Continued rain & slush reduce traffic to a crawl in Nashik city

Nashik: City roads turned into a sea of brake lights, with traffic crawling at a snail’s pace across almost every major junction, as relentless rain pounded Nashik through Sunday and well into Monday afternoon.Police said adequate personnel had been deployed at key roads and intersections to ease congestion and restore normal traffic flow as quickly as possible. “The downpour combined with ongoing infrastructure works, however, left motorists battling massive gridlocks across the city,” a senior officer said.Areas including Dwarka, Mumbai Naka, Indiranagar, College Road, Gangapur Road, Trimbak Road and the busy Mumbai Naka-Ashok Stambh stretch witnessed bumper-to-bumper traffic for hours.

Several other roads affected by Kumbh Mela-related projects also saw long queues of stranded vehicles.Bikers continued to skid on the slippery Mumbai-Agra Highway near Dwarka. The situation became serious enough for the fire brigade to repeatedly wash the road surface to clear the layer of muck accumulating on the stretch.According to commuters, ongoing roadwork is aggravating the problem. Mud from roadside excavation sites sticks to vehicle tyres and gets deposited on the highway beneath the flyover.

Since portions of the road remain covered by the flyover, rainwater is unable to wash away the sludge, creating a hazardous surface for two-wheelers.Frustrated residents also pointed to rampant roadside parking as a major contributor to the traffic nightmare, saying while roadworks might be unavoidable, stricter action against illegally parked vehicles could immediately free up much-needed road space. “Roadside parking is causing the maximum problem.

Across the city, vehicles are parked haphazardly along roadsides, leaving very little room for the actual movement of traffic.

If these roads are cleared of illegal parking, there will be enough space for smoother traffic flow,” Nashik Road resident Vijay Shermale said.The police, however, maintained that regular action is being taken against illegally parked vehicles.