Jagran correspondent, Gorakhpur. On the first day of the New Year, the crowd that gathered for sightseeing and worship put tremendous pressure on the city's traffic system. People started arriving at the sailing area from 12 noon on Thursday. After 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the situation became such that a long queue of vehicles formed on Naukain Road and the traffic almost came to a standstill.
To control the situation, no four-wheeler was allowed beyond the Circuit House. The route leading to boating was barricaded and traffic police enforced diversion. Despite this, due to the huge number of tourists and local people, the speed of vehicles on the road remained very slow.
Along with boating, there was a traffic jam on Gorakhnath Temple Road till late evening. Due to the devotees who came for darshan, vehicles were also seen moving in Mohaddipur, Padleganj and Dharamshala market areas. The traffic pressure in Nausadh and Kudaghat areas continued to increase since afternoon.
The inclination of people towards religious places on New Year was also clearly visible. There was a crowd around Budhiya Mata Temple, Tarkulha Devi Temple, Mahadev Jharkhandi and Panchmukhi Hanuman Temple till late evening. Due to people coming to visit with their families, roads in these areas also remained jammed and drivers had to wait for a long time.
The situation was no different around hotels and restaurants. Queues of vehicles formed outside the yacht area, Mohaddipur and hotels located along major roads. Lack of parking and vehicles parked on the roadside further increased the problem of traffic jam. The traffic police and police of local police stations remained alert since morning.
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Additional forces were deployed at major intersections. Officials were keeping an eye on the situation from moment to moment and routes were diverted as per the need. At many places, police personnel were seen controlling the traffic manually. Despite strictness and diversion, the pressure of the crowd was so high that traffic could not become normal in many parts of the city till late evening.