Crowd at mall causes traffic jam

A dinosaur-themed amusement show and sale at a local mall on the GT Road led to a massive traffic jam on Sunday evening, bringing vehicular movement to a near standstill along the city’s key route, including the elevated road that connects to Jalandhar and Ludhiana. With mercury dipping slightly after days of intense heat, and the weekend offering a respite to city residents, hundreds of families flocked to the mall to witness the attraction. The sudden surge of visitors overwhelmed the mall’s infrastructure, especially its basement parking, where long queues of vehicles caused a ripple effect on traffic movement outside.

Vehicles began piling up as motorists waited for space in the basement parking, leading to a jam on the GT Road. Despite the efforts of traffic police personnel stationed on site, the slow movement of cars entering the parking lot resulted in traffic coming to a crawl. The situation worsened as drivers began turning their vehicles around in search of alternative routes, which in turn choked the elevated road.

Jagtar Singh, a commuter caught in the jam, said, “I was on my way to Jandiala but got stuck near the mall for over 20 minutes. There was no clear diversion, and people were just confused about where to go.”

Kamal Kishore, another motorist, shared a similar ordeal: “Even though I was stuck for only 15 minutes, the lack of any real-time traffic management or updates made the situation worse. People were just honking and reversing in panic.”

Many city residents criticised the local authorities for failing to anticipate the turnout and not making adequate arrangements to handle the crowd and the vehicular rush. “Whenever there is a mall event or holiday rush, the traffic goes haywire. We need a proper traffic diversion plan and better parking management,” said Amandeep Kaur, a resident of Ranjit Avenue.

Amritsar