JALUKBARI, April 24 - Commuters from both the north bank and south bank of the Brahmaputra experienced a chaotic traffic situation this morning after being stranded on the new Saraighat bridge for several hours.
Traffic was diverted to the new Saraighat bridge in the month of March by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) after the old bridge had developed cracks at several places.
A traffic police personnel from the Jalukbari police outpost, while talking to this correspondent, said, �We are doing our best to manage the traffic jam on the bridge but we need public support, which we don�t get. Many travellers are seen violating the rules, and people are always indulging in overtaking, which leads to traffic snarls. If we stop those people, they often argue with us.�
He added that a few days ago a traffic constable controlling the traffic was hit by a speeding bike after the biker overtook a car. He himself had a close save as he was about to be hit by a bike.
He said today�s traffic snarl happened as too many vehicles were either coming to Guwahati or going out of it, and the Lok Sabha election may be one of the reasons.
State Secretariat employee Samarjyoti Talukdar, while talking to The Assam Tribune, said, �I was stuck in the jam from 11.30 am to 2 pm and as a result I missed my official timing. Police are trying their best but it is the responsibility of the public to cooperate with them. Traffic jams will continue to torment us until and unless the public follows the rules set for the time being by the traffic police.�
