeping highways empty during the event.
It is also pertinent to mention here that the less number of vehicles on road, especially four wheelers, during the event helped in maintaining the traffic situation in the city.