Noida: Thousands of people working in Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad had planned to travel to their hometowns for Raksha Bandhan, but the festive rush turned into a traffic ordeal on Thursday as major roads remained congested throughout the day. Despite the expected increase in vehicular movement, commuters complained that the traffic management plan was inadequate and no effective advisory was issued to help people choose alternative routes.From private vehicles to state roadways buses, commuters heading towards Agra, Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Mathura and other districts had to face long delays. Traffic started slowing down considerably in the afternoon and extended travel time by several hours.The Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, sectors 62 and 63, Sector 37, Pari Chowk, Greater Noida-Dadri Road, Vikas Marg, FNG Expressway, Kalindi Kunj, Chilla Border and the DND Flyway were among the stretches where commuters faced prolonged traffic snarls.The Delhi-bound routes witnessed the heaviest pressure during the day. Traffic moved at a sluggish pace around Chilla Border, Kalindi Kunj and the DND Flyway as a large number of vehicles attempted to cross into the capital. The tailback extended several kilometres and the usual wait time at the border almost doubled.The Noida-Greater Noida Expressway also came under considerable pressure as commuters heading towards Greater Noida and beyond took the route in an attempt to avoid congestion on city roads. Pari Chowk and the Greater Noida-Dadri Road were also affected by the increased movement.Traffic around Sector 62 and Sector 63 remained slow, while the FNG Expressway and Vikas Marg also witnessed congestion. Several commuters who had opted for expressways and alternative routes to save time found themselves caught in traffic at other points.The festival rush was also visible at bus stops and along routes used by roadways buses. With more people opting for buses to reach their hometowns, increased bus movement added to the traffic load at several locations. Passengers also faced difficulties boarding buses and getting out of congested areas.In neighbouring Ghaziabad, the picture was similar. There was a long queue of vehicles on several routes of NH-9, Lal Kuan, near Indirapuram, Sector 62 and Dasna. Waterlogged stretches in Mohan Nagar and under the RRTS station also slowed down traffic.Ahead of Rakshabandhan, the traffic department had announced a diversion plan. Goods vehicles are not allowed to ply on NH-9 from 8 am on Aug 26 to midnight on Aug 28. Despite restricting commercial vehicles on the highway, ADCP (traffic) Varun Singh said pressure started mounting on the road when people started flocking to NH-9 to board buses for their hometowns.Sanjeev Kumar said he left his house in Noida for Kanpur at 4 pm on Thursday. He works at a restaurant and got three days’ leave. “I have struggled for an hour to reach the Sector-62 roundabout on NH-9. I have been waiting for a Lucknow bus for the past two hours,” he said. He then looked down at his watch and said, “I should have been halfway through my journey by now but it seems that I will spend most of my leave on the commute.”The condition of Lal Kuan was also bad, as hundreds of people waiting for their buses crowded the stretch.Sumit Singh, who came to Lal Kuan to catch a bus for his home in Bareilly, said that he has been waiting there for the past half an hour to catch a bus. One bus did arrive, but it was far too crowded, with people hanging by the doorway, so he decided not to board it.
