Traffic jams galore as visitors throng festival
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, November 27 2022:
With only three days left, visitors thronged Manipur Sangai Festival-2022 venues in large numbers particularly at the two main venues, Hapta Kangjeibung in Imphal and Moirang Khunou in Bishnupur district.
Unlike in the first few days of the 10-day long tourism festival, exceedingly large number of visitors thronged festival venues on the sixth (Saturday) and seventh day (Sunday).
Saturday and Sunday being holiday, visitors including students from different parts of the state came to witness the festival.
However, visitors had a hard time in reaching festival venues due to huge traffic congestion particularly along Tiddim road and roads in Imphal leading to Hapta Kangjeibung.
Visitors were stuck in traffic jam for several hours before reaching the festival venues on both Saturday and Sunday.
A visitor who went to witness the festival at Moirang Khunou and Geljang resort in Churachandpur on Saturday told The People's Chronicle that one main reason for traffic congestion along Tiddim road is the narrow and out-dated bridge at Nambol bazar.
Visitors got stuck for several hours in trying to cross Nambol as vehicles lined up to cross the narrow bridge from Nambol bazar to Malom.
Similar traffic congestion occurred too in Bishnupur bazar and Moirang bazar areas much due to breaking of lane-rule by visitors.
Many vehicles broke lane rule along the two-lane Tiddim road and it caused huge traffic congestion thereby giving a hard time to traffic police and law enforcing agencies in clearing the jam, the visitor said.
On the other hand, many visitors had to return home without entering the main venue at Moirang Khunou due to huge traffic congestion and unavailability of parking space, which indeed is one main problem faced by visitors at the venue.
Another visitor at Moirang Khunou told this daily that authority concerned and local clubs and organisation could utilise empty paddy fields around Moirang Khunou as parking lots and this would solve the parking problem.
Being held for the first time at this venue, authority concerned and local organisation might be unaware of the volume of visitors but they could arrange parking lots for the remaining days of the festival based on the experience of Saturday and Sunday, the visitor said and strongly suggested utilisation of the barren paddy fields around Moirang Khunou as temporary parking lots.