With people heading to their native villages from various places in the State, the national highways in the district saw a huge rush of vehicles.
The influx of vehicles onto the highways since Saturday morning resulted in frequent snarls, particularly at toll gates.
The flow of passenger vehicles, particularly cars, was high on the Vijayawada-Hanuman Junction stretch of National Highway 16 (Chennai-Kolkata) as people were heading to East and West Godavari districts from Hyderabad.
Also, the toll gates on NH 65 between Jaggaiahpeta and Vijayawada also witnessed frequent traffic jams.
Hundreds of cars ended up in bumper to bumper queues at the toll gates of Kesara in Kanchikacherla, Gattubhimavaram in Vatsavai, Pottipadu in Gannavaram mandals and others in the district.
“The traffic held up for kilometres at the toll gate due to heavy rush.
“The situation was expected and there is no other option to avoid it. The staff is ensuring quick service at toll plaza counters to help vehicles quickly pass through the gate,” said an employee at the Pottipadu toll plaza.
Meanwhile, vehicle owners are demanding exemption from toll gate charges for passenger vehicles, keeping in mind the rush and traffic jams due to it.
Situation to recur
A similar situation is expected to occur on Sunday and also on January 16 and 17 as people head back to cities from villages.
Most affected due to the rush and traffic jams are the passengers of private and APSRTC buses as they experienced inordinate delays.
