Influx of pvt vehicles leads to massive jams on roads leading to Kumbh Mela

Prayagraj: A sudden surge of devotees and pilgrims flocking to the tent city on Friday caused massive jams on the streets leading to Sangam city.
The majority of pilgrims and devotees from states like J&K, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, and Bihar, travelling to Prayagraj by their own vehicles, caused extra load on highways and streets, forcing Mela police and the district police commissionerate to implement traffic diversion plans and schemes daily.
Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Triveni Sangam on Feb 5, there was a sudden surge of devotees flocking to Sangam to take a holy dip. All the seven routes leading to Sangam witnessed jams and chaos for the past 24 hours, with Deputy SP rank police officials assigned duties at all static points to clear routes.
"Over 1.25 crore devotees flocked to the mela area in the past two days, and the majority of them used their own cars to travel, causing long hours of jams and chaos on the streets," said a Mela official, adding, "There has been a significant rise in the number of devotees after the PM's visit." The mela cops have also taken up fresh measures considering the crowd pressure would increase due to the weekend.
On Friday, several vehicles ferrying pilgrims and devotees were diverted to the outskirts of Sangam city, and those having registration from other states or districts (excluding UP 70) were asked to park at designated parking slots to avoid chaos and confusion. For the second consecutive day, mela visitors were trapped in massive jams on two prime streets – Alopibagh and Baihrana Road. Traffic police authorities shrugged off the responsibility, claiming the jam was due to the additional influx of devotees coming in vehicles.
Scores of vehicles heading to the Mela area were diverted to new parking slots by the district police, who also coordinated with their counterparts in neighbouring districts. More importantly, duties of paramilitary personnel were also assigned at crossings and intersections to clear the rush.
ACP (Kotwali) Manoj Kumar Singh, "A large number of pilgrims and devotees coming in their vehicles caused a jam-like situation, and cops have launched new traffic schemes to clear the routes."
He, however, added, "Strict measures are being initiated to streamline traffic on all routes with the deployment of additional police forces."