Maharaja Prithu flyover faces commuter backlash over traffic bottleneck

Guwahati: Days after its inauguration, the Maharaja Prithu flyover has come under criticism from commuters, who say persistent congestion at the rotary connecting it to the existing Ananda Ram Barua flyover is undermining the project’s purpose.The more than 5-km stretch, billed as one of the city’s longest flyovers, was expected to ease traffic movement across key parts of Guwahati. Instead, the rotary has emerged as a major bottleneck, with commuters reporting long queues and slow-moving traffic, especially during evening peak hours.“It was supposed to reduce congestion, but now it feels like traffic has simply shifted and piled up at one point,” said Pradyumna Dutta, who travels between Chandmari and Zoo Road.

Several commuters said poor lane discipline at the junction has worsened the situation.“At first, we thought the journey along this stretch would take only five minutes, but we are now realizing that it takes more than 30 minutes during peak hours when travelling from Lamb Road towards Noonmati. If this continues, the earlier way was much better,” said resident Hrishabh Saikia.Many commuters alleged that the rotary’s design and traffic management have failed to handle the increased volume of vehicles diverted onto the new flyover.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Shafiqul Hussain said, “This is the result of the increased traffic flow, as people have stopped using GS Road and are instead taking the new flyover when traveling to the Paltan Bazar area. This is happening for two reasons — first, to avoid traffic congestion on GS Road, and second, due to people’s interest in driving over the new bridge. We have increased the number of traffic personnel to help regulate and channelize the flow.

”He said steps were being taken to regulate traffic flow and expressed hope that congestion would ease in the coming weeks.