Patna: A massive traffic jam paralysed movement on the Mahatma Gandhi Bridge linking Patna and Hajipur on Monday, as festive rush and a vehicle breakdown brought Bihar’s busiest crossing to a standstill.
Vehicles crawled for hours on both the eastern lane from Hajipur to Patna and the western lane towards Hajipur, with long queues stretching to NH roads near Zero Mile. Commuters trapped in the congestion said many were left with no choice but to walk under the scorching sun.
Neeraj Kumar Thakur, officer in charge of Patna traffic police, said the immediate trigger was the breakdown of a vehicle on the Hajipur-bound lane. “The situation has worsened with the pressure of vehicles, especially as the Dussehra festival approaches and people return to their homes,” he said, adding that traffic was being regulated gradually.
To ease the gridlock, traffic police temporarily restricted goods vehicles and prioritised passenger movement. Despite these measures, the congestion spilled over to the Patna–Masaudhi road, leaving commuters there struggling with long delays.
The Gandhi Setu, one of the main arterial links across the Ganga, is notorious for traffic snarls, but Sunday’s gridlock highlighted the challenge of managing festival-time pressure on a bridge that remains the state’s most critical transport lifeline.
