Sunny side up and traffic jam

The weekend saw a let-up in the fog and chill, even as a political rally held at the veterinary college ground caused a humungous traffic snarl that had airport-bound
passengers doing a 600-metre sprint, bags and all, to catch their flights. “We were caught in this nightmare known as ‘double VIP movement,” fumed an irate woman who was stuck in
the jam near Peer Ali Marg for almost 30 minutes, adding “hundreds of BJP workers in cars were using the road, and then the chief minister decided to go to the assembly around 2pm and the airport entry gates were closed for about half an hour”.
The sunny weather has resulted in choked roads and blocked arteries, said a wag. While the airport-bound had their wings clipped, the travellers across the Mahatma Gandhi bridge fumed and fretted over the bumper-to-bumper traffic jam caused by a former CM’s Z-security protocol.
“That’s not all. Now that one of the retailers in a mall has announced three days of slashed prices on FMCG stuff, watch how motorcycles, cars, autorickshaws and buses form one tangled heap near the Notre Dame school entrance in Patliputra,” grumbled a resident. To add more complications, a few metres away from the jammed IIT crossing, a ‘mega trade fair’ attracted its own swarm of nannies, grannies and teens, all eager to do a bit of basking and bargaining.
Don’t forget the puja pandals and the idols of Goddess Saraswati which will be making their way towards the Ganga, while the last touches for our own Republic Day parade throw up new complications in vehicular movement. Though there are some Patna people who say that the usual groups of boys who organize these pujas haven’t been enthusiastically collecting donations this year, partly because of the cold weather, and that the celebrations may be muted, there is no doubt that the celebratory processions will add to the Patna traffic nightmare.
“The traffic cop has the most stressful time,” said one of them, who was trying to manage unruly autorickshaws, tractors, scooters and cars with a whistle and a stick at the Kurji more, “These autorickshaw and motorbike fellows don’t follow hand signals, and if we get angry and whack them, then they’ll all go howling that the police is highhanded. What about traffic lights? Wouldn’t things be better if they were installed? “Hah, traffic lights are a joke. Do you think that Bihari people will bother if they are red or green? This is not Delhi. If there are no cops at the traffic lights you will have only bigger jams and the people will be shooting at each other.”
Incidents of road rage are fairly common in Patna, a college student pointed out. Though we haven’t had grave things like shooting, it is common to see two chaps hitting each other, or hurling abuses, while the traffic is being held up. “Sometimes the ego clash between two drivers causes traffic jams that take 20 to 30 minutes to clear up, resulting in more tension, especially if we are late for classes or important work,” said a girl who drives her scooter from Mahendru to Patna Women’s College every day.
Menu for the week ahead: sunny side up and traffic jam, with a dash of celebration.