Vehicles seen bumper-to-bumper owing to the massive influx of devotees participating in the Giri Pradakshina in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. K R Deepak
| Photo Credit: KR DEEPAK
Severe traffic congestion was reported across several parts of Visakhapatnam on Tuesday as lakhs of devotees participated in the annual Giri Pradakshina of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy.Major important roads, including the Maddilapalem–RTC Complex stretch, Visakha Valley Junction–Madhurawada Road, Adavivaram–Sontyam Road, Gopalapatnam Road and the NAD Junction–Gajuwaka corridor, HB Colony Road witnessed bumper-to-bumper traffic, particularly in the evening. Vehicular movement came to a near standstill at several locations, causing severe inconvenience to commuters.Several motorists reported being stranded for more than an hour on the RTC Complex–Maddilapalem stretch, with long queues of vehicles extending for several kilometres.The Venkojipalem–Hanumanthawaka Road also witnessed heavy congestion from morning onwards, as thousands of devotees made their way towards Madhurawada, while regular traffic continued to ply on the adjoining routes.Despite elaborate traffic diversions and deployment of a large number of police personnel, managing the unprecedented vehicular flow proved to be challenging. Residents expressed dissatisfaction at the traffic management as many were stranded for hours in traffic. Traffic police personnel struggled to regulate the movement of vehicles at several junctions as continuous inflow of vehicles led to issue.The congestion spilled over to several connecting interior roads, forcing commuters to take longer alternative routes. Published - July 28, 2026 11:08 pm IST
