Resembling the annual Sankranti rush, traffic on NH-65 (Hyderabad-Vijayawada) in Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri, Nalgonda and Suryapet district limits, came to a grinding halt on Wednesday, as people hailing from Andhra Pradesh headed back home for polling on April 11.
Motorists were stranded in as long as two-kilometre queues starting at 8 a.m. at Panthangi toll plaza, the first gate to AP on the highway. Bumper-to-bumper traffic continued till around 10.30 a.m.
Similar scenes were witnessed at Madgulapally toll plaza between Nalgonda and Miryalaguda. According to its staff, the delay was due to motorists who cited the ‘3-minute waiting rule’ for toll waiver though there were no such instructions for them.
Yadadri police, who reached the traffic-clogged Panthangi plaza around 10.30 a.m., ensured that more staff walked up to motorists to issue toll receipts through hand-held devices.
“We opened 14 out of the total 16 gates for traffic towards Vijayawada, and only two towards Hyderabad,” a toll plaza official said.
Gudur toll plaza near Bibinagar in Yadadri also experienced slow traffic as people travelled to Warangal and Khammam for voting.
According to officials, about 14,000 vehicles cross the main Panthangi plaza on an average daily, and for occasions like long weekend, festivals, and now elections, the figure would go up to 20,000.
Traffic was halted on the Vijayawada highway even at 8 p.m.
The single-phase election in AP on Thursday will decide 175 candidates for its State Assembly and another 25 Lok Sabha seats.