Sankranti Traffic: Chaos as Over 1 Lakh Vehicles Jam NH65

Hyderabad, Nalgonda:Motorists followed online road maps and crowded National Highway 65 to Vijayawada while heading out for the holiday vacation, triggering a monumental traffic jam that has become a biannual affair, seen during Sankranti and Dasara every year.

Rachakonda Traffic-2 DCP G. Srinivas Kumar stated that many drivers were relying heavily on Google Maps, which directed them to the NH. However, there were alternative routes available, such as Sagar Road towards Guntur and Ghatkesar towards Warangal and Kodad, which could have alleviated some of the pressure on the highway.

Rachakonda police had suggested these two alternative routes to motorists in a notification on Thursday.

He pointed out that the vacation began during the weekend, when traffic on the highways is generally high.

The result of these two events were that over 1 lakh vehicles entered the Vijayawada highway, about 59,000 on Friday. This caused long delays at tollgates, especially at Panthangi, near Choutuppal in Yadadri-Bhongir district.

Ten tollgates were opened for traffic heading out of Hyderabad. Authorities reported that approximately 1,000 vehicles per hour were leaving Hyderabad on Saturday, compared to the usual 200.

The rush is expected to intensify late Saturday night and into Sunday morning.

The high congestion caused bumper-to-bumper traffic on NH No. 65 from Abdullapurmet to Kothaduem and at Choutuppal.

The Korlaphad toll plaza in Nalgonda district saw heavy vehicle traffic from early Saturday morning. Of the 12 toll gates, seven were reserved for Vijayawada-bound vehicles.

On the Hyderabad outskirts, leading to the highway, traffic got gridlocked at Pedda Amberpet, where vehicles from Gachibowli, Medchal ORR, and LB Nagar merges onto the Vijayawada highway. Additionally, the road at Abdullapurmet narrows to two lanes which further slowed down traffic on the way to Panthangi toll gate.

Rachakonda police had deployed 400 personnel on the highway from LB Nagar to Panthangi. Cranes and ambulances were stationed near the toll gates.

Most of the vehicles at the toll gate were cars, followed by RTC and private buses.

Meanwhile, Cyberabad police were on high alert, as nearly 1,500 buses were scheduled to cross the toll gate on Saturday. Traffic in areas like Kukatpally was severely impacted, with buses occupying half the road. Regular traffic came to a halt, and the roads were lit up with car headlights well into the early hours.

Despite the heavy congestion, videos of the crowd heading towards Panthangi created some panic among travellers. However, humorous videos of the intense traffic in Kukatpally quickly went viral on social media, with Instagram users making light-hearted comments such as "Are they leaving forever?" and the classic meme line "Evarra meerantha?" (Who are they, anyway?).