Varanasi: Expect huge crowding in already overcrowded place Madakin-Godoliya-Ramapura route in the upcoming Prayagraji Mahakumbu 2025The traffic police have asked about 15 educational institutions to replace the large buses on this route with 12-seater mini taxis Kashi Vishwanath Dham visitors.
ADCP (Transport) Rajesh Pandey told TOI on Tuesday that most schools and other educational institutions already use minibuses or taxis in congested areas.
However, even in the area between Maidagin-Godowlia border crossing and Godowlia-Ramapura road, around 15 educational institutions are still using large buses.
He added that due to the large number of tourists in KV Dham, these roads remain very congested and large buses lead to a long tail of vehicles making it impossible to overtake them.
To study the issue, traffic police teams conducted surveys at different locations. He added that the officials listed the number of large buses causing problems on these roads. During these exercises we found many buses entering this route to pick up two or three students.
After several days of exercises, the list was finalized and schools and other institutions on the list were asked to replace their buses with minicabs that can seat up to 12 people by the end of December. He said large buses traveling from Madakin to Ramapura via Godoliya will be banned from January 1.
The congested Madakim-Godoriya road has been overcrowded for decades as it houses wholesale and retail markets for most of the different goods, Banarasi sarees, jewellery, paper, medicines etc. After the revitalized Golden Dam area of Kashgar opened in December 2021, the number of pilgrims increased more than ten times compared with previous years.
The arrival of VIPs at Gate 4 of the temple greatly increased the traffic pressure. In view of the difficulties faced by pedestrians, devotees and tourists, the district administration and police tried various options, including declaring it a no-travel zone, but could not maintain it for a long time due to different reasons.
Relevant officials said that the decision was made to ban the use of large school buses as they bring inconvenience to traffic management on these roads and the risk of accidents will increase if the crowds further increase. These schools have been informed to arrange cabs within 15 days as large buses will no longer be allowed from January 1, they added.
