Some parts of Kolkata witnessed traffic snarls on Panchami but the overall traffic situation in the city was better than Chaturthi.
Police officers attributed the change to two factors: more cops deployed on the roads during daytime and lack of rainfall till late evening.
Better traffic management: Compared to Chaturthi, the number of police personnel deployed on the roads at daytime on Sunday was more, resulting in better traffic management.
At places where traffic snarls were seen on Saturday, like Chittaranjan Avenue and Rashbehari Avenue, more cops were deployed since morning, said an officer of Kolkata police.
On Panchami afternoon and evening, the traffic was relatively smooth and better managed. Motorists said they found traffic better manged on Sunday compared with Saturday.
No stopping at big pandals: Several Kolkatans said “puja parikrama” on Panchami was smooth as police were not allowing cars to stop in front of pandals and were asking the vehicles to keep moving. “Even if I could not get off the car as police were not allowing vehicles to stop near pandals, I could cover a lot of pandals today,” said Riti Mukherjee, a resident of Jadavpur who said she managed to visit Suruchi Sangha and Chetla Agrani within a span of 15 minutes on Panchami evening.
No rain: Several police officers said dry roads and no rainfall at least till evening resulted in better traffic movement. Traffic on Strand Road, Lenin Sarani, Kalighat and Chowringhee — which were affected by rain on Saturday — were free of traffic snarls on Panchami evening.
“Rain makes the roads slippery and automatically vehicle speed gets reduced to avoid skidding,” said an officer.
Congestion in pockets: Some pockets witnessed snarls on Panchami. VIP Road saw massive traffic snarls throughout Sunday as Sreebhumi drew huge crowds. The snarls prompted police to issue an advisory to motorists to take the Chingrighata flyover from EM Bypass and take the Major Arterial Road. Traffic pressure mounted on Rashbehari Avenue, Gariahat Road and stretches of EM Bypass, too.